Electoral Lists Research Articles

Symbols and logos used by electoral lists participating in the 2009 provincial council elections in Baghdad Governorate

تناول البحث معرفة انواع الرموز و مضامين الشعارات التي استخدمت من قبل القوائم الانتخابية التي شاركت في انتخابات مجالس المحافظات عام 2009 في محافظة بغداد. و طرح البحث تساؤلا رئيسيا هو : ما الرموز والشعارات التي استخدمت من قبل القوائم الانتخابية المشاركة في انتخابات مجالس المحافظات لعام 2009 في محافظة بغداد؟ وتم استخدام المنهج المسحي ، اذ تم دراسة كل القوائم الانتخابية التي شاركت في انتخابات مجلس محافظة بغداد .و استخدام اسلوب تحليل المضمون في تصنيف الرموز والشعارات واسماء القوائم الانتخابية للاجابة عن تساؤلات البحث .و كانت من اهم النتائج ان نسبة 85,71% من القوائم الانتخابية استخدمت الرموز مقابل 14,28% لم تستخدمها ، كما تبين ان الرموز والشعارات كانت متقاربة و متشابهة، وهذا التشابه في الرموز والشعارات و الاسماء لم يعط صورة واضحة عن القوائم الانتخابية للناخب العراقي ، بل اعطت صورة ضبابية غير واضحة ، واختلط على الناخب القوائم الانتخابية باسمائها و رموزها وشعاراتها المتشابهة ، فضلا عن العدد الكبير للمرشحين والقوائم ، مما زاد في التشويش على ذهن الناخب العراقي .

The gatekeeper’s dilemma: Political selection or team effort

Political parties play a crucial gatekeeping role in elections, including controlling electoral resources, candidate recruitment, and electoral list compositions. In making these strategic choices, parties aim to encourage candidates to invest in the campaign, while also trying to secure advantages for their preferred candidates. We study how parties navigate this trade-off using a specific feature of the Norwegian local electoral system in which parties can give advantaged positions to some candidates in an otherwise open list. Our theory reveals that parties’ ex-ante electoral strength impacts their strategic decisions. Notably, the trade-off is weaker for more popular parties, allowing them to facilitate the election of their preferred candidates without compromising the party’s overall performance. We show empirically that the moral hazard concern is real, and that larger parties are indeed more likely to use their power to make some candidates safe. The advantage of large parties extends further: safeguarding specific candidates enables parties to achieve disproportionately favorable outcomes in post-electoral bargaining. These findings reveal new insights for political representations, policy outcomes, and intra-party dynamics more broadly.

The best at the top? Candidate ranking strategies under closed list proportional representation

Abstract Under closed-list proportional representation, a party's electoral list determines the order in which legislative seats are allocated to candidates. When candidates differ in their ability, parties face a trade-off between competence and incentives. Ranking candidates in decreasing order of competence ensures that elected politicians are most competent. Yet, party lists create incentives for candidates that may lead parties not to place their best candidates at the top of the list. We examine this trade-off in a game-theoretical model in which parties rank their candidates on a list, candidates choose their campaign effort, and the election is a team contest for multiple prizes. We analyze how the candidates’ objectives, voters’ attention and media coverage, incumbency, the number of parties competing in the election, and the electoral environment influence how parties rank candidates.

ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AS A COMPONENT OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN MEN IN AN OPEN URBAN POPULATION

Purpose. To determine blood pressure (BP) levels and the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH), as a component of metabolic syndrome, in men of an open urban population aged 25–64 years. Materials and methods. A one-time epidemiological study was conducted on a representative sample of men 25–64 years old, formed from the electoral lists of citizens of the city of Tyumen in the amount of 1000 people, the response was 85.0%. To analyze the prevalence of AH as a component of the metabolic syndrome, the NCEP ATP III (2004), IDF (2005), All-Russian Scientific Society of Cardiology (2009) assessment criteria were used. Results. The levels of systolic BP in men of the Tyumen population were high due to the average age groups of 35–44 and 45–54 years; in the same groups there was a significant increase in the average values and percentile distribution of the trait. According to the levels of diastolic BP in men of the Tyumen population, a directional age trend of the indicator was formed with a significant increase in its levels in each subsequent age group. In terms of the prevalence of AH, the standardized indicator in the male population of Tyumen 25–64 years old was 59.8%; a positive relationship was established with age in the younger and older age categories. Conclusion. Thus, the study results obtained in an open urban population, which identified the most vulnerable age categories of men with regard to the development of metabolic syndrome, represent a scientific basis for the formation of a preventive program in the region.

