Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 26th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview I. Working Group on Local Government Author(s) Matus Sloboda Comenius University Bratislava Slovakia Cernenko Tomas, Title Determinants of Competitiveness in Mayoral Elections in Slovakia File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Matus Sloboda Abstract Slovakia is one of the most administrative fragmented countries in Europe, the average size of one municipality is 17 square kilometres and 1 700 inhabitants (Swianiewicz 2003). Due to the strong decentralization (fiscal, political), the number of mayors in Slovakia 3.5 times exceeds the average of European countries (IFP, 2017). This inevitably puts the pressure on the number of candidates in elections. Only one candidate run for mayoral office in one out of five municipalities, and only two candidates run for the office in thirds of municipalities in 2014 mayoral election in Slovakia. The competitiveness in elections can lead to better performance in office. Gordon and Huber (2007) analysed elections in Kansas and found out that higher competitiveness in elections (more candidates) increased the performance in office. There is also positive relationship between tight elections and turnout (Riker a Ordeshook, 1968). However, the size of the municipality explains competition only negligibly. Levit and Wolfram (1997) state that incumbents, who run for re-election, generally deters potential challengers from running in elections. Lawless (2012) confirmed that incumbency advantage inhibits electoral opportunities for previously excluded groups from politics like women and racial minorities. Systematic investigation of incumbent effects in mayoral election can help to understand the competitiveness in election. Other variables i.e. economic health of municipality, demography, or level of unemployment can also have a potential to increase explanatory strength of competitiveness analysis. In our paper, we will use regression models and methods of spatial analysis to try to explain the behaviour of candidates in mayoral elections. Questions we would like to answer are: Do the above-mentioned factors (such as economic health, effectiveness of the administration, social indicators) affect the number of candidates in elections? And are there any spatial dependencies?
