“Get Brexit Done!” Comments on the election to the UK House of Commons on December 12, 2019

The 12 December 2019 General Election was a turning point in the recent political his- tory of the United Kingdom. It ended one turbulent period in which British politics was characterized by high instability and indecision. Above all, it ended the extended dead- lock with the work on ending the exit of the United Kingdom of the European Union (Brexit). It is clear that the result of the 2019 General Election was the culmination of the 2016 referendum on EU membership. The ruling Tories led by Prime Minister Bo- ris Johnson stood for the elections under the slogan “get Brexit done”. As a result, the elections met the criteria for a second, indirect Brexit referendum. By winning the elec- tions, the conservatives obtained a public mandate to complete the process of leaving the EU. The purpose of this article is to analyze the genesis and course of the 2019 elec- tions to the House of Commons and to attempt to answer the question about the conse- quences of the election results.

Postal vote during the Covid-19 pandemic. Experiences from the Polish presidential election in 2020

In order to guarantee a higher level of implementation of the principle of universality of elections, many countries introduce additional (other than voting at a polling station) forms of voting in elections. Postal voting is one of the most popular alternative voting methods – complementary to traditional voting. If this form is the only way to partici- pate in elections – there appear doubts as to the low degree of guarantee of the principle of universality. The aim of this article is to analyze Poland’s rather limited experienc- es with postal voting, with particular emphasis on the organization of elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Independence referenda in Catalonia and the reaction of the European Union

The article deals with the issues of independence referenda in Catalonia and the reaction of the European Union to them. These referenda were held in 2014 and 2017, with no approv- al from the Spanish government. At the beginning of the 21 st century, regionalist and na- tionalist movements have developed in the Member States of the European Union. An im- portant determinant of these centrifugal forces was the economic crisis in Europe, which activated separatist tendencies in the economically developed regions of the EU. An ex- ample of such secessionism is Catalonia, where there was a revival of regional nationalism manifested by the wave of separatist movements. Disputes over the independence of Cata- lonia have been an important topic of consideration in the European Union in the context of its integrity. This text concentrates on the causes, course, and consequences of the inde- pendence referenda in Catalonia as well as on the EU’s reactions to the Catalonian crisis.

Awakening of the young generation. Political activity of youth – a case study

In modern democracies, the fundamental type of political activities of citizens is electoral participation of all eligible groups. The appearance of the youth issue in the political discourse is the result of recognizing the young generation as a signif- icant social group. The young generation is perceived through the prism of innova- tion, potential and driving force of any changes. In discussions about the future of democracy, the young generation appears very often as a sign of hope for a better world based on mutual understanding, respect, trust, and solidarity. The youngest voters have the potential to bring new values to social life thanks to which we can become a full-scale civil society. Therefore, it is important to mobilize this social group to exercise their full rights.

Rights of national minorities in the election law of the Croatian Sabor

The article is devoted to the election law in force in the Republic of Croatia, in particu- lar to the provisions regulating the procedure for electing representatives of national mi- norities. In Croatia, the electoral system for the Sabor consists of three separate methods of selecting deputies. The first and fundamental one involves the election of 140 deputies in 10 constituencies. In each of the constituencies, 14 representatives are elected on the basis of a proportional system, using the d’Hondt method and the 5% electoral thresh- old applied to the constituency scale. The second is used in the election of three repre- sentatives of the Croatian diaspora. The constituency is the entire world, and the distri- bution of seats is also made proportionally using the d’Hondt method. The third, used in the election of 8 representatives of national minorities, is the majority system. The ar- ticle analyzes the method of electing minority representatives and the consequences of applying this election procedure.

Non-electoral tasks of the National Electoral Commission

Apart from its main functions connected with preparing and holding elections, the Na- tional Electoral Commission has to fulfill many other tasks entrusted to it both by the Election Code and by many other acts. Therefore, we can divide these tasks into two cat- egories: the tasks of an electoral nature and the tasks of a non-electoral nature. The arti- cle presents the tasks carried out by the National Electoral Commission in the non-elec- toral sphere. Among them there are also particularly significant issues connected with financing the politics, both in terms of considering the reports of political parties and electoral committees. The wide scope of tasks performed by the National Electoral Com- mission, including those that have a direct impact on the shaping of Polish democrat- ic system substantiate the thesis about the necessity of constitutionalization of the Na- tional Electoral Commission.

The problem of the grounds and procedure for rejecting the financial statements of the election committee

Financial statement is an important element in checking the compliant financing of an election campaign. According to the Election Code, the financial representative of the election committee should submit to the election body to which the election committee previously submitted a notification of its establishment, a financial report on the com- mittee’s revenues, expenses and liabilities, including bank loans obtained and loans con- ditions. In this situation, the financial statement may be submitted to the National Elec- toral Commission as well as to other election bodies. However, if the report was rejected by the election commissioner, the financial representative may appeal against such de- cision to the District Court. Judicial practice shows that it was disputed whether a com- plaint could be brought in a situation where the report was accepted, but at the same time the identified shortcomings were identified. The content of the obligatory statuto- ry grounds for rejecting the report was also questioned.

Competitive advantage of political parties financed by the state budget in Poland

The article concerns the principles of financing of political parties in Poland. The thesis about creating a competitive advantage of the parties financed from the state budget over other parties was verified. An analysis of the amount of subsidies and other funds paid to eligible political parties was carried out. Particular attention was paid to the domina- tion of funds from the budget over other sources of finance of the largest political par- ties. In conclusion, it was proposed to significantly limit the statutory subsidy and, as a consequence, replace it with voluntary taxation of citizens.