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Although it is not straightforward nor uncontested, the idea of representation has remained a keystone of democracy. In various political systems throughout history, a variety of representational concepts have coexisted. In Western Europe, discussions about what should be represented, who should do the portraying, and how they should do it persisted for the past 200 years. In the years between the wars, much of Eastern Europe participated in these discussions; after 1989, it did so once more. Over the past few decades, electoral democracies have swiftly spread throughout the world. In Africa, where there were only two democracies (Botswana and Gambia) in 1975, the expansion of democracy has been particularly evident. Elections, though, are currently not just held in democracies. Elections in non-democracies serve different purposes than in democracies.

Free and fair elections are crucial for a democracy. The right to choose is one of the fundamental principles of democracy and its integral characteristic. Researchers emphasize that elections to local selfgovernment bodies are the political action on the results of which the further development of the territorial community largely depends and on the basis of which relations between elected bodies and individuals and territorial communities will be formed in the process of local selfgovernment.

In the judgment GK c. Belgium the European Court of Human Rights onceagain addresses national legal systems that confer the competence post-electoraldisputes and verification of credentials to parliamentary assemblieswithout including any subsequent instance of judicial review. Very fewEuropean countries have this traditional liberal prerogative, typical of nineteenth-century parliamentarism. Examining the validity of the resignation ofa Belgian senator serves as a pretext to focus on the deficiencies registeredin the parliamentary procedure used, dominated by the enormous discretionrecognized to the senate and the absence of guarantees against arbitrariness.The Court’s judgement, without innovating excessively, allows confirmingthe line that had been started with previous decisions, in the depth of theprocedural approach of the rights included in Article 3 of the AdditionalProtocol. The case raised in GK c. Belgium offers interest as it is one of thefew issues that escapes strictly electoral law and belongs to parliamentarylaw, with the added originality that the Belgian system belongs to the pureparliamentary model that, in this case, is shown in frank recoil. En la sentencia GK c. Bélgica el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanosaborda una vez más las garantías que ofrecen los sistemas exclusivamenteparlamentarios de verificación de actas y supervisión de mandatos en losque no se contempla ninguna instancia ulterior de carácter jurisdiccional.Muy pocos países europeos mantienen esta tradicional prerrogativa liberal,típica del parlamentarismo del siglo XIX. El examen de la validez de larenuncia de una senadora belga sirve de pretexto para poner el foco enlas deficiencias registradas en el procedimiento parlamentario utilizado, dominado por la enorme discrecionalidad reconocida a la Cámara y laausencia de garantías frente la arbitrariedad. La resolución de la Corte,sin innovar en exceso, permite confirmar la línea que se había iniciadocon decisiones anteriores, en las que profundiza en la vertiente procesalde los derechos incluidos en el artículo 3 del Protocolo Adicional. El casoplanteado en GK c. Bélgica ofrece interés al tratarse de uno de los pocosasuntos que escapan del derecho estrictamente electoral y entran de llenoen el derecho parlamentario, con la originalidad añadida de que el sistemabelga pertenece al modelo parlamentario puro que, en este caso, se muestraen franco retroceso.

