Or are voters in these cities deeply and fundamentally opposed to the principle of elected mayors?
The right to vote forms the foundation of representative democracy, that is, democracy based on the principle of citizens electing a group of people to represent their interests.
I wish it success, and I hope that in two years time we may have a constitution which all the citizens of the European Union can read and understand, and that we finally establish the principle of directly electing the President of the European Commission.
"One of the things that is abundantly clear, and something we will be saying to the government, is that people are not against the principle of ERA (elected regional assemblies) - they did not like the package.
So a guiding principle of President-elect Bush's foreign policy will be that America stands ready to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world; any country that puts the law in place and begins to live by that rule, any country that seeks peace and prosperity and a place in the sun.
Senior Lib Dems have warned of "serious consequences" if the government gives up on the principle of a mainly elected Lords and there has been speculation they may block changes to parliamentary constituencies expected to favour the Conservatives at the next election.
In the western industrialized world, full of university graduates and marinated in principles of egalitarianism, the idea of electing a member of a racial minority to the highest office seems an astonishing breakthrough.
The deal supports the president-elect's principle of a firm timetable for leaving Iraq, but allows him to draw out the process beyond the 16-month withdrawal he promised in his campaign.
Evans told peers that while Strathclyde's recommendations were "compelling, and we are determined that the principle of the supremacy of the elected house should be upheld, we have no plans for now to introduce new primary legislation".
China supports the Leninist principle of "democratic centralism", but the elected National People's Congress has been described as a "rubber stamp" body.
