Pre-election Period Research Articles

Tradisi Ter-ater dalam Harmonisasi Sosial: Resolusi Konflik dalam Kontestasi Pilkades Bilapora Barat

This study aims to see how the tradition of ter-ater (distributing something, usually food, to relatives and close neighbors) of the Madurese community is able to become a solution to the conflicts that arise during the Village Head Election (Pilkades) in West Bilapora. This study uses Max Weber's theory of action and the theory of hegemony offered by Gramsci. This research concludes that ter-ater can have direct implications in the conflict of two or more parties, if it is carried out by people in power who become community leaders. During the pre-election period, giving ateran to rivals is almost an error, which engenders misgivings. However, giving ateran to the people will generate sympathy for the candidate. Post-election, ter-ater can become a symbol for the village head's effort to open "new doors" toward social harmonization.

Pre-electoral fiscal policies and opportunistic spending: the case of the recently decentralised Macedonian local governments

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between local elections and local government budgets. Using dataset of all Macedonian municipalities for the period 2007-2015, this study examines whether the overall spending and the composition of local government expenditures are systematically manipulated just before elections. The results show that spending during the pre-election period shifts toward more desirable categories such as permanent and temporary employment, capital projects, and individual transfers and subsidies. Very few studies relate pre-electoral fiscal manipulation to clientelistic linkages. This paper fills the void by adding empirical evidence from a transitional democracy.

Media Environment in Georgia during the Crisis

Viable, free media is a crucial component of democratic progress in Georgia. 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, safety of journalists while carrying out professional duties continues to be one of the key indicators of what constitutes progress in the country’s media democracy. This research was triggered by the actualisation of the acute and, in some ways, spontaneous media threat that arose during the pre-election period. More specifically, on 5 July 2021, two months before Georgia’s local self-government municipal elections, media workers fell victim to a premeditated attack by pro-Russian radical groups during the coverage of demonstrations. As a result, 52 journalists from more than 10 media outlets, cameramen and photographers were assaulted and a TV Pirveli cameraman, Lekso Lashkarava, died a few days later as a result of heavy injuries received during the demonstration.The aim of the research is to distinguish the traits prevalent to the media environment during the times of crisis and even more specifically, during the pre- and post- election periods (in particular, during 2021 local governmental elections in Georgia). The research also responds to the question of how political polarization and crises affect media and the macro and micro threats they reveal. The study identifies these media threats and assesses the reality of media environment as seen through journalists’ eyes. For research design, mixed research methodology was chosen, more specifically, a sequential explanatory design. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase involved accumulation of quantitative data (through online survey: 183 respondents from 56 media sources) and analysis, following which the second phase took place, involving qualitative research (3 focus group discussions). The research answers the questions as it follows: How safe do media workers feel when performing their professional duties? What kind of threats have emerged during the 2021 pre-election media environment and what are the expectations? What are some of the support mechanisms for the improvement of media environment and what needs to be done so that a safer environment for media workers is created? During the research process, macro (4) and micro (6) media threats were identified. They are analysed in sub-chapters in greater detail. These threats are interconnected and have their own structure and aims. Media threats, which emerged during the discussion, contribute to self-censorship and escalation of fear, media credibility, reduction of support, and destabilizing media institutional viability.Political polarization and polarization between media organizations were identified as a major macro media threat. Micro threats that were identified as a result of polarization are: Stigmatization of journalists and media (labelling them as biased towards certain political parties) and attempted smear campaigns; Disrupting execution of journalist duties. Among such actions are creating obstacles in providing a balanced narrative and bringing a quality media product to the public, which is primarily reflected in premeditated restriction to sources and surveillance for the purpose of disrupting the work process; etc. As a result of this study, supportive instruments for strengthening media environment have been put forward.

Peran Jurnalisme Media Sosial dalam Mewujudkan Demokrasi Indonesia di Era Post Truth

Social Media is one of the public spaces for discussing and participating in politics to realize democracy. However, social media also has a weakness in disseminating hoaxes, misinformation, and exposing the Post Truth phenomenon that threatens the sustainability of democracy in Indonesia. The Normative Media Theory suggests that a media should (1) guarantee freedom of opinion, (2) convey information and know the truth, (3) be independent and reduce the interests of media owners, (4) have a variety of information available to the public, (5) reach out to the public. broadly various audiences, (6) supports a democratic political system, (7) and respects the privacy and human rights in general. This study investigates the role of KompasTV social media in realizing democracy in the post-truth era as a form of social media journalism. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with data collection in the form of observations and interviews. From the results of the research, it was found that KompasTV social media journalism upholds aspects of the Normative Media Theory perspective by prioritizing news value, verification, and fact-checking to ward off and avoid hoaxes, due to important and interesting things for the community. However, as a media that plays in the realm of social media, KompasTV in the pre-election period used SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Trending Topics, and viral issues in its journalistic production to increase views. Meanwhile, during the election period, KompasTV social media put forward the principle of balance.