Введение. На современном этапе подлинным идеалом правовой демократии является обеспечение права граждан участвовать в управлении делами государства, в частности избирать и быть избранными в органы публичной власти и на выборные публичные должности. Фундаментальной основой народовластия в демократическом государстве выступают свободные выборы. В этой связи рассматривается термин свободные выборы с точки зрения его нормативного и литературного закрепления. Анализируются международные и внутригосударственные акты в области прав и свобод человека и гражданина, закрепляющие наименование данного принципа избирательного права. Цель. Исследование лексико-семантической конструкции принципов избирательного права обуславливает понимание истинной ценности свободных выборов как основы народовластия. В свою очередь, свободные выборы в силу своего закрепления в качестве одной из основ конституционного строя Российской Федерации могут претендовать на роль метапринципа в системе фундаментальных избирательных начал. Методология. Достижению поставленной цели способствовало применение как общенаучных, так и специальных методов познания социально-правовых явлений (сравнительно-правовой метод, метод правового моделирования). Результаты. Обозначенная в работе позиция автора опирается на международные и внутригосударственные правовые акты в области прав человека, а также на мнения представителей юридической науки, предлагающих различные подходы к определению принципа свободных выборов и его положению в конструкции существующих принципов избирательного права. Заключение. В результате проведённого исследования определяется необходимость использования нормативно закреплённого в наименовании сочетания частей речи принцип свободных выборов . Делается вывод о том, что свободные выборы в совокупности со всеобщим, равным и прямым избирательным правом при тайном голосовании представляют одну лексико-семантическую группу определений. Однако свободные выборы можно при этом наделить особой, ведущей ролью., Introduction. At the present stage, the true ideal of legal democracy is to ensure the right of citizens to participate in the management of state affairs, in particular, to elect and be elected to public authorities and to elected public offices. The fundamental basis of democracy in a democratic state are free elections. In this regard, the term free elections is considered from the point of view of its normative and literary consolidation. The article analyzes the international and domestic acts in the field of human and civil rights and freedoms, fixing the name of this principle of suffrage. Purpose. The study of lexical and semantic construction of the principles of electoral law determines the understanding of the true value of free elections as the basis of democracy. In turn, free elections by virtue of its consolidation as one of the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation can claim the role of a metaprinciple in the system of fundamental electoral principles. Methodology. The achievement of this goal was facilitated by the use of both general scientific and special methods of cognition of social and legal phenomena (comparative legal method, method of legal modeling). Results. The authors position is based on international and domestic legal acts in the field of human rights, as well as on the opinions of representatives of legal science, offering different approaches to the definition of the principle of free elections and its position in the construction of existing principles of electoral law. Conclusion. As a result of the conducted research the necessity of use of the combination of parts of speech which is standardly fixed in the name the principle of free elections is defined. It is concluded that free elections in conjunction with universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot represent one lexical and semantic group of definitions. However, free elections can be given a special leading role., №3 (2019)

Artykuł dotyczy zmian wprowadzonych do ustawy z dnia 5 stycznia 2011 r. – Kodeks Wyborczy ustawą z dnia 11 stycznia 2018 r. o zmianie niektórych ustaw w celu zwiększenia udziału obywateli w procesie wybierania, funkcjonowania i kontrolowania niektórych organów publicznych . Przedmiotem rozważań są wybrane zmiany w prawie wyborczym dokonane ww. ustawą nowelizującą, tj. zmiany w zakresie składu Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej, obwodowych i terytorialnych komisji wyborczych oraz ograniczenie możliwości głosowania korespondencyjnego. Autorka dokonuje ich analizy pod kątem realizacji sformułowanych przez projektodawcę i – co istotniejsze - przyjętych przez ustawodawcę celów oraz dokonuje oceny tych zmian z perspektywy konstytucyjnych zasad prawa wyborczego. The paper is about the amendments introduced in the Act of 5 January 2011 – Electoral Code, by the Act of 11 January 2018 on Amending Certain Acts in order to increase the participation of voters in the process of electing, functioning and controlling certain public authorities. The subject of the considerations are selected amendments to the electoral law made by the aforementioned amending statute, i.e. the changes in the composition of the State Electoral Committee, circuit and territorial electoral committees and the restriction of postal voting. The author analyses them with respect to the aims formulated and – more importantly – adopted by the legislator, and assesses these amendments from the perspective of the constitutional rules of the electoral law.

