1. DID THE 2013 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS DESTABILIZE MUNICIPAL POLITICS IN QUEBEC?
- Author
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Mévellec, Anne
- Subjects
- *
LOCAL elections , *ELECTIONS , *INCUMBENCY (Public officers) , *PUBLIC officers ,QUEBECOIS politics & government, 1960- - Abstract
Could the municipal political scandals uncovered by the Charbonneau Commission exert an influence on a main characteristic of municipal politics: the stability of its politicians? This paper intends to explore this issue during the 2013 Quebec elections. To verify adherence and/or deviation from established trends, we adopt a diachronic view that considers the two previous elections (2005 and 2009). Three factors are taken into consideration when interpreting voter trends: (1) voter participation and the competitiveness of the elections; (2) the role of municipal political parties; and (3) the incumbency advantage. We observed (1) more competitive elections; (2) a shrinking number of political parties but evidences of their general stabilization; (3) a slight renewal of municipal politicians due more to withdrawal from office than to electoral defeat. Finally, our analysis of electoral data also uncovered variable dynamics within Quebec communities of different sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014