The Effects of Budget Transparency on the Budget Balances and Expenditures of Croatian Local Governments

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to find out whether budget transparency (BT) allows for better control over public finances, especially in pre-election periods. Thus we investigate the impact of BT, i.e., the digital availability of five key budget documents, on the budget balances and expenditures of all 556 Croatian local governments (LGs) over the 2014-2019 period. The dynamic panel data analysis with several control variables shows that higher BT tends to increase expenditures and the probability of achieving deficits, especially in poorer LGs. Improved BT increases electorates’ confidence, making public goods and services more interesting to voters, ultimately increasing public expenditures. However, we found that BT limits political budget cycles (PBCs), i.e., ‘opportunistic’ expenditures and deficits in the pre-election period.

The Importance of Social Networks in the Pre-election Period

Objective and fair elections is a fundament for the development of the country’s democracy. Such campaign is very important for Georgia, a country on the path to democracy. Following the growing influence of social networking users and platform, political parties, candidates and activists use social networking to spread their own ideas and programs. In order to receive and spread information, people mostly use “Facebook” among numerous social platforms. “Facebook” has also become one of the large-scale platforms for electoral activities, which significantly influences electoral environment and defines voters’ behavior. Observing pre-electoral campaign of the latest elections made it clear, that “Facebook” was used not only for spreading personal programs and ideas of the political actors, but for discreditation of the separate candidates by disinformation and dissemination of damaging information, which had an organizational and purposeful act. During the observing process, it has become clear that besides of discreditation of different electoral subjects, social media is successfully used for political finances and agitation related to ignoring of electoral legislation prohibitions. Keywords: Social network, Elections, Political parties, Voter.

Macroeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic in the period of 2020-2021

This article provides a comprehensive summary of selected macroeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, including an assessment of certain implemented fiscal and monetary policies, using data from 2019 (to compare the development of the economic situation during the COVID-19 pandemic with the period before the onset of the pandemic), 2020 and 2021 on a monthly or quarterly basis. Particular attention is paid to monetary policy effects, which, unlike fiscal policy, the Mundell-Fleming model considers effective in a small open economy with a freely floating exchange rate. The article also investigates the volume of fiscal measures taken to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic effects, the restrictive measures introduced to Czech households and firms as well as labour market developments during the period of 2019-2021, including quantification of the aggregate labour productivity index. The conclusions of the article are that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, macroeconomic indicators in the Czech Republic acted in accordance with the established partial hypotheses of the Mundell-Fleming model and in accordance with the hypothesis of the modified Phillips curve. Possible causes of the significant increase in inflation since September 2021 include 2020 nominal public and private sector salary growth, which showed faster growth than aggregate labour productivity, and the highly expansionary fiscal policy that characterized the 2021 pre-election period.

Framing of pre-election political situation in the Telegram channel discourse

The paper aims, within the cognitive-discursive paradigm, at analyzing framing of one of the major political events in 2020 — the election of the President in Belarus, covered in the discourse of a Telegram channel. The author focuses on identifying mechanisms of destructive influence exerted on mass subscribers of a cross-platform messenger during a pre-election period. The objective of the research is to systematize and analyze frames that generate meanings that should influence Belarusian voters. In theoretical terms, the study is based on the provisions crucial for Linguistics of information and psychological war and Framing theory. The material for the analysis presents a selection of 2173 messages, posted in an oppositional telegram channel within three months (from May 8 till August 8, 2020). The sociological understanding of frame structures is important for the research. Its methodological implications are discussed. The interpretation of strategic framing is developed to suit the aim of the research and establish its role in consolidating protest sentiments and obtaining a planned political response from the mass addressee. The key themes and issue-specific frames are reconstructed to reveal how interpretive schemas model the pre-election political world. The thematic field “the Belarussians” is characterized from the point of view of three functional varieties of frames — diagnostic, prognostic and motivational. It is argued that posts in the opposition discourse channel have a mobilization potential, directed at subscribers with the aim of discrediting the official government. The research contributes to the theory of the language of information war and ensures the interests of Russian state politics in the field of information security and prevention of any aggression.

