Popular Sovereignty during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons from the Visegrád Countries. National and Local Elections in the Shadow of the Coronavirus

Abstract

The coronavirus crisis led to severe restrictions of numerous fundamental rights almost globally, amongst which the right to vote was also concerned. Our research article aims to integrate the experience of the Visegrád region into the emerging strand of international legal scholarship from the long-term impact of the public health emergency on electoral frameworks. Based on a research collaboration funded by the International Visegrád Fund, the study presents the adaptative measures implemented by the four Visegrád countries to hold national or municipal elections in the shadow of the global pandemic, and contextualizes these interventions in the light of the global electoral tendencies. Finally, based on our research, the expected features of post-COVID electoral frameworks in the Visegrád region were also provided. Alternative electoral regimes are discussed for the promotion of flexibility and resilience, which are grounded on the combined elements of the traditional voting system, on additional public health requirements, and also on the extensive application of postal- and electronic voting.

Keywords

• covid-19
• public health emergency
• elections
• visegrád region