DO LEADERS MATTER? A CASE STUDY FOR THE LOCAL ELECTIONS IN ROMANIA, IASI COUNTY, FROM 2020 -2024

This article aims to make a theoretical incursion on electoral behaviour through the prism of the relations that matter when voters choose, insisting on determinisms that can matter to them: the relationships between political leaders and the parties they belong to. Starting from the theoretical analyses carried out, especially for the electoral rounds at the national/central level, the article aims to outline the formula of determinism between local leaders appointed for mayors in local elections to influence the results of the electoral elections about the vote obtained by the parties for the nomination of the elected representatives proposed for the Local Councils / the parties to which they belong. The proposed analysis is quantitative, and exploratory, starting from the results obtained in Iasi County in the local elections of 2020 and 2024 for the appointment of Mayors (political leaders) and Local Councils (parties).