Elites without a mandate? Voter turnout and the legitimacy of municipal representatives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2026.03.04Keywords:
local political elites, voter turnout, legitimacy, mandates, elections, CzechiaAbstract
The article links theories of political legitimacy with empirical data on municipal electoral participation, describes spatial inequalities in the conferral of mandates to elected representatives, and provides an empirical basis for reflections on various aspects of local democracy. The main objective is to determine whether municipal representatives elected under conditions of low voter turnout can be regarded as elites with a sufficient majority mandate. The study examines the relationship between voter turnout and the legitimacy of municipal representatives in Czechia. It is based on data from the Czech Statistical Office on municipal elections in 2014, 2018, and 2022. The key indicators are voter turnout and the share of votes cast for elected representatives, which makes it possible to assess what proportion of the population effectively contributed to the mandate of local political elites. The spatial analysis reveals long-term stable patterns. Higher levels of electoral support are found in small and peripheral municipalities and lower levels in large cities and metropolitan regions. In many urbanized municipalities, political representation is thus supported by only a minority of the eligible population.
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