Parties and Local Democracy 1996: Electors

The survey compared Finnish voters with the members of seven largest political parties, candidates of the 1996 municipal elections and municipal council members. The respondents were asked which party they would vote for in the next parliamentary elections and which party they had voted for in the municipal elections. If the respondents had voted in the municipal elections, reasons for candidate and party choice were surveyed. Non-voters were asked why they had not voted. The role of the media in municipal elections was charted. There were questions about the members' activity in the parties and their interest in elective offices. The respondents were presented with statements concerning municipal policy and politics in general. They were asked to assess to what extent the work of councillors is appreciated, whether they saw themselves as representatives of their background groups in their parties, and how important it was that the municipal council was representative of the municipal electorate. The present state and development needs of a number of municipal services and tasks were evaluated. The party members were questioned about how municipal democracy, service production and efficiency of decision-making could be improved. Finally, the respondents were asked who had real influence in their home municipality, how active party members they thought themselves to be, and how active their own local association was. Background variables included the respondent's sex, age, occupational group, vocational education, type of employer, household income, type of residence, and municipality of residence.