Kaunas city council elections in 1924 : the electoral campaign and its results

• Latvijos universiteto darbų archyvas: numerio tekstas

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Kaunas; Rinkimai; Miesto taryba; Rinkimų kampanija; Vietos demokratija; Kaunas; Elections; City council; Electoral campaign; Local democracy.

ENKaunas is one of the key cities of Lithuania. After Poland had occupied the historical Lithuanian capital Vilnius in 1919, Kaunas became the provisional capital, where the central government institutions were transferred. According to the data of the 1923 census, the composition of the population of Kaunas was as follows: 59% Lithuanians, 27% Jews, 4.5% Poles, 3.5% Germans, and 3.2% Russians (Lietuvos gyventojai 1923). However, other sources cast doubt especially on the low number of Poles in the census (Giertych 1938). The Kaunas City Council elections were a platform for the conflict between ethnic groups. Even though municipal activities are typically economy-related, electoral campaigns highlighted the perspectives of various movements regarding ethnic issues. In democratic countries, everyone is ensured equal rights in various areas, including participation in public life and politics. Thus, elections are a particularly important tool to elect the representatives who would provide the maximum representation of the votersí views. [Extract, p. 188]