Post on 17-Dec-2015
PARTIES AND ELECTIONSJĀNIS IKSTENS
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
Political parties – ever more inclusive?
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Growing party penetration since 2007– Number of parties doubled– Number of party members grew by 70%– Low formal hurdles– Numerous local (!) parties
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Growing regulation and enforcement– Registry of party members– Minimum structure of decision making– Party/campaign finance restrictions
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• High salience of election campaigns• Party finance– Private donations– Insignificant membership fees– Direct state funding since 2012
5.2
0.49
0.63
DonationsMembership feesState subsidy
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Internal party democracy– Leader-centered war machines in hostile
circumstances
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Low public trust in political parties– Government efficiency– Corruption – Issues of representation
• Main issue – limitation of undue (external) influence
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
Elections – accountability at work?
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Decrease in voter turnout– Low trust in political efficacy– Socio-economic factors– Peculiarities of statistics
1993. 1995. 1998. 2002. 2006. 2010. 2011. 2014.0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
89.9
71.9 71.9 71.5
61 63.159.4 58.8
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Above-average voter volatility– Dissatisfaction with social/economic
development– Low entrace thresholds for newcomers– Party finance and low institutionalization of
parties
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Growing use of preference votes– Political sophistication– Age – Ethnic minorities
2002. 2006. 2010. 2011. 2014.55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
58.6
60.3
63.6
58
62.4
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Elections results accepted domestically and internationally– Wider participation opportunities– Good administration of elections– Measures against electoral fraud– Election observation (domestic/international)
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
• Avenues for further exploration– i-voting– Citizen associations eligible to field candidates– Wider access of candidates to media– Restrictions on KGB officers– NGOs and campaigning
• Main issue – falling turnout
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?
Thank you!