Scientific Journal of the National Academy of Internal Affairs

The purpose of the article is to determine the constitutional status of the opposition and the types of its participation in elections. Methodology. Comparative, comparative-legal, system-structural, dialectical and other scientific methods were used to study the issues. The scientific novelty of the publication lies in the disclosure of the constitutional status of the opposition and the types of its participation in elections. The article notes that in modern constitutional experience, the consolidation of the status of the opposition directly in the Constitution of the state is becoming more widespread. It is established that the term “opposition” is used in the text of the Constitutions of at least 60 states from almost all regions of the world. It is noted that an important democratic standard of modern fair and competitive elections is the full participation of opposition political parties and candidates. Conclusions. Modern electoral practice allows us to identify the following types of opposition participation in elections: 1. By the nature of participation: a) constructive participation; b) destructive participation. 2. By the opposition admits to the elections: a) equal participation; b) discriminatory participation; c) non-admission of the opposition to the elections. 3. By the special status during the election process: a) opposition parties are separated into a separate subject of the election process; b) the parliamentary opposition has a quota for the appointment or election of members of electoral bodies; c) opposition parties do not have any special status during the election process. 4. By the level of consolidation during the participation in the elections: a) consolidated opposition; b) non-consolidated opposition. 5. By the type of election: a) participation of the opposition in the presidential election; b) participation of the opposition in parliamentary elections; c) participation of the opposition in regional elections; d) participation of the opposition in local elections. 6. By the results of participation in the elections: a) effective participation of the opposition in the elections; b) ineffective participation of the opposition in elections