Geografická reprezentativa poslanců zvolených do Poslanecké sněmovny českého parlamentu za první republiky (1918-1938) a po roce 1989

Abstract

Election laws regulate the number of deputies who are elected in individual electoral districts, and set them in relation to the population, respectively to the number of voters participating in elections in individual regions. Elected deputies could thus be regarded as political representatives of citizens living in electoral districts. However, under systems of proportional representation, current deputies represent the ideology of the party to which they belong rather than the region. Nevertheless, it makes sense to study the spatial distribution of the places of origin and residence of members of parliament and their changes over time, because it suggests much about the political system and the system of representative democracy in the country. The spatial distribution of places of residence of candidates and elected members indicates not only the territorial proportionality and geographic representativeness, but also the shifting centers of political power. The analysis clearly confirms the gradual decentralization and regionalization of political power in the country, which stands in contrast to the centralization of power in the economy, this latter trend apparent from the concentration of economic management and decision-making in the largest cities, especially in Prague.

The impact of closed and flexible candidate lists on the representation of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

“…It is the place of residence that is important from the point of view of the potential influence of the elected member of Parliament on the development of their residence, whether in legislation or the so -called portioning of the bear (e.g., Grossman -Helpman 2005;Latner -McGann 2005;Hána 2013). I also assume that the number of deputies with residence in Prague will decrease over time; on the contrary, the number of deputies from district towns or smaller municipalities will increase, as evidenced by Mikešová and Kostelecký (2016) or in the example of government members by Dvořák et al (2021). On the other hand, in the case of a strong position in the regional capital, a smaller number of places on the list of candidates, or a weak position of district and local cells of political parties, candidates from the capital of the region, i.e.…”

Nomination of Ministers According to the Areas of Electoral Support for Political Parties in Elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

“…It is now more important that political parties express values than that they represent particular segments of society (Lee 2007). On the other hand, it cannot be argued that the presence of a person from a given area does not have a direct impact on the redistribution of funds from the state coffers (Mikešová -Kostelecký 2016).…”

“…One of these relevant elements is geographical representation, i.e. the representation of an area by a representative who can defend the interests of the inhabitants of that area, as each area is different in the economic or political interests and identity of the inhabitants (Mikešová -Kostelecký 2016). Moreover, during the formation of government bodies, a situation arises where members of the government are selected by parties that have received sufficient support in elections.…”

Themes, approaches, and methods in the geographical analysis of Czech and Slovak parliamentary elections: a systematic review

“…Among the less common topics is the issue of territorial representation. Four of the five studies dealing with this topic concern Slovakia (Brunn and Vlčková 1994;Charvát 2016;Madleňák 2017;, with the remaining study dealing with the Czech territory (Mikešová and Kostelecký 2016). These studies mostly point out that central areas of both Czechia and Slovakia are significantly overrepresented among the deputies, whereas some peripheral areas have no representatives in parliament.…”