Some head starts are bigger than others: dynastic legacies and variation in candidate quality in Taiwan's local elections

Abstract Candidates from established political families are more likely to win than their non-dynastic counterparts because their political inheritance often includes significant advantages in resources and reputation. Yet dynastic candidates also bring their own set of experiences and qualities to the game. Is it the case that their individual characteristics can explain their electoral success, or is their success due to their family legacy? Theoretically, how and when are political resources transferred to the new generation? We examine these questions by looking at non-incumbent candidates in city and county council elections in Taiwan from 2009 to 2014, drawing on unique data on politicians' backgrounds. The profile of dynastic candidates differs from that of non-dynastic candidates: they are younger, have less electoral experience and list experience in different sorts of organizations and jobs. However, these differences are not what drives their electoral success; indeed, they tend to win despite these qualities rather than because of them. Even after controlling for candidate quality, dynastic status remains a powerful predictor, conveying roughly a 20 percentage point increase in the probability of winning. This suggests that while dynastic candidates accrue some of their advantage long before they run for office, a large part of the inheritance is transferred during the campaign.

WOMEN IN REPRESENTATIVE BODIES OF POWER IN 2017-2021: A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS

The paper analyzes similarities and differences in the social portrait of female politicians in the countries of Western, Eastern Europe and North America (Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Russia, and USA), as well as the correlation between the state specifics of socio-economic and political spheres and the level of women's representation in politics. A cross-national study of the trajectories of women entering politics was implemented on the basis of the database “Women in representative bodies of power, political parties and activism, 2017-2021” prepared by the research team. The sections of the database help in covering the gender agenda of political parties, the presence or absence of gender quotas at the intra-party or state levels, the representation of women in party bodies and electoral lists for 2017-2021. They also help in providing a detailed portrait of female deputies. Based on the concept of descriptive and substantive representation, the authors identify the key characteristics of the portrait of a female parliamentarian in the selected countries and conclude that parties, in particular their regional branches or youth organizations, are the main channel for recruiting professional female politicians. Activism, despite its visibility in the media, becomes a channel for promotion to parliament for only one in five female parliamentarians in the selected countries. Based on the application of correlation analysis, an assumption is formulated, which needs to be confirmed on a larger sample, that intra-party decisions on gender quotas, rather than state ones, play a more significant role in increasing the representation of women in the party’s faction.

Electoral Participation of Non‐National EU Citizens in France: The Case of the Nord

Since the 1993 Maastricht Treaty, EU citizens have the right to vote in European and local elections in the member state they reside in. In France, only about a quarter do so. Our article considers what factors explain the registration and participation of non-national citizens for the French Department of the Nord where around 35,000 non-French European citizens of voting age are living. Among them, 11,638 are registered to vote in the French municipal elections. Following the 2020 municipal elections, we have consulted the electoral rolls in each of the 648 communes to know who actually cast a vote. Based on detailed census data on each EU nationality and on other information contained on the electoral lists and rolls (age, gender, place of birth, etc.) and also contextual variables, this article seeks to identify the main factors associated with registering in the first instance and turning out to vote in the second. Our results confirm wide variation in registration and voting rates according to nationality. They also show that beyond voters’ nationality and the “usual suspects” of electoral participation, contextual factors are important predictors.

