Wybory niekonkurencyjne – dowody z elekcji lokalnych w Polsce
Uncontested Seats: Evidence from The Polish Local Elections

Summary/Abstract: Uncontested elections/seats (i.e., elections in which the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of seats) are a striking aberration of the democratic procedure; specifically, the negative consequences of uncontested races can take place in the smallest jurisdictions (e.g. local communes). In this article, we investigate variables that substantially affect the phenomenon of uncontested seats using data from the Polish local elections. In the analysis, we exploit simple regression models – the linear regression model and the logistic regression model as well as graphical methods such as box plots; we employ data obtained from the National Electoral Commission (PKW) and the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office of Poland. Our results show that the prevalence of uncontested races is associated with the use of single-member districts, the rural nature of constituencies, and a low level of competitiveness in the elections of local executives when uncontested mayoral elections are concurrently held.

• Details
• Contents