Frequently asked questions about municipal and national minority by-elections

  • Local government by-elections should be held

    • if the body of representatives (of a local government or national minority local government) is dissolved or dissolves itself (both dissolutions lead to a termination of the mandate of the mayor);
    • to have a mayor (or Lord Mayor) elected, if
      • the election of the mayor could not be held because no candidate was put forward;
      • the two or more candidates getting the most votes got the same number of votes, or
      • the mandate of the mayor is terminated;
    • in settlements with 10 000 inhabitants or less, if
      • less candidates are put forward than the number of seats (in this case the elections cannot be held and by-elections are organised for all seats);
      • at the election of representatives less representatives are elected than the number of representatives that can be elected (by-elections are organised for the vacant seats then);
      • the number of representatives went below the half of representatives that can be elected, and there are no more candidates on the multi-member that could seek for the vacant seats (in this case by-elections are held for the vacant seats);
    • in single-member constituencies of settlements with more than 10 000 inhabitants, if
      • the election to elect a representative in a single-member constituency could not be held because no candidate was put forward;
      • the two or more candidates getting the most votes got the same number of votes in a single-member constituency election, or
      • the mandate of a single-member constituency representative is terminated;
    • if the number of representatives in a national minority local government went below the number required for running the body of representatives.

  • The competent election commission has the duty to set the date (always a Sunday) for local government by-elections within a period of 120 days from the date on which the seat became vacant.

    Election day has to fall on the period between the 70th and the 90th day following the day on which the date for the election was set.

    Election day can not fall between the 1st of April of the year (e.g. 2019) in which the general election of local government representatives is held and the day on which the general election of local government representatives takes place, nor can it fall on a holiday, Easter Sunday, Sunday of Pentecost.

  • Voters having a domicile in the given constituency may participate in local government by-elections.

    Enrolled citizens receive a notification.

    As a further condition to participating in national minority by-elections, the voter has to request their registration on the voters’ list of the given national minority until 16.00 hours on the 16th day preceding polling day at the latest. Those who have already registered, do not have to request a new registration.

  • Independently of their domicile, any citizen having the right to vote can be a candidate at local government by-elections if they have collected the required number of recommendations.

    As a further condition to stand for national minority by-elections, the candidate has to be on the given minority’s electoral list, they have to declare that they speak the language of the minority, that they know the culture and the traditions of that national minority and that they are committed to represent that minority. They also have to declare that they were not the candidate of any other minority in the two previous general elections of national minority representatives and in by-elections that followed them.

  • There is no possibility of voting at foreign representations or voting by mail is not possible. Voting at a different polling station in a local government by-election is only possible if the domicile and the temporary address of the voter are in the same constituency (in the case of a single-member constituency election: in the same single-member constituency; in the case of a multi-member list voting or mayoral voting: in the same settlement). There is no possibility of voting at a different polling station in a by-election of local national minority representatives.

    Disabled persons may request a mobile ballot box in the given settlement.