Selective Inclusion? Insights Into Political Parties' Recruitment of Immigrant Background Candidates in Bolzano

Political parties can be crucial gatekeepers to the political participation of immigrants. This article analyzes the political selection strategies of political parties at the local level. The case study focuses on the multi-ethnic city of Bolzano in Northern Italy, which is home to a significant migrant population as well as three autochthonous language groups: Italian, German, and Ladin. First, the article gives an overview of the political lists presented at the last local elections in 2020. Second, it discusses party strategies to recruit candidates with an immigration background. The presented insights are drawn from seven “elite” interviews (i.e., with high-ranking party representatives). Overall, the findings indicate that diversity stemming from migration does not have a significant impact on the recruitment strategies of the province’s political parties’: Despite electoral lists containing an increasing number of immigrants, who have migrated to South Tyrol since the 1990s, neither newer nor traditional parties adopt significant strategies to recruit candidates with an immigration background. Overall, the diversity on political lists mostly reflects the existing language cleavages of the autochthonous population, while diversity stemming from immigration is still largely overlooked. However, the results also show that while neither of the parties is fully inclusive or exclusive in their selection methods, we identify a tendency toward selective inclusiveness of certain immigrant groups.

Diversity in Spanish Politics? Dynamics of Descriptive Representation of Immigrant‐Origin Minorities in Local Elections

Research has identified an alarming gap in migrants’ descriptive representation across Western European countries with long-standing immigration while showing that not all migrant groups are equally (un)successful in gaining elected office. However, little is known about migrants’ political presence in Southern European countries, which have experienced increased immigration in recent decades. We address this research gap for Spain by focusing on the municipal level where minorities’ inclusion remains of utmost importance. Conceptually, the article tackles the question of how the interplay between migrants’ demographic concentration and specific party features shapes the outcomes of minority descriptive representation. Empirically, we bring novel evidence from an original survey with local party organizations across municipalities returning high shares of Romanian, Moroccan, Latin American, and EU14 migrants. We first demonstrate that, despite being particularly sizeable, all groups remain under-represented in Spanish local politics, although with important differences. At comparable levels of demographic concentration, EU14 and Latin American migrants are almost three times more likely than Romanian migrants and up to seven times more likely than Moroccan migrants to be fielded as candidates. EU14 candidates are also more successful in securing office. Second, our findings confirm that party features shape the contours of minority inclusion: Spanish left-wing and new parties present more diverse local candidacies and place minority office-seekers in safer electoral list positions than right-wing and established parties.

Преступления, связанные с избирательным процессом в Сирии, Египте и Ираке: сравнительный анализ

This article is aimed at a comparative analysis of the legislation of three countries – Syria, Egypt and Iraq – in the context of criminal liability for crimes related to manipulation in electoral processes, especially in voter reg-istration and compilation of electoral lists. The study uses the method of comparative legal analysis, analyzing the legislation of Syria, Egypt and Iraq regarding crimes related to voter registration. The study is based on a systematic analysis of relevant laws, amendments and regulations defining criminal liability for violations in this area. Comparative analysis allows us to identify significant differences in approaches to criminal liability for crimes related to voter registration in Syria, Egypt and Iraq. In particular, the differences in punishments for such crimes provided for by the laws of each country were revealed. Egyptian legislation demonstrates a strict-er attitude and tougher penalties compared to Syrian and Iraqi, especially with regard to the theft, concealment or destruction of voter data. These results underline the relevance and importance of further developments in the field of election legislation in the region.

Město Zlín v meziválečných letech

The topic of the study is the influence of the Baťa Concern on selected areas of everyday life in the town of Zlín. The text aims to describe, explain and interpret how Zlín’s municipal politics and public education in the example of Masaryk’s experimental upper elementary school were influenced by Tomáš Baťa and other representatives of the Concern between 1923 and 1938 (1945). The data were mainly obtained by studying archival documents stored in the State District Archive Zlín. The presented study focuses on municipal politics and elections in which the Baťa electoral list promised to improve and modernize Zlín’s schools. Then, it seeks the circumstances of establishing and developing the experimental public school system in Zlín. The research results show that the election of Tomáš Baťa as mayor of Zlín represented a turning point for Zlín schools. He and other Concern’s officials became direct participants in local public education from their position as councillors. In this way, a private company could legally manage and adapt public schools to its economic interests.

