The Electoral Framework and the Politics of Representation

The framework that governs electoral competition in Ireland has a profound impact on the democratic cast and character of the country’s political life. The institutionalization and organization of both constitutional referendums and national general elections constrain and shape its capacity for responsible decision-making. The former has become an increasingly significant focus of electoral decision, the latter have fostered a conservative politics in which representative impulses overwhelm the party system’s ability to provide for disciplined choice. Despite a party-focused proportional representation electoral regime, the use of the single transferable vote has generated a politician–party–voter dynamic privileging a constituency-centred politics that has persisted in the face of the social and economic changes that have transformed much of Irish life.

Ruling but not Governing: Tutelary Regimes and the Case of Myanmar

The article sheds light on tutelary regimes, which have so far been left out in the discussion of contemporary authoritarian regimes. It uses a configurative approach to conceptualize tutelary regimes according to the three dimensions of tutelary interference, electoral competitiveness and civil liberties. Tutelary interference is conceived of as a spectrum of possible and not mutually exclusive roles which tutelary powers perform – depending on their position in the political system. Empirically, the article uses a case study of Myanmar's tutelary regime to illustrate how the armed forces’ institutionalized powers and prerogatives have helped the country evade substantial democracy. The results show a high degree of regime heterogeneity, with a functioning electoral regime in place but substantial weaknesses in civil liberties. Both are (partly) rooted in the tutelary interference of the military, which is pervasive. The military's position straitjackets the government; the military vetoes certain policies and structural reforms and guards the political system and its prerogatives from a position of strength. Politicians have so far not come up with successful strategies to bring the military under civil control.

La reforma de la legislación audiovisual y de la cobertura electoral en España

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to propose the reform of the regulation in force in Spain on the coverage and treatment of information in the audiovisual media during electoral campaigns, in relation to the mandatory transposition into Spanish legislation, before the end of 2020, of Directive 1808/2018 of audiovisual communication. Methodology: For this, a review of the most relevant legislation in the field is carried out, including the Organic Law of Electoral Regime (LOREG by its acronym in Spanish) of 1985, the different laws of creation of public and private media, General 7/2010 Law of Audiovisual (LGA by its acronym in Spanish), the European Audiovisual Services Directive approved in 2018 and the regulation in other European countries on the organization of electoral debates and disinformation campaigns. Results: Although the 35 years of validity of the LOREG and its jurisprudence condition the legal framework of the audiovisual coverage of the electoral campaigns, it is possible to include in the transposition and reform of the LGA 7/2010 the regulation of the debates and new measures on the protection of pluralism, independence, and verification against fake news, issues that a group of Spanish academics raised during the public consultation of the Secretary of State for Digital Advancement (SEAD by its acronym in Spanish) of the Ministry of Economy and Business (MEE by its acronym in Spanish) on the transposition of Directive 1808/2018.

Estatutos de Autonomía y sistemas electorales autonómicos

Este trabajo se ocupa de examinar la confluencia entre el estatuto de autonomía y el sistema electoral, como exponentes máximos de dos sectores fundamentales del Derecho constitucional español: el régimen autonómico y el régimen electoral. A este propósito, se da cuenta del contenido de los estatutos sobre el sistema electoral autonómico, se calibra su importancia, se individualizan las aportaciones realizadas al conjunto del Derecho electoral, en especial el español, y se concluye, finalmente, con una valoración de la regulación y una breve referencia a la posición del Tribunal Constitucional sobre los escasos conflictos planteados.This paper deals with examining the confluence between the statute of autonomy and the electoral system, as maximum exponents of two fundamental sectors of Spanish constitutional law: the autonomous regime and the electoral regime. For this purpose, the content of the statutes on the autonomous electoral system is realized, its importance is calibrated, the contributions made to the electoral law as a whole, especially Spanish, are individualized, and it is concluded, finally, with an assessment of the regulation and a brief reference to the position of the Constitutional Court on the few conflicts raised.

Reforma electoral en Canarias: génesis, alcance, implementación e incidencia práctica

La reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Canarias, aprobada mediante la Ley Orgánica 2/2018, de 5 noviembre, ha supuesto la modificación de las bases del particular sistema electoral canario, insistentemente demandada por la doctrina constitucional y desde amplios sectores de la clase política y la sociedad civil canaria. Esta reforma incide en la dimensión del Parlamento de Canarias, supone la creación de una nueva circunscripción de ámbito autonómico, que coexiste con las tradicionales circunscripciones insulares, altera el prorrateo de escaños entre circunscripciones y reduce drásticamente las barreras electorales. Considerando que las nuevas bases del régimen electoral canario debían ser aplicadas necesariamente en las elecciones autonómicas celebradas en mayo de 2019, ofrecemos un análisis de los instrumentos jurídicos que, a falta de una ley electoral de desarrollo, fueron utilizados para su implementación. Finalmente, y atendiendo a los resultados de las mencionadas elecciones, presentaremos algunas reflexiones sobre la modesta incidencia práctica de la reforma.The reform of the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands, approved by Organic Law 2/2018, of 5 November, has finally changed the complex regime of the regional parliamentary elections, persistently demanded by constitutional scholars and civil society. This reform affects the dimension of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, involves the creation of a new regional constituency, which coexists with the traditional island constituencies, alters the apportionment of seats and drastically reduces the electoral thresholds. Considering that the new electoral regime must be applied in the regional elections held in May 2019, we offer an analysis of the legal instruments used for its implementation. Finally, and taking into account the results of the aforementioned elections, we will present some reflections on the modest practical impact of the reform.

