świetokrzyskie

Local democracy and the idea of term limits voits (mayors) For some time there is a debate on the term of office mayor sand presidents of cities. Subject of the article is to analyze views on democracy and indicators of democracy, including the local dimension in the context of the controversy over the long cadence reeves impact on the functioning of local government. The author also extends to public opinion polls on the issue of limiting the cadence of mayors. We are analyzing the arguments of supporters and opponents of limiting the cadence of executive power in municipalities, as well as the dilemmas associated with the consequences of such restrictions for the quality of democracy. Limiting cadence has as many supporters as opponents - both sides have serious arguments for their positions. Key words: democracy, local democracy, local elections, cadences mayors and presidents of cities

The subject of discussion in this article is the issue of the referendum repealing the executive authorities in the municipality. In recent years the number of referenda repealing mayors and presidents of cities has significantly increased. Nonetheless, the low effectiveness of theses referendums caused by low voter turnout results surprising. It seems as if the repealing referendums turned from the strongest direct democracy institution into a tool that the potential candidates for mayor use for eliminating from the electoral list people that fulfill these functions for many consecutive years. The lack of effectiveness of the repealing referendums seems to attest to the fact that local communities are rarely willing to participate in such activities. This article contains the results of the surveys on public attitudes towards repealing referendums, as well as the measurement of attitudes towards non-participation in the repealing referendum in order to invalidate them.

e-mail: janinakowalik(at)op.pl S łowa kluc zowe samorząd, wójt, burmistrz, limitowanie kadencji Abstrak t Artykuł zawiera garść refleksji na temat koncepcji limitowania kadencji wójtów, burmistrzów, prezydentów miast w kontekście słabości społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w Polsce. Poważne argumenty o deformacji systemu samorządowego przytaczane przez zwolenników ograniczenia dopuszczalnych kadencji krzyżują się z przekonaniem przeciwników zmian, którzy powołują się na podstawowe wartości, które legły u podstaw samorządu, oraz konstytucyjne wolności. Wszystkie argumenty pomijają znaczenie aktywności społeczności lokalnej, która w normalnych warunkach odgrywa rolę regulatora w systemie samorządowym. The condition of civil society in the context of the idea of limiting the term of office of mayors and city presidents Key words local government, the mayor, limiting the term of office Abstrac t The article contains a handful of reflections on the concept of limiting the term of office of mayors and city presidents in the context of the weakness of civil society in Poland. Serious arguments about the deformation of the system of local government cited by supporters of restricting the permissible term of office collide with the conviction of opponents of change, who plead on the fundamental values that underlie self-government and constitutional freedoms. All of these arguments ignore the significance of the activity of the local community, which normally fills the role of the regulator in the system of local government. nr 3/2016 (37) Kondycja społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w kontekście idei limitowania kadencji wójtów, burmistrzów, prezydentów miast nr 3/2016 (37) Kondycja społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w kontekście idei limitowania kadencji wójtów, burmistrzów, prezydentów miast Cytowanie

The subject of the below deliberations in this text article is the quality and functioning conditions of public sphere in localities, and its image in local communities. The author ponders the question of responsibility identifi cation for issues recognized as public, for almost three decades of the Republic of Poland self-governance. While using own observations and researches of others, the author attempts to formulate an answer to the question if there is an interrelation between a public discourse and political divisions, the scope of party involvement of public sphere, as well as citizens' infl uence on current decisions and settlings in the area of public sphere via institutions or citizens' budget. While identifying serious defi cits in local public sphere, the author poses an unsolved question about a possibility of fi xing public sphere defi cits with the help of instruments used by the Internet community.