The State Awaking Or Stealing?

The 2020 parliamentary elections in Croatia were held in an atmosphere marked by fear and anxiety because of negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, and riddled with other unresolved socio-economic and political issues. Therefore, choosing appropriate political slogans that would reflect positive messages of hope, encouragement, and safety to the Croatian people seemed of utmost importance. This paper identifies and discusses political discourse strategies behind the creation of selected billboard slogans used in the pre-election period by different political parties and platforms. Taking into account the results of the elections, the research focuses on the negative reactions to the content of the slogans in the Croatian public space. For this purpose, a corpus of readers’ online comments was built and subjected to a computer sentiment analysis. The results show that the majority of citizens in the research sample created negative mental images of political agents and the policies they promote. Further investigation of the reasons for the negative perception and evaluation revealed that the politico-historical and situational contexts play a significant role in shaping the public opinion, specifically in times of crises and threats to public health and wellbeing.

The elections and campaign styles influence the spread of COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned from Kerala, India

Background: The pandemic caused by SARS-Cov-2 and its variants whack the world with overlapping waves. Kerala is the Indian state which successfully curbed the first wave of COVID-19, getting noticed when daunted by the second wave. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of two elections held in Kerala on the transmission of COVID-19 from October 1st, 2020 to May 5th, 2021.Methods: The study employed a retrospective cross-sectional design with publicly available data. The test positivity (TPR) and daily number of cases (DNC) collected from governmental websites of Kerala, India and COVID-19 dashboards entered in MS Excel 2007 and analysed using IBM SPSS version 25. Biweekly average of TPR and DNC was analysed in descriptive statistics and DNC at different periods in the context of elections were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA with Greenhouse-Geisser correction and post hoc test of Bonferroni correction.Results: The findings showed that the daily number of COVID-19 cases increased after both local body and assembly elections, but a statistically significant increase was found after the assembly election [mean difference= 1069 (357.047-1782.419) at p=0.002 from the pre-election period].Conclusions: The study revealed that the conduct of elections in stages and organizing campaigns limiting to the local area following COVID protocols had a demonstrable positive effect against the potential of pandemic spread.

Disinformation in the Brazilian pre-election context: probing the content, spread and implications of fake news about Lula da Silva

ABSTRACT This research scrutinizes the content, spread, and implications of disinformation in Brazil’s 2018 pre-election period. It focuses specifically on the most widely shared fake news about Lula da Silva and links these with the preexisting polarization and political radicalization, ascertaining the role of context. The research relied on a case study and mixed-methods approach that combined an online data collection of content, spread, propagators, and interactions’ analyses, with in-depth analysis of the meaning of such fake news. The results show that the most successful fake news about Lula capitalized on prior hostility toward him, several originated or were spread by conservative right-wing politicians and mainstream journalists, and that the pro-Lula fake news circulated in smaller networks and had overall less global reach. Facebook and WhatsApp were the main dissemination platforms of these contents.

Mental Health Among Black and Latinx Sexual Minority Adults Leading Up to and Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Results from a Natural Experiment.

Purpose: Multi-level hostility toward sexual minority (SM; includes, but is not limited to those identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or same-gender loving) and other minority populations (e.g., racial/ethnic) increased after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This may generate stress and mental health problems among those groups, and particularly among SM people of color. This study assessed whether the mental health of Black and Latinx SM adults declined after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Methods: Data were from a daily national probability survey (thus, mean changes in mental health outcomes over time may reflect population shifts in mental health) of Black and Latinx SM adults (N = 537), recruited 7 months before and 17 months after the November 8, 2016 election. Using a between-subjects design, spline-based regressions (spline set at election date), adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, estimated four mental health outcomes (past-month number of "poor mental health" days and psychological distress, past-year suicidal ideation, and social wellbeing) as a function of survey completion date. Results: There was marked worsening in each of the mental health outcomes over the postelection period (past-month poor mental health days, B = 0.05, standard error [SE] = 0.02, p < 0.05; psychological distress, B = 0.28, SE = 0.14, p < 0.05; suicidal ideation, odds ratio = 1.13, 95% confidence interval >1.00-1.26, p < 0.05; and social wellbeing, B = -0.05, SE = 0.02, p < 0.05). None of the outcomes varied over the pre-election period. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of worsening mental health among Black and Latinx SM adults in the United States during the 1.5 years after the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Concepts People and Power in Russian and Spanish Electoral Discourse

