Compared to the previous election, the turnout in the last election to the Chamber of Deputies declined dramatically (76.3% of eligible voters in 1996; 73.9% in 1998 but only 58.0% in 2002). This election brought two surprises: in addition to the above-mentioned low turnout, the election also resulted in unwelcome significant gains for the KSCM. There is a great resemblance between some parameters of these two developments.
Until recently, respondents participating in opinion polls were reluctant to admit that they would vote communists in parliamentary elections. However, recent surveys conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre reveal that this reluctance has become a thing of the past. On the other hand, there is now an increase in respondents who say that they are going to participate in an election or, following the election, claim to have participated in it, in spite of the fact that the turnout was lower by roughly 20%.
