ELECTIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA

Abstract

The paper will discuss the European Parliament elections held in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. So far, these countries have participated in the four election cycles sincetheir membership in the Union. What is characteristic of both countries is relatively low voter turnout in the elections for the EP, which in Slovakia in all four election cycles was the lowest on the level of the European Union. Considering previous electoral cycles, we will try to point out some trends that marked the participation of these two countries in the European Parliament elections. We will present all relevant political parties and actors who have so far achieved significant electoral results and who, or are still, are members of the European Parliament. Since the first elections for the European Parliament in which the Czech Republic and Slovakia took part, a large number of political parties held seats in the EP. This is largely a consequence of the fragmented political scene in these countries, where a large number of new political groups and parties emerged that quickly gained supporters and voters. Many large and previously established parties were defeated in the elections, with which a large number of voters bowed to new political parties. The news of the European elections in 2019 is the entry of extreme right parties to the European Parliament, in both of these states. In these elections, the turnout of voters increased comparing it to the previous election cycles, but nevertheless remained the lowest on the level of the whole Union.