Political communication becomes particularly intense in the pre-election period. Democracy receives criticism aimed to protect the interests of citizens. It is political parties that are responsible for a constructive discussion of their positions and motivating citizens to participate in the election campaign. Te electoral language is usually an emotional, connotative language, which resonates with citizens. Political electoral discourse is characterized by certain basic concepts, such as “politics”, “election”, “electoral programs”, “electorate”, “people”, “power” and others. “People” and “power” are the key ones, since they reflect the features of political process and are inextricably linked to each other during all electoral period. Tis article focuses on the study of the people / power opposition in the Russian and Spanish electoral discourse and identifes conceptual structures and signs of these concepts.

Short-run Dynamics Between Foreign Currency and Jakarta Composite Index During Indonesian Presidential Election

This study investigates the dynamics of information flow between foreign currencies and the Jakarta Composite Index (JKSE) in the pre-, during and post-2014 Indonesian Presidential elections. Based on a systematic analytical framework, the study provides a clearer picture to link the foreign currencies of trade partners to Jakarta Stock Exchange. Using the VAR model with daily data from 2 January 2013 to 31 July 2015, our results show: First, JKSE appears to be endogenous during the pre-election period. The endogenous relationship implies that the EUR, HKD and CNY influence the benchmark index. Second, JKSE appears to be exogenous during the election year. The exogenous relationship implies information flow from JKSE to six foreign currencies. Third, during the postelection period, there is information flow from the Japanese Yen and Saudi Riyal to JKSE. In addition, there is information outflow from JKSE to three foreign currencies. This study concludes that the foreign currency market is subtly linked to JKSE. Our results imply a need to guard against capital flight during uncertainties as the foreign fund may exit the market. Deeper economic ties can be made with foreign trade partners willing to inject capital during economic recovery in the short run.

Significance and Directions of Energy Development in African Countries

The development of energy networks and electrification is a major challenge in many African countries, which can contribute to reducing social inequalities. Energy, and above all electricity, is a decisive factor influencing the functioning of national governments. The power of governments in individual countries depends on the energy sector. Therefore, it is worth noting that during the presidential elections, candidates make many promises related to the improvement of the energy supply. The article shows, using the examples of Guinea, Ethiopia and Egypt, how politicians in the pre-election period use slogans related to the energy and development of the country. The innovative side of this article looks at how politicians keep their promises by using the energy sector and how they secure victory in the next election. The article linked the objective needs for the development of the energy sector resulting from the growing demand for energy with the motives of the decisions makers who want to maintain power through the implementation of new investments in the energy sector. The paper presents the results of research on the development of the energy sector and the motives for this development, explains how energy investments are realized, and discusses the environmental and social problems that arise when building huge hydropower stations.

Image of Hugo Chavez Created by US Mass Media in Context of Venezuela 1998 Presidential Elections

This paper investigates the features of the US mass media approaches in creating the image of Hugo Chavez on the eve of the Venezuela 1998 Presidential Elections. The paper studies the historical context, which influenced the creation of Chavez's image. The socio-economic and political development of Venezuela in those days is analyzed. The key traits of Chavez’s image highlighted during the period under study, as well as the emotional background of the publications, are analyzed. Although both the domestic and foreign historiography has paid a most sufficient attention to the history of Venezuela, the biography and political activity of Hugo Chavez, his image as a presidential candidate in the 1998 Venezuela elections remains unexplored. This work aims to fill this gap. The paper systematically examines the materials of the three major US newspapers, namely, the “New York Times”, the “Wall Street Journal”, and the “Los Angeles Times”, published from July to December, 1998. The established methodologies of document analysis and quantitative content analysis are applied. The study leads to the conclusion that the USA mass media created a negative image of Hugo Chavez during the pre-election period, implementing understatements and a negative emotional background in their publications.

Društveni i stranački rascjepi u Bosni i Hercegovini poslije izbora 1990. godin

Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a very suitable experimental space for the analysis of integrative policy in the conditions, war and long-lasting crisis, of a devastated society which, due to the challenges of history, is deeply divided. In such a space, applying the analytical model designed and used by Seymour Lipset and Stein Rokan, the paper deals with the detection of social divisