PR as a Tool of Political Technologies (on the Example of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections in Kyrgyzstan)

The main task of elections in a democratic state is not only to elect representatives of power, but also to ensure the legitimacy of newly elected persons and the political system as a whole. Today, elections are one of the most democratic ways for voters to freely express their opinion in matters of appointing the heads of legislative and executive bodies of power. Consequently, the most important and indispensable condition for a democratic system is free elections. Elections are designed to perform functions such as electing a new political elite, resolving conflicts, reflecting the interests and opinions of various peoples, social strata and groups of society, mobilizing the population to support party programs and social values, etc. PR-technologies occupy a special place in election campaigns. In this regard, the article examines PR-technologies used by parties in the 2020 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. The study covers the time period from September 4 to October 3, 2020. As part of the study, a linguistic analysis of information posted on the official websites and social pages of parties, media reports and reports of relevant organizations was carried out. Based on the results of the study, a number of practical recommendations have been developed that must be taken into account during the next parliamentary and presidential elections.

Were Elections in the Socialist Countries Elections at All? The Case of Elections to the Sejm in Communist-Ruled Poland

The article presents the current state of research into parliamentary elections in Poland during the period of communist rule. The author outlines the development of the electoral system of the Polish People’s Republic in the 1940s and 50s, and also analyses its singular features in the years when elections to the Sejm were fully controlled by the ruling Polish United Workers’ Party. The final part of the paper is devoted to elections in the 1980s, when this electoral model collapsed, thereby contributing to the disintegration of the communist dictatorship in Poland.

Populism, Its Prevalence, and Its Negative Influence on Democratic Institutions

Populism is presented as a severe challenge to democracies as it delegitimises the institutions and processes on which democratic society is built. The infectious nature of populism within a system drives a shift in the public mood. The authors investigate this phenomenon through a content analysis of party posts on Facebook during the 2019 European parliamentary elections across 12 countries. They find almost a quarter of posts contain some form of populism, with anti-elitism the most common trope. Populist appeals are most likely to accompany critiques of labour and social policy, labelling elites or minority groups as causing inequalities which disadvantage the ordinary people. Both forms of populism enjoy high levels of user engagement suggesting they gain higher levels of reach within social media platforms. As support for populism rose in the wake of the economic and migrant crises, the authors suggest post-pandemic this increase is likely to continue.

Political Process in Bulgaria: Failed Coalition and the Third Parliamentary Elections during One Year

The article analyzes the political process in the Republic of Bulgaria and a number of elections to the National Assembly,which in 2021 were already in April, July and announced for November.The factors, which influenced the need to hold parliamentary elections three times in a row.This shows, that the state is going through a difficult period of instability and turbulence.Building a democratic state governed by the rule of law in Bulgaria,despite its membership in the EU, it is still in its infancy. The author emphasizes that the state is growing alienated from democratic political processes and despair of their effectiveness.This requires legal regulation of the following issues:ensuring universal suffrage;the possibility of campaigning and outreach among voters on others,in addition to the state (Bulgarian) languages,after all, large minorities live in Bulgaria (Turkish, Roma, etc.);improving the financing of election campaigning and the mechanism for appealing the results of parliamentary electionsbased on the transition from indirect to direct appeal by election participants to the NZB of their results. Solving the main problem of Bulgaria – reducing corruption,in fact, it did not happen.Positive success in the fight against corruption can be achieved with the support of the population,his belief that the state will be able to defeat corruption,clear enforcement of anti-corruption measures in various government agencies and institutions.The growth of political consciousness of citizens,which is expressed in a broad protest movement,in the medium term may become the internal basis for the formation of real,rather than a formal electoral system organized according to European standards.

Increasing the Popularity of Antisystem (Non-Traditional) Parties in the Czech Republic

The article examines the course of the elections to the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, their role and place in the political process of the country. The author argues that pluralism of opinion and multiparty system in the Czech Republic practically confirm their real strength, as evidenced by the participation of many parties in parliamentary elections and the fact, that that nine of them managed to overcome the 5% barrier and to obtain a certain number of deputy mandates. The programs of parliamentary parties are analyzed, their main election slogans and the results they achieved in the elections. Much attention in the article is paid to the winner of this election – the centrist political force – movement "Action of dissatisfied citizens", whose leader was appointed Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Emphasis is placed on new trends in the political process, which were confirmed during the will of the people. Among them, the author highlights the growing popularity of anti-system (non-traditional) parties. In their election statements, these parties set out to protest the change in the political system of society. Along with this process, the crisis of traditional parties deepened, who were previously members of the governing bodies of the state, but they failed to demonstrate their compliance with voter inquiries, who sought solutions to pressing issues. This is confirmed by the results of traditional Czech parties – Communist Party of the Czech Republic and Moravia, which managed to get only 7.76% of the vote of the voters and the leader of the previous elections – the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won the support of only 7.27% of voters, having lost almost 13% of the vote in four years.

Populism in Moldova’s Informal Political System

The 2020 presidential and 2021 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova saw a clear victory of the populist Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) of the newly elected president Maia Sandu over the pro-Russian coalition led by former presidents Igor Dodon and Vladimir Voronin. These results testify the citizens’ will to change a country with an ever-widening gap between politicians and populace. Since 2015, the political debate is centred on corruption, but the cases described draw the picture of a political landscape where practices go beyond the traditional understanding of the term. In fact, their analysis demonstrates the existence of a system of Soviet political culture which relies on informal practices of the elite, arguing that some of these practices have clear Soviet roots while others are an adaptation of the Soviet mentality to the new liberal democratic setting. The paper also highlights differences between the populist parties born either as a reaction to the system or as an adaptation of the elite response to perceived expectations of the electorate. This research took place between 2020 and 2021 utilising participant observation and semi-structured interviews with Moldovan political experts. The paper concludes that future research on Moldovan politics should incorporate analysis of this informal dimension to state politics which is core to public debate on corruption and the integrity of state institutions in Moldova.

Парламентские выборы в контексте развития избирательного законодательства в Республике Узбекистан

This article is devoted to the analysis of the evolution and current state of electoral legislation in Uzbekistan. The author examines the process of the electoral legislation’s formation and development after Uzbekistan gained independence, gives a description of its features, as well as the dynamics of the electoral policy’s development in the country. Much attention is paid to the reasons, development process of and adoption of the Electoral Code, as well as innovations included in it after testing at the last parliamentary elections. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the political parties’ role in the electoral process in the context of the multi-party system formation.

Polityka w cieniu koronawirusa

Politics in the Shadow of COVID-19: Parliamentary Election in the Kingdom of the Netherlands On March 15-17, 2021, the first parliamentary elections in the European Union during the pandemic took place in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The political authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands decided to hold the elections despite severe sanitary restrictions and curfew. On January 15, 2021, the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, chairman of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), handed over the resignation of the entire government to the King. The immediate cause was the report of the parliamentary investigative commission announced in December 2020 on the extremely restrictive operation of local tax offices in connection with government child benefits. Mark Rutte has been running the country efficiently since 2010 and was also a favorite in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The elections were conducted without any disturbances. 37 parties were admitted to elections, the largest number in the post-war history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The election winners were ruling party VVD party and progressive liberals from D’66. The discussion on the formation of the new government has already started and is accompanied by great emotions. It is going to be a long period of negotiations and their results are difficult to be predicted. The article presents the main actors of this parliamentary game.

Wybory parlamentarne w Serbii w 2020 roku – szczyt dominacji politycznej Serbskiej Partii Postępowej?

Serbia’s Parliamentary Elections in 2020: The Peak of Political Domination of the Serbian Progressive Party? The Serbian parliamentary elections in 2020 were not groundbreaking in political terms, but their results directly determine the immediate future of Serbs. Taking into account the current geopolitical situation in Serbia, it should be emphasized that the next four years may prove critical for the international position of this country. The elections on June 21 were special due to the circumstances in which they were held. Among them, the global problem should be mentioned – the coronavirus pandemic, which paralyzed the functioning of many countries, including Serbia. The second important factor relates to the largest anti-government protests since 2000, which began in late 2018 and lasted until the state of emergency declaration due to the threat of COVID-19. The results of the parliamentary elections in 2020 should be interpreted as the strengthening of the Serbian Progressive Party and its leader Aleksandar Vučić. Moreover, it is a clear signal that the opposition still do not have adequate public support to compete effectively with the ruling party. Nowadays, there are no political conditions for an alternation of power in Serbia. Following the impressive victory in the parliamentary elections, the Serbian Progressive Party may continue the process of increasing influence in the most important state organs.