Elections as a democratic way of creating bodies of public authority and the common good

Abstract

Elections in a democratic state, conducted in compliance with the rules allowing fair consideration to be given to the will of voters, are the primary means of establishing public authorities. They form one of the pillars of a state that derives its foundations from the will of the nation. The article analyses the electoral rights of citizens (i.e. the right to vote and the right to stand as candidates) from the point of view of respect for the principle of the common good. A separate part of this paper is devoted to reflections on the institutional design of the electoral system and electoral process. The article ends with a part devoted to the issues of creating and applying electoral law, with particular focus on the problem of legal stability. The conducted analysis leads to the conclusion that both, proper functioning of a pluralist electoral system supported by the Constitution and effective application of electoral law depend largely on the recognition of the common good as such by all participants of this system and on the implementation of the indications arising from this principle.