Candidate turnover in EP- versus national elections: a new perspective on the second-order logic? A comparative analysis

ABSTRACT This article investigates the differences between candidate turnover at national legislative and European Parliament elections. Multilevel analysis is applied on original data containing 2754 electoral lists, clustered within 79 political parties, within 48 national and European elections. These comparative data allow (1) to test hypotheses on second-order EU elections within the context of electoral recruitment and (2) to measure the effect of systemic turnover drivers, which in turn may differ for EP elections. As such, this paper builds further on the emerging literature on candidate renewal by offering a comparative perspective and understanding the particular dynamic for EP elections. Results suggest that candidate turnover is lower at EP elections. Moreover, the effects of turnover drivers differ at EP elections: candidate turnover is lower on lists of fringe parties at the European level and elections with higher electoral volatility are characterised by higher candidate turnover, particularly at European elections.

Las listas electorales desde una perspectiva de derecho comparado

El artículo versa sobre los distintos modelos de listas electorales en Derecho comparado. Se describen los modelos de listas bloqueadas y cerradas, de listas desbloqueadas y de listas abiertas, haciendo énfasis en sus repercusiones en el funcionamiento del sistema político. A todo ello se añade un sintético examen de los sistemas electorales proporcionales.

Innovative field methods for residence confirmation and updating follow-up status of cancer cases: Experience from rural cancer registry, Punjab, India

BackgroundThe Sangrur population-based cancer registry, Punjab state, India experienced several challenges in confirming residence as well as updating the follow-up status of cancer cases, which is critical for accurately labelling incidence and providing cancer survival. This study presents innovative field strategies adopted by the Sangrur population-based cancer registry for residence confirmation and updating follow-up status of cancer cases. MethodsA network was developed with the involvement of local community members to validate the address and follow-up status of cancer cases. In addition, social media was used to trace patients who were loss to follow-up. ResultsThe Sangrur population-based cancer registry was unable to trace a total of 31 cancer cases. After implementing innovative field methods, 26 (83.9%) cases were successfully traced back; while 5 (16.1%) cases were untraced despite several efforts. A majority of these 31 cases were from urban areas (93.5%) compared to rural (6.5%). True Caller with the help of WhatsApp contributed significantly by tracing 9 cases (34.6%); followed by 4 cases (15.4%) traced with the help of a postman, 3 cases each (11.5%) with the electoral list and gas agency personnel, and 2 cases (7.7%) through medical shops. Also, 2 cases (7.7%) were traced with the help of treating hospital while Facebook and property tax office traced 1 case (3.8%) each. ConclusionBy engaging with the local community, and with the use of social media, the patient's residence and follow-up status can be updated. Due to this method, accurate labelling of the incidence can be achieved.

The Impact of Party Quotas on Women’s Political Ambition

ABSTRACT Do women’s motives for joining a political party depend on the implementation of a gender quota for party offices and electoral lists? Based on multiple waves of the German Party Membership Studies, we address this issue using survey data for about 5,000 female party members. We find that women’s probability of joining a party because of their political ambition, i.e. attaining a public or party office, slightly improves with the quota size. But more importantly, there is a robust, statistically significant interaction between the quota targets and the percentage of female party members. Women are most likely to report instrumental reasons for joining when there is a large gender gap for the party members and a quota requiring a high percentage of female office holders. These results strongly imply that women, at least roughly, calculate the intensity of the intra-party competition for political offices when deciding to join a party.

Stepwise evaluation for the risk of metabolic unhealthiness and significant non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in India

Non-communicable diseases including metabolic health disorders are becoming area of concern for low/middle income countries with poor health-care resources. Present study was planned to assess the prevalence of metabolically unhealthy (MU) subjects in the community and proportion of the MU subjects having the risk of significant Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) using a step-wise evaluation strategy in a resource-poor setting. Study was performed in 19 community development blocks of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India. Every fifth member in the electoral list was included for the first step evaluation (n = 79,957/1,019,365, 7.8%) to detect any metabolic risk. Subjects with any metabolic risk in the first step (n = 9819/41,095, 24%) were taken for second step evaluation with Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and ALT. Subjects with elevated FBG and/or ALT in the second step (n = 1403/5283, 27%) were taken into third step evaluation. At least one risk factor was found in 51.4% (n = 41,095/79,957). 63% (n = 885/1403) of the subjects with metabolic abnormality (third step) had MU state making its overall prevalence of 1.1% (n = 885/79,957). 53% of MU subjects (n = 470/885) had ‘persistently elevated ALT’ suggesting the risk of having significant NAFLD. Step-wise evaluation strategy could detect the subjects at risk, actually having MU state and proportion of MU subjects at risk of having ‘persistently elevated ALT’ (surrogate of significant NAFLD) in the community with minimum utilization of scarce resources. This study was funded by Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, USA, under the program ‘Together on Diabetes Asia’ (Project Number: 1205 – LFWB).