Pergeseran Rezim Sistem Pemilihan Kepala Daerah di Indonesia

Penelitian ini bertujuan menguraikan pergeseran sistem pemilihan kepala daerah dari rezim pemilihan umum ke rezim Pemerintahan Daerah. Pergeseran ini berdampak kepada peralihan kewenangan penyelesaian sengketa dari Mahkamah Konstitusi ke Mahkamah Agung sebagai konsekuensi Putusan MK Nomor 97/PUU–XI/2013. Putusan MK berimpilikasi kepada sistem pemilihan kepala daerah (Pilkada) yang berada di rezim pemilihan umum beralih ke rezim pemerintahan daerah, setelah putusan tersebut undang-undang mengamanatkan pembentukan peradilan khusus Pilkada yang berada di bawah kekuasaan Mahkamah Agung. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan yuridis normatif dengan bertumpu pada studi dokumen berupa bahan hukum. Penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa meski tidak lagi menjadi kewenangan MK untuk mengadili perkara Pilkada, MK masih mengadili sengketa Pilkada hingga peradilan khusus Pilkada terbentuk. Peradilan khusus Pilkada selain mengadili sengketa hasil dapat mengadili sengketa proses, terkait sengketa administrasi Pilkada, sengketa Pidana Pilkada termasuk mengadili perihal election fraud dan corrupt campaign practice. Sistem penyelesaian sengketa Pilkada dilakukan melalui satu atap, sehingga tidak terjadi tumpang tindih putusan seperti yang terjadi selama ini. Shifting of Regime on Regional Election System in Indonesia This study aims to describe the shift of the regional election system from the general election regime to the regional district regime. The shift has an impact on the tranfer of authority to resolve disputes from Constitutional Court to Supreme Court as a consequence of the Constitutional Court Decision Number 97/PUU-XI/2013. The decision implied to the regional election system (Pilkada) which was in the electoral regime moved to the regional government regime, after the ruling mandated the establishment of a special election court under the authority of the Supreme Court. This research uses a normative juridical approach by analyzing law documents. The research concluded that although adjudicating of regional election disputes was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, but the Court still adjudicate election disputes until a special court was formed. In addition to adjudicating disputes over results, the Election Special Court can also adjudicate election disputes related to process, administrative, criminal disputes including hearing about election fraud and corrupt campaign practice. Pilkada dispute resolution system is done through one roof, so there is no overlapping of decisions as has happened so far.

The Serbian Socialist Party Attitudes towards the EU through the Lens of Party Programmes

In this paper, we will analyse the attitudes of the oldest political party in Serbia (the Socialist Party of Serbia – SPS) towards the European Union from the party’s establishment to the present day. We have chosen this party for two important theoretical and methodological reasons. First, it is the only party in Serbia to inherit the continuity of socialist heritage, i.e. the only one to retain the socialist nomenclature when, at least nominally, party pluralism, an electoral regime and the transformation to capitalism began. The second reason is that the SPS is the largest left-wing party in Serbia, and one of the largest parties in Serbia in general. In this paper, we will apply a narrative analysis of the party’s most important legal documents. The focus of our analysis will be on documents from 2010 and 2014, but to be able to follow the historical development of the attitudes of the SPS towards the EU, we have also included a document from 1990 in the analysis.

PANCASILA DAN IDENTITAS KE-INDONESIA-AN: Sebuah Catatan Krisis

The term there is no legislation under development of Pancasila as the basis of the state, but theposition of Pancasila is unshakeable. The anti-Pancasila attitude must also be anti-diversity that can live as a nation and a state [national crises]. Without affirmation or not in the legislation, Pancasila is the ‘foundation and ideology of the state’. Based on the fact that there is irrelevant when the question arises, whether Pancasila is still needed as the basis of state and nation, or is Pancasila still needed as a source of national law that explicitly needs to be affirmed into the1945 Constitution and the sanctions of Pancasila tabulatively? This paper is an assertion of [reinforcement] of the Pencasila as an ideology into the 1945 Constitution or not, highly dependent on the winning electoral regime and the ‘election-winning political party’. Pancasila as ‘the foundation and ideology of the state’ becomes the determinant of ‘as close as the regime of the results of the practice of direct democracy’. Therefore, the affirmation of the essentials in building a lasting and harmonious life of fellow children of the nation in the future. Recognizing the reintroduction of the Indonesia’s identity of essence of Pancasila as the ideology of nation and state is based on ‘national consensus’. This awareness is resilient, so that a country that has been established for more than 73 years does not experience an identity crisis.

The Art of Coercion: Repressions and Repressiveness in Putin’s Russia

While repressions are seen to be a backbone of authoritarian rule, there is a lack of case studies of repressions and repressive policies in different kinds of authoritarian regimes and their interaction with other mechanisms of authoritarian sustainability. As Russia has demonstrated a transition from ‘soft’ electoral authoritarianism to its more ‘hard’ version during Putin’s third term in office, the role of repressions has increased. What are their scope and functions in Russia during this reverse transition? This article offers an analysis of the causes, types and mechanisms of repressions, and presents various ways of measuring their scale as well as the sources and means of their legitimation within the framework of an electoral regime. It shows that the regime prefers to demonstrate its high repressiveness—its willingness and propensity to repress—but in a limited number of cases; it also describes the role of repressive populism, namely presenting repressions as a necessary response to multiplying threats, as well as the scope and function of counter-elite repressions. The latter are seen as no less important than political repressions in the regime’s reverse transition, and as the main leverage of redistribution of power and institutional rearrangement in its course.