The institutionalization of the political opposition within local authorities

Abstract

The phenomenon of opposition is the easiest to notice and most frequently analysed at the national, parliamentary-government level. However, it is also to be met at lower levels of power, for example in local, regional authorities. Among those we can distinguish communes, not least because of the monocratic executive body, elected in a direct way. The article analyzes the current institutional and legal solutions as well as the actual ones, which have a significant impact on the development and institutionalization of the opposition at the lowest level of regional authorities. The analysis confirmed the accepted thesis, according to which the existing constitutional arrangements for the municipalities in Poland are not conducive to the formation of the opposition in local authorities and their adverse impact is reinforced by the specific conditions of local governments.