Choosing among the chosen? Electoral lists and party primaries in Europe

ABSTRACT Primaries are becoming the preferred mechanism to select parliamentary elites in an increasing number of parties across Europe. Recent literature has shown that certain party-level characteristics favour the implementation of this inclusive method of selection. However, despite its great relevance in party life, the impact of the electoral system has not attracted enough attention. In this article we wonder if the type of electoral list (blocked or not blocked) has an effect on how participative the method of candidate selection is. We expect primaries to be more popular where electoral lists are blocked, as an intermediate mechanism for the electorate to influence an otherwise leadership-driven process of candidate selection. However, the results of a survey of 2,561 candidates from 37 parties show that this expectation is not met, as primaries seem to be more common precisely in non-blocked lists systems, with this effect being especially visible among right-wing parties. These findings suggest that the type of list might play a key role in this important aspect of internal party life.

Hate and Incivilities in Hashtags against Women Candidates in Chile (2021–2022)

This study is interested in the phenomenon of violence in social networks against women who hold political office in the framework of the Chilean constitutional process (2021–2022). To study this major socio-political phenomenon, we have used the tracking database “Women and Politics”, composed of 2,912,732 Twitter posts mentioning women candidates and collected between July 2021 and September 2022. Based on this data, we analyzed the network of hashtags by electoral list at points in time: all 2021 messages, all 2022 messages and only hate messages published in 2022 (n = 563,223), codified by an automated detection method. The results of the study reveal that hashtags extracted from messages containing hate speech are better understood under the concept of incivilities. These were expressed in a two-phase electoral process: the presidential election and the constitutional plebiscite. The implications and limits of this study are discussed and considered in context in the conclusion.

Women’s Political Citizenship in Tunisia: The May 2018 Municipal Elections and the Gender Gap

The 2018 municipal elections in Tunisia were the first to be held after the 2011 Arab Spring revolution. A new 2017 law required gender parity on electoral lists, even for positions at the top of those lists. However, women were wary of being thrust into the political fray, and many felt they were being tokenized. What is the possibility of a new generation of female politicians emerging in such a context? To uncover the factors and motivations behind the transition from non-participation to participation, I interviewed six women candidates of different political parties and conducted a focus group with eight Tunisian women who professed to be “not interested in politics”. Compulsory gender parity might foster women’s political participation in quantitative terms, but qualitatively, especially with the tokenizing male practice of nominating women candidates and expecting their “docile compliance,” this policy effectively maintains and reinforces gendered stereotypes about political competence. My findings show that women move back and forth across the spectrum from “high participation” to “politically disengaged”. Furthermore, their relationship to political participation is best described as a cyclical process marked by punctual commitments and which can be hindered by internal and external factors or periods of hibernation.

Homophily in voting behavior: Evidence from preferential voting

AbstractHomophily—the preference for people similar in their characteristics—is a strong determinant of many types of human relationships. It affects, for example, whom we marry and potentially also whom we vote for. We use data on preferential voting from eight (1996–2021) Czech parliamentary elections matched with census and administrative data to identify the effect of homophily on voting behavior. The Czech system of preferential voting is well suited to an analysis of homophilic preferences, as it enables us to filter out preferences for political parties and focus solely on candidates' individual background characteristics. We identify the effect of homophily on a sample of 6,844,538 observations from small municipalities that are not likely to be affected by potential electoral list optimization. We find that a 1 % increase in the share of a municipality's population whose education level or age are the same as the candidate's increases the number of preferential votes the given candidate receives by 0.5% or 0.2% respectively. We also find evidence for strong geographical homophily as living in the municipality substantially increases the number of preferential votes a candidate receives.