ABSTRACT
The introduction of competitive elections in post-Communist countries has encouraged viewing transformation in terms of democratization, that is, a process in which a new regime progresses more or less steadily to the point at which it is consolidated as a democratic state. But events have shown that elections with multiple parties on the ballot are not necessarily free and fair. Thus, elections are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the creation of a democratic state. In the words of John Stuart Mill, elections can create ‘representative institutions without representative government’.
