Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview WG1: 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 and due to the strong decentralization (fiscal, political), the number of mayors in Slovakia significantly exceeds the average of European countries. This inevitably puts the pressure on the number of candidates in elections. There was zero competition in one out of five municipalities, and only two candidates run for the mayoral office in one thirds of municipalities in 2014 mayoral election in Slovakia. This paper analyses competitiveness in mayoral elections in Slovakia and explores factors which may affect the number of candidates in elections but also the quality of competition in terms of the strength of the candidates (results tightness). 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?