The principle of secret suffrage is considered according to its position in the system of electoral law principles. Referring to the principle of secret suffrage as a principle of electoral law as a whole is explained with historical reasons. Nowadays it should be considered as an institutional principle of the legal institute of voting connected with the principle of free elections. The essence of the principle is shown to be a prohibition to disclose or report the contents of the elector’s vote to other persons. As a result, it includes requirements of absence of any control of the contents of the elector’s vote and the elector’s irresponsibility for his/her vote. The secret suffrage principle could exist in two forms – weak and strong. The weak form of the principle, which is adopted in Ukraine, interprets the secrecy of the vote contents as the elector’s right and is considered as an obligation for only other persons to keep the elector’s vote secrecy. Such a form of the secrecy principle does not prevent voluntary disclosure by an elector of the way he/she has voted; thus, it allows different manipulative technologies distorting the election results. The strong form of the secrecy principle requires an elector to keep secrecy of his/her own vote contents, which makes the mentioned technologies illegal. Guaranteeing the secret suffrage depends on the conditions in which the electors’ voting is held. The standard voting, mode when an elector votes in special premises where the election commission and observers are present, is qualified as “voting in the controlled environment,” which permits to keep secrecy of voting. Using alternative voting modes means refusing to vote in the controlled environment, which is followed with essential weakening of secret suffrage guarantees. The distant voting modes (postal voting and Internet e-voting) are especially threatening the secrecy of voting due to the elector’s voting in an uncontrolled environment. Alternative modes ar

The principle of secret suffrage is considered according to its position in the system of electoral law principles. Referring to the principle of secret suffrage as a principle of electoral law as a whole is explained with historical reasons. Nowadays it should be considered as an institutional principle of the legal institute of voting connected with the principle of free elections. The essence of the principle is shown to be a prohibition to disclose or report the contents of the elector’s vote to other persons. As a result, it includes requirements of absence of any control of the contents of the elector’s vote and the elector’s irresponsibility for his/her vote. The secret suffrage principle could exist in two forms – weak and strong. The weak form of the principle, which is adopted in Ukraine, interprets the secrecy of the vote contents as the elector’s right and is considered as an obligation for only other persons to keep the elector’s vote secrecy. Such a form of the secrecy principle does not prevent voluntary disclosure by an elector of the way he/she has voted; thus, it allows different manipulative technologies distorting the election results. The strong form of the secrecy principle requires an elector to keep secrecy of his/her own vote contents, which makes the mentioned technologies illegal. Guaranteeing the secret suffrage depends on the conditions in which the electors’ voting is held. The standard voting, mode when an elector votes in special premises where the election commission and observers are present, is qualified as “voting in the controlled environment,” which permits to keep secrecy of voting. Using alternative voting modes means refusing to vote in the controlled environment, which is followed with essential weakening of secret suffrage guarantees. The distant voting modes (postal voting and Internet e-voting) are especially threatening the secrecy of voting due to the elector’s voting in an uncontrolled environment. Alternative modes ar

The principle of secret suffrage is considered according to its position in the system of electoral law principles. Referring to the principle of secret suffrage as a principle of electoral law as a whole is explained with historical reasons. Nowadays it should be considered as an institutional principle of the legal institute of voting connected with the principle of free elections. The essence of the principle is shown to be a prohibition to disclose or report the contents of the elector’s vote to other persons. As a result, it includes requirements of absence of any control of the contents of the elector’s vote and the elector’s irresponsibility for his/her vote. The secret suffrage principle could exist in two forms – weak and strong. The weak form of the principle, which is adopted in Ukraine, interprets the secrecy of the vote contents as the elector’s right and is considered as an obligation for only other persons to keep the elector’s vote secrecy. Such a form of the secrecy principle does not prevent voluntary disclosure by an elector of the way he/she has voted; thus, it allows different manipulative technologies distorting the election results. The strong form of the secrecy principle requires an elector to keep secrecy of his/her own vote contents, which makes the mentioned technologies illegal. Guaranteeing the secret suffrage depends on the conditions in which the electors’ voting is held. The standard voting, mode when an elector votes in special premises where the election commission and observers are present, is qualified as “voting in the controlled environment,” which permits to keep secrecy of voting. Using alternative voting modes means refusing to vote in the controlled environment, which is followed with essential weakening of secret suffrage guarantees. The distant voting modes (postal voting and Internet e-voting) are especially threatening the secrecy of voting due to the elector’s voting in an uncontrolled environment. Alternative modes ar

The principle of secret suffrage is considered according to its position in the system of electoral law principles. Referring to the principle of secret suffrage as a principle of electoral law as a whole is explained with historical reasons. Nowadays it should be considered as an institutional principle of the legal institute of voting connected with the principle of free elections. The essence of the principle is shown to be a prohibition to disclose or report the contents of the elector’s vote to other persons. As a result, it includes requirements of absence of any control of the contents of the elector’s vote and the elector’s irresponsibility for his/her vote. The secret suffrage principle could exist in two forms – weak and strong. The weak form of the principle, which is adopted in Ukraine, interprets the secrecy of the vote contents as the elector’s right and is considered as an obligation for only other persons to keep the elector’s vote secrecy. Such a form of the secrecy principle does not prevent voluntary disclosure by an elector of the way he/she has voted; thus, it allows different manipulative technologies distorting the election results. The strong form of the secrecy principle requires an elector to keep secrecy of his/her own vote contents, which makes the mentioned technologies illegal. Guaranteeing the secret suffrage depends on the conditions in which the electors’ voting is held. The standard voting, mode when an elector votes in special premises where the election commission and observers are present, is qualified as “voting in the controlled environment,” which permits to keep secrecy of voting. Using alternative voting modes means refusing to vote in the controlled environment, which is followed with essential weakening of secret suffrage guarantees. The distant voting modes (postal voting and Internet e-voting) are especially threatening the secrecy of voting due to the elector’s voting in an uncontrolled environment. Alternative modes ar

The principle of secret suffrage is considered according to its position in the system of electoral law principles. Referring to the principle of secret suffrage as a principle of electoral law as a whole is explained with historical reasons. Nowadays it should be considered as an institutional principle of the legal institute of voting connected with the principle of free elections. The essence of the principle is shown to be a prohibition to disclose or report the contents of the elector’s vote to other persons. As a result, it includes requirements of absence of any control of the contents of the elector’s vote and the elector’s irresponsibility for his/her vote. The secret suffrage principle could exist in two forms – weak and strong. The weak form of the principle, which is adopted in Ukraine, interprets the secrecy of the vote contents as the elector’s right and is considered as an obligation for only other persons to keep the elector’s vote secrecy. Such a form of the secrecy principle does not prevent voluntary disclosure by an elector of the way he/she has voted; thus, it allows different manipulative technologies distorting the election results. The strong form of the secrecy principle requires an elector to keep secrecy of his/her own vote contents, which makes the mentioned technologies illegal. Guaranteeing the secret suffrage depends on the conditions in which the electors’ voting is held. The standard voting, mode when an elector votes in special premises where the election commission and observers are present, is qualified as “voting in the controlled environment,” which permits to keep secrecy of voting. Using alternative voting modes means refusing to vote in the controlled environment, which is followed with essential weakening of secret suffrage guarantees. The distant voting modes (postal voting and Internet e-voting) are especially threatening the secrecy of voting due to the elector’s voting in an uncontrolled environment. Alternative modes ar

The thesis describes the political events initiated on November 17, 1989, which, after 42 years, led to the end of one-party rule and started the long process of democratization in Czechoslovakia. It analyzes the similarities and differences between the Milevsko policy and the national policy from November 17, 1989 to the June 1990 elections to the Federal Assembly and the Czech National Council. It describes how the democratization process, started with the Velvet Revolution in Prague, reflected in the public life of a small town. It answers questions like whether the political, economic and social changes in Milevsko were the initiative of its citizens, or those recommended by the revolutionary center in Prague? What was the attitude of Milevsko citizens towards these changes? Did they request replacement of politicians and municipal institutions as in Prague, or did they have specific requirements distinct from Prague?

