Wybory Prezydenta RP w 2010 roku: studium znaczenia elektoratu dużych i średnich miast = Polish presidential election in 2010: A study of the power of voters in big and medium-sized towns

Abstract

Abstract:In the literature on the subject, urbanisation is regarded as one of the most important factors shaping electoral behaviour. The effect of this factor has also been corroborated by studies in Poland, where one can speak of urban-and rural-oriented parties. To determine the significance of the urban electorate in Poland, use was made of the procedure of backward elimination of voters in the successive biggest towns. The next step involved identifying the structure of support for the leading presidential contenders in the 2010 election at each stage of the rank elimination of the towns. It was already in the parliamentary elections at the start of the 21st century that big cities and the larger of medium-sized towns turned out to be their 'engines': with their highest voter turnouts, they crucially affected the results at the national scale. That is why an analysis was made of voter alignment in towns of this size category over the years [2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006][2007], and on this basis various electoral types of towns were distinguished.