Election of heads of municipalities on a competitive basis: restriction of people's power or improvement of the institution of municipal representation?

Introduction: the article examines the institute of people's representation in terms of electing heads of municipalities using a competitive model. The author consistently analyzes the positive and negative aspects of the election of heads of municipalities by "competition". Materials and methods: the priority methodological principle is a systematic approach, which is based on the dialectical unity of the general, special and individual. Among the universal methods of cognition, a special place is given to dialectical, hermeneutical and synergetic methods. General scientific research methods are represented by content analysis and legal-theoretical modeling. Special legal methods are widely used, such as: formal legal, special legal, technical legal. Literature review: includes normative legal acts of the federal, regional and local levels, scientific literature, as well as materials of periodicals and mass media. Results of the study: based on the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that the "competitive" model of election of heads of municipalities takes place in modern law enforcement practice, but requires significant adjustments in terms of the method of forming competitive commissions for the selection of candidates for the post of heads of municipalities. Discussions and conclusions: the presented topic has been discussed more than once with representatives of the scientific community, including at all-Russian conferences and round tables. The topic is recognized as relevant, requiring further scientific study in order to model specific legislative proposals for improving the institution of people's representation.