Abstract: The environment of general dissatisfaction with public aff airs it is interesting to see that voter turnout in municipal elections remains relatively constant. Although it only moderately fl uctuates around 50 % of eligible voters, even elections to local government are registering an increase in the negative context of general disgust with politics. One of the phenomena demonstrating this trend is the higher number of elected nonpartisan deputies. The media in particular portrayed the recent election to local governments as the victory of independent candidates over the candidates of political parties. This paper aims to analyze candidates in the 2010 municipal elections and the differences in the opinions and attitudes of councillors in municipalities of 10,000+ inhabitants in the electoral period 2010–2014. As the focus is on the potential conflict in the views of party-affiliated candidates and non-party candidates, the main question is: Could the growing support for independent candidates be based on the differences between independent candidates and political candidates?

Keywords: Municipal elections, Independent candidates, Slovak Republic