Parliamentary Elections Research Articles

Meme-Ing Waves: unpacking political narratives in the Romanian context

ABSTRACT Political memes are no longer (only) a humorous feature of internet culture, but also act as a vehicle for information diffusion and reimaging of politics. Using a mixed-methodology approach, combining content analysis, descriptive statistics, and social network analysis, this study unravels the complex dynamics of political memes within the Romanian context, uncovering how memes reflect and shape political narratives. By focusing on the political discourse surrounding the 2020 Romanian parliamentary elections, this research highlights the underlying power dynamics and themes prevalent within the Romanian political landscape. The study finds that memes frequently amplify the visibility of incumbent political actors from governing parties, unveiling their symbolic importance. Memes also tend to reflect salient themes and issues, such as corruption and incompetence, serving as a means of criticizing the personal attributes of politicians and overshadowing policy matters. Finally, the analysis reveals the intricate web of political affiliations formed through cross-cutting communities within the emerging subthemes of the meme corpus. Overall, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of memes as a driving force for political commentary, framing, and engagement.

Pocketbook Voting in India’s 18th Parliamentary Elections (2024)

The economic theory of voting has long remained a cornerstone in the study of voting behaviour, especially in economically developed democracies. At the heart of it is the assumption that economic contexts shape voting choice and influence electoral outcomes as management of the economy is an important function of governments and that citizens hold elected representatives accountable for the nation’s as well as family’s economic situation. Voters support ruling party candidates when they think the incumbent government has delivered on the economic front—creation of employment opportunities, keeping price of essential goods and services under control, rise in income across social layers and so on. In India, much of the analysis of voting behaviour is focused on shifting allegiance of support across social constituencies—particularly caste and religion. Economic factors of voting choices have received little attention to the extent as if they do not matter. However, analysis of NES (2024) data suggests that economic factors swayed a significant chunk of voters and thus influenced the final electoral outcomes. Anchored in economic theoretical context of voting behaviour, this article particularly examines whether there was pocketbook voting and whether it influenced the electoral outcomes of the 18th general election to Lok Sabha (2024). The findings show that pocketbook voting had significant and substantial effect on political preference.

Electoral Turnovers

Abstract In most national elections, voters face a key choice between continuity and change. Electoral turnovers occur when the incumbent candidate or party fails to win reelection. To understand how turnovers affect national outcomes, we study all presidential and parliamentary elections held globally between 1946 and 2018. We document the prevalence of turnovers over time and estimate their effects on economic performance, human development, and the quality of democracy. Using a close-elections regression discontinuity design across countries, we show that turnovers improve several measures of country performance. To explain these positive effects, we explore how electoral turnovers affect leader characteristics, shape policy decisions, reduce perceived corruption, and foster accountability.

Exogenous Shocks and Party System Development: What is the Effect on New Party Entry?

ABSTRACT Since 2020, the world has been officially battling a COVID-19 pandemic. Even countries with established crisis management plans and years of experience in handling political and economic crises, have been shaken. In the midst of the pandemic’s rampant effects, how politicians handle the crisis is of crucial importance to the preservation, development, and protection of nations in the future. Who is in power determines not only the stability, but the political course of countries. Hence, what happens to the party system as a result of an exogenous shock is a question we need to answer. Importantly, we have little evidence on how the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic affected party competition. Building on the party systems literature, we examine the effect of the pandemic on electoral volatility, party system size, and the number of new party contestants. We hypothesise that, in countries where the incumbent government handles the crisis less effectively, electoral volatility tends to be higher, party system size tends to be larger, and more new parties tend to enter the electoral race. Drawing on evidence from national parliamentary elections held by electoral democracies from March 2020 to April 2022, the empirical results support our hypothesis.

CONDUCTING ELECTIONS TO THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN: ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION AND MODERN MECHANISMS FOR ENSURING LEGITIMACY

This article examines the role and importance of the new electoral system. This year, the Republic of Uzbekistan held elections for the first time under a new mixed electoral system, which will combine elements of the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. In previous years, parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan were held under a majoritarian system, which provided for the creation of single-mandate constituencies and voters voting for specific candidates from parties represented in a particular constituency.

