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Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law [MPECCoL]

Elections

Sara Pennicino

Content type:
Encyclopedia entries
Product:
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law [MPECCoL]
Article last updated:
January 2017

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 13 May 2025

Subject(s):
Electoral oversight — Secret ballot — Right to vote — Civil and political rights

General Editors: Rainer Grote, Frauke Lachenmann, Rüdiger Wolfrum
Managing Editor: Martina Mantovani

1. An election is a process by which citizens are called to choose representatives to adopt important decisions in their interest, according to the principle of political representation, and to decide on specific matters. It is important to distinguish between the form and the substance of elections; in some cases, the electoral form is present but the substance of an election is missing (constitutionalism of illiberal regimes). When both form and substance are present, an election can be deemed democratic and it serves as the main mechanism through which popular...
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