Geographical representation and re-selection prospects in party-centred contexts

Legislators often use parliamentary activities with a constituency focus to win personal votes or local selectorates’ support. However, little is known about whether geographically-targeted activities are an effective strategy to secure a seat in party-centred contexts, i.e. with low electoral incentives and exclusive and centralized selectorates. This study explores how legislators’ attention to local issues affects their re-selection chances and placement on party lists. I argue that the party leadership may consider geographical representation an asset or a liability depending on individual MPs’ roles within parties and the types of parliamentary activities employed, reflecting an intra-party division of labour. Using data from three Italian elections (2006–2013) under closed-list PR and centralized candidate selection, the findings suggest that, in such contexts, party leaders may discourage MPs from representing their geographic constituencies.