This abstract labour is concerned in the development, transitions and reforms of the electoral system to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech republic Parliament. In the first part I focus in definition of the electoral system, its division and in free elections related to it, in political parties and partial systems. Second part is attended to the history of the development and of the reforms of the electoral system to the Chamber of Deputies since the formation of the Czechoslovak republic until 1992. There is analyzed the development of the electoral system and its impact upon formation of governances after the constitution of the separate Czech republic in the following part. The final part is separately attended to the unhatched reform of the electoral system in the year 2000. The labour is coupled with the tables and the graphs.

El objeto de este trabajo es poner de manifiesto la inadecuación que existe entre los sistemas de voto presencial y manual, y las fórmulas de voto electrónico remoto o mediante Internet. Del estudio de ambas técnicas, completamente distintas, surgen importantes problemas en relación con el modo y forma de preservar las garantías jurídicas entre las dos estrategias de sufragio electoral. El proceso electoral convencional ha garantizado históricamente, con efectividad, el respeto de un conjunto de importante exigencias amparadas por la Constitución: libertad de sufragio; igualdad de voto; y secreto, entre otros principios relevantes. El problema que estudiamos es determinar cómo pueden garantizarse estos principios mediante el uso de tecnologías propietarias, que además no han alcanzado el grado de madurez técnica imprescindible para asegurar tales principios, al menos con tanta efectividad, si no más, que la alcanzada en el marco del sufragio presencial y manual. De la inadecuación entre ambas técnicas, surgen problemas de discriminación, pérdida del voto, concentración del poder por parte de los Gobiernos. Es decir, efectos de la pérdida de seguridad, eficiencia y neutralidad del proceso de voto. La participación de los ciudadanos en la Administración Electoral, como expresión de una fórmula cualificada de participación de los ciudadanos en los asuntos públicos, puede desaparecer, con el perjuicio que tal medida representaría para la limitación de tal derecho fundamental, que además es el fundamento del funcionamiento neutral y eficiente de la Administración Electoral. Una pérdida doble del derecho de participación, que en el marco jurídico del sufragio se transforma en derecho a controlar la pureza e integridad del proceso electoral.

This paper uses a case study of Costa Rica to identify the reasons why democracy is conducive for development. By the mid-twentieth century, Costa Rica had begun to depart from the all-too-common mixture of political instability and economic stagnation characteristic of much of the developing world. This paper claims that this country has benefited from better-than-average public policies, a conclusion based upon an original assessment of policy effectiveness and a major comparative ranking of state policies. It largely rejects the interpretation that uncommon development performance stems from institutions created during the colonial period and instead emphasizes how unending political stalemates gradually made the struggle for power more democratic. A central conclusion of this paper is that political competition-as well as steady economic growth rates and development, more generally-interact with and reinforce each other so that the exercise of power foments rather than retards economic growth.

Praca analizuje wydarzenia, które miały miejsce w 2004 r. , podczas wyborów prezydenckich na Ukrainie. Jeden z największych opiniotwórczych dzienników w Polsce śledził drogę państwa ukraińskiego do wolności. „Kolorowa Rewolucja” wpłynęła na kolejne państwa, które dążą cały czas do swojej państwowości, zmian, a więc także bezpieczniejszego świata. Pomimo tego, iż w jakiś sposób Rewolucja przegrała, gdyż obecnie prezydentem tego państwa jest Wiktor Janukowycz, to tamte wydarzenia pokazały siłę narodu ukraińskiego do walki bez użycia przemocy. Inne byłe republiki radzieckie zaczęły podążać tę samą drogą, a sam prezydent Ukrainy nieco zmienił swoje prorosyjskie poglądy. The work analyses events which had placed in 2004 year, during presidential elections on Ukrainie. One of the largest opinion dailys in Poland, followed the road of Ukrainian state to freedom. „Colourful Revolution ” influenced on next states, which aim is all the time to be a free, changes, and safer world. In spite of fact, that in some way the Revolution has lost its first ideas and Wiktor Janukowycz at present is president of this state. Althought, these events shew the power of Ukrainian nation, the fight without use the violence. Others Soviet Republics began following with the same road, and also president of Ukraine started to change his prorussian opinions on the future of this country.