THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON VOTER TURNOUT (ON THE EXAMPLE OF REGIONAL ELECTIONS 2020 IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32689/2523-4625-2022-2(62)-6Keywords:
COVID-19, regional elections, Czech Republic, electoral turnout, electoral cycles.Abstract
The global pandemic of COVID-19 creates a range of problems not only of a medical but also of a sociopolitical nature. The most topical problem of the “Covid- period” in political life throughout the world is regular elections. In the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, holding elections became a serious challenge for world Governments, because the final format of the expression of will is unclear. The coronavirus pandemic was supposed to have a negative impact on voter turnout due to the electorate’s fear of getting infected at the polling stations. The article proves that the coronavirus pandemic only partially affected voter turnout in the Czech Republic. In the elections to Regional Assemblies in October 2020, voter turnout even improved and amounted to 37.95%. In the previous regional elections of 2016, the turnout was 34.57%. The 2020 elections took place under anti-Covid measures imposed by the Government, which led to permanent political crises. Between September 2020 and April 2021, five health ministers were replaced. The study findings confirm that in the Czech regions with the largest number of Covid-patients, the voter turnout was above average. The situation with the coronavirus in the Central Bohemia region was the most problematic, although the election turnout was more than 40%. The lowest number of infected people was recorded in the Ústí nad Labem region, but the voter turnout was one of the lowest at just over 31%. Among the electorate, only five percent believe that the pandemic may affect their turnout, and 63% do not consider the pandemic to be a problem in the elections at all. Thus, voter turnout changed qualitatively, not quantitatively. The coronavirus pandemic has reduced the turnout of older people the most, while young people have increased their electoral activity. This trend affected the final results of the regional elections.
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