Political contexts and new electorates: The case of women in Norway

AbstractExtension of voting rights is basic to political representation, but getting the newly eligible to the polls is also essential to representative politics. What are the factors that contribute to the mobilization of new voters? Study of the entry of women in electoral politics remains limited due to lack of appropriate data. However, in the case of Norway, as in several other countries, separate records were kept on women's eligibility and voting turnout. This paper examines how social factors may condition the influence of a major determinant of women's turnout, political party competition, in parliamentary elections immediately following their enfranchisement in the case of Norway. The study is conducted at the commune level and uses spatial tools of analysis. It takes place across (a) regions with different socio‐cultural and political attributes, (b) different franchise extensions to women by socioeconomic status, and (c) genders. Findings suggest that social context, that is, women's location in different socio‐cultural/political settings and socio‐economic status may condition the effects of political party competition on women's turnout.

Democracy and freedom from the point of view of karls poper

This study deals with the philosophy of freedom and democracy by Karl Popper. Popper discusses the causes of the emergence of establishing a government from the perspective of democracy and freedom of elections. The main issue of the study is whether the emergence of government depends of man’s ability, and freedom and security of society. Popper believes that all the individuals are equal in front of the law because the legal states do not differentiate among the individuals who are equal in origin, language, culture, and gender. The state should also defend the land and control the military and economic sources. The democracy which is a political system depending on using rationality in politics or any other field needs an open society as political parties are tools for establishing governments. Popper believes that the wider the freedom is, it will be better for the government. Popper talks about democracy that no government is established without freedom and democracy. A dictator is a person who can be a president and calls for democracy and freedom of expression, but he rejects the other types of democracy because democracy has been known for rejecting dictatorship. In noocracy system, authority is given to a person, not for all, thus a president isn’t selected. To achieve secure and stable society, the government uses two types of elections, they are in the society and in the parliament. However, parliamentary elections are the most important ones topple the dictatorship without blood shedding.

Wybory czerwcowe 1989 roku we współczesnych podręcznikach do nauczania historii w szkole podstawowej

The aim of the article is to analyses how the first partially free parliamentary elections held in the People’s Republic of Poland on 4 June 1989 are presented in primary school history textbooks today. The June elections were the first ones in Central and Eastern Europe won by the anti-communist opposition. This took place before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Influenced by the ongoing discussions about whether 4 June should be recognized as a national holiday, we decided to investigate how young people learn about these events. Textbooks are a major research material because they are still the most widely used medium in the educational process and often the only source of students’ knowledge of history. We analyzed all textbooks currently approved by the Ministry of National Education for use in schools for grade 8 of primary school.

Gerindra Party's Legislative Election Campaign Communication Plan

The Gerindra Party's communication tactics during parliamentary elections are examined in this article. It emphasizes how the party has adjusted to the changing media environment by combining digital strategies on sites like Facebook and Twitter with more conventional techniques like town hall meetings. The study points to a knowledge gap regarding the creation and consumption of political messaging in Indonesia's ever-changing digital landscape. The study attempts to evaluate the efficacy of these tactics through a combination of media content analysis, interviews, and documentary reviews. The findings show that, despite difficulties with crisis management, Gerindra's strategy was effective in attracting a varied electorate. Political parties that are adjusting to internet communication and voter mobilization may find this study useful.

The conflict within: the politics of parliamentary election management in Iran

ABSTRACT Scholars of comparative politics have long been interested in understanding conflicts that arise among elites within authoritarian contexts. Such conflicts are particularly puzzling when they occur in the context of authoritarian elections and within state administrative institutions like the electoral management body (EMB). Using previously unanalysed primary sources provided by Iran’s Ministry of Interior, which document the inner workings of Iran’s 2000 parliamentary election management, this study investigates intra-elite conflict associated with this important election. I found that within the dual EMB structure, where elected and unelected members coexist, elected administrative members can access information on irregular activities by unelected members more than those outside of this body. These information resources encourage elected members to take the risk of accusing more powerful elites – the unelected members of the regime – of electoral fraud. This is particularly evident during the reformist (moderate opposition) Presidency. My findings suggest the importance of examining intra-elite conflict within administrative institutions – EMBs – for a better understanding of political contestation within otherwise opaque authoritarian regimes.

Anti-Populism of the Left, Right, and Centre: Varieties of Anti-Populist Party Politics in the European “Populist Moment”

AbstractThis paper examines varieties of anti-populist party politics from left to right that emerged against the backdrop of the much-discussed “populist moment” of the mid- to late 2010s in Europe. Situating the analysis in the special issue’s interest in an “anti-populist moment” that discursively co-constituted this “populist moment,” the paper keys in on the anti-populist campaign discourses of three political parties that took centre stage in the 2017 national parliamentary elections in their respective countries: GreenLeft in the Netherlands, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany, and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in the Czech Republic. Drawing on and further developing a discursive approach to anti-populism as a political logic following Essex School or post-foundational discourse analysis, the paper identifies three distinct anti-populist constructions of the perceived threat of “populism”: a left-wing agonistic equating of populism with right-wing politics, a liberal-conservative claim to the centre ground against a horseshoe-like populist threat from left and right, and a right-wing appeal to resist an unholy alliance of “populists and communists.” The analysis situates each variety of anti-populism diachronically in these parties’ previous discursive-strategic orientations, especially their anti-far-right (GreenLeft) or anti-communist (CDU, ODS) appeals, as well as their subsequent developments over time.

Conditional single-issue political entrepreneurship: The impact of education and attitudinal predictors on support for the Finns Party

This study explores support for the populist far-right Finns Party in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election. In the 2023 election, the Finns Party obtained their largest historical vote share, which led to the party's inclusion in the current coalition government. Utilizing an original, nationally representative survey, we find that Finns Party support can mainly be explained by political entrepreneurship and the attraction of voters holding anti-immigrant sentiment. While we find that other attitudes had some relationship with Finns Party support, the substantive impact of these attitudes is far less substantial than are attitudes towards immigrants. Further, we find that the impact of attitudes towards immigrants and Finns Party vote choice intention is conditional on education level. Attitudes towards immigrants have a more limited impact on Finns Party support for respondents at higher education levels when compared with those at lower levels. The findings hold significance for the broader literature on populist parties, demonstrating that education can significantly diminish the translation of anti-immigration attitudes into support for far-right parties.

Media coverage of Maldives parliamentary elections and its implications for India

Media coverage of Maldives parliamentary elections and its implications for India

Comparing Gendered Exposure and Impact in Online Election Violence: Tunisian Political Candidates Targeted on Facebook

Abstract Election violence is increasingly taking place online. However, we still do not know much about how such attacks affect the representation of politically marginalized groups such as women. This article develops and applies strategies for analyzing (gendered) exposure to and impacts of online attacks against political candidates. It focuses on the 2019 parliamentary election campaign in Tunisia and combines manual analysis of Tunisian candidates’ public Facebook pages with candidate interviews. We find no gendered patterns in exposure to online election violence in the Facebook data and a low general exposure to attacks. The interview data nevertheless suggests gendered perceptions and impacts of attacks, as well as a perception among the candidates that online election violence is widespread and problematic. These discrepancies highlight that we need a combination of methods and materials to capture the multifaceted nature of online election violence, and in particular those that directly link candidate exposure to impact.

Extraordinary parliamentary elections in Ukraine during martial law

The article is devoted to the little-studied issue in Ukraine of the legislative ban on extraordinary, or early, parliamentary elections during the period of the special legal regime of martial law. The subject of the study is such a type of early parliamentary elections as interim elections of people’s deputies. The relevance of the researched issue is determined by the ongoing martial law regime in Ukraine and the legislative ban on holding any elections, the necessity of which arises during this martial law. It is noted that the difference between ordinary and extraordinary parliamentary elections in the conditions of this martial law is that the ban on holding ordinary parliamentary elections leaves the country with a valid parliament, and the ban on holding extraordinary parliamentary elections deprives the country of a valid parliament. In order to investigate the legality of the application of this ban to the interim elections of people’s deputies, the following was analyzed: first, the legislative justification of the state election management body in Ukraine regarding the non-appointment and non-holding of these interim parliamentary elections during this martial law, using the example of the latest case from December 13, 2023; and secondly, the publications of Ukrainian scientists regarding these interim parliamentary elections in the conditions of this martial law. It was found out, firstly, that this ban is not a norm of the Constitution of Ukraine neither for scientists nor for the state election management body, and secondly, that this ban does not have an indisputable link of consistency with the Constitution of Ukraine: some legal researchers claim , that this ban corresponds to Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, but other researchers of this Article 64 come to conclusions that exclude the possibility of consistency of this ban with this article of the Constitution of Ukraine. It is substantiated that the content of Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine has three meanings regarding the interim elections of people’s deputies during this martial law: 1) they can be held, 2) they can not be held, 3) they can be held with a limited number of voters. It is proposed to consider as an alternative to this prohibition of by-elections of people’s deputies during this state of war martial law electoral qualification - a special and temporary restriction of the circle of voters for holding these by-elections in the conditions of this war. A variant of this qualification is proposed - the qualification of a legal entity.

UK Labour Party Leaders' Attitudes to Conventional Threats to National Security, 2023-2024

Introduction. The article focuses on the securitisation of power threats in the public speeches of the UK Labour Party leaders (Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Defence Minister John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy) during the 2023-2024 election campaign. An attempt has been made to highlight the commonalities and peculiarities in the approach of the current and previous British governments to countering the main threats to national security. Materials and methods. The paper combines qualitative and quantitative approaches: a critical content analysis of sources and discourse analysis in an electoral context (using data from sociological surveys) are conducted, while the frequency of word usage in the public speeches of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is analysed using the tools of quantitative analysis of big data (R programming language). The methodological basis of the work is the theory of securitisation proposed by the Copenhagen School of the theory of international relations.Research results. It is concluded that the main change in London's foreign policy after Labour's victory in the 2024 parliamentary elections will be the prioritisation of security cooperation with European states. Labour Party leaders do not question the need for ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China, but they give the ‘China threat’ secondary importance: there are noticeable differences within the party on this issue. On the other hand, Labour's position on the ‘special relationship’ with the United States is characterised by a steady continuity with the Conservative government's approach. The need to deepen cooperation in Euro-Atlantic security structures (primarily NATO) and continental formats (EI2, JEF) is stated.Discussion and conclusion. On the basis of qualitative examination of policy documents and statements of the Labour Party leaders, as well as quantitative analysis of big data, conclusions are drawn about the key elements of potential continuity and variability in the foreign policy of London before and after the parliamentary elections on July 4, 2024. The results of the work can be useful in forecasting changes in the foreign policy of Great Britain after the victory of Labour in the parliamentary elections of 2024. The theoretical importance of the work lies in the fact that the article proposes a new methodology for quantitative analysis of the foreign policy of the UK.

Potential impact of the 2024 UK Parliamentary Elections: the long shadow of Brexit

Potential impact of the 2024 UK Parliamentary Elections: the long shadow of Brexit

Against the Odds: Explaining Mainstream Montenegrin Parties Domination of Bosniak and Albanian Minority Representation in Postcommunist Montenegro

Abstract The Bosniak and Albanian minorities in postcommunist Montenegro have supported and been represented by mainstream Montenegrin parties more than by their ethnic parties. This stands in striking contrast to the situation in neighboring Serbia and North Macedonia where the Bosniak and Albanian minorities vote almost exclusively for their ethnic parties. The Montenegrin case stands out as deviant also when one considers a number of extant explanations, all of which would predict a different outcome. Montenegrin Bosniaks and Albanians constitute two native, sizeable and geographically concentrated minority groups inhabiting a country with an institutional framework and several special electoral arrangements favoring minority parties. Drawing on original data on Bosniak and Albanian legislators elected across 12 parliamentary elections in Montenegro (1990–2023), municipality and country-level parliamentary election results and 12 semi-structured elite interviews, I argue that what explains the deviance in the Montenegrin case is the peculiar nature of Montenegrin identity, specifically the fact that it does not pit the majority against minority, but rather it pits the Montenegrin and Serbian components of the Orthodox majority against each other and in such a context the non-Orthodox minorities become critical political allies of the Montenegrin bloc against the Serbian one.

From Love to Hate: The Catholic Church in Poland in the Public Opinion

Poland is a country that is still considered Catholic. Faced with a series of image problems of the Catholic Church, this opinion is being increasingly revised. People, especially young people, are increasingly turning away from this centuries-old institution in search of their moral principles. The percentage of Catholics in Poland is decreasing. The author of the study decided to find out: (1) What do Poles think of the Catholic Church today?; (2) How do they evaluate the various areas of activity of the Catholic Church in Poland?; (3) Is there a predominant opinion in Polish society about the necessity of separation of state and church?; (4) What political consequences does this have? These questions are answered through desk research analysis of reports by the Public Opinion Research Centre and statistical analysis of the author’s quantitative survey conducted after the 2023 parliamentary elections in Poland. The survey results indicate that various areas of activity of the Catholic Church in Poland are evaluated in different ways. The respondents are most critical of the Church’s influence on political authorities and the problem of solving the issue of paedophilia among the clergy. The results of the survey confirm that Law and Justice voters are the people who have the highest opinion of the Catholic Church in Poland and are closely associated with Christian values.

Extraordinary parliamentary elections in Ukraine during martial law

Extraordinary parliamentary elections in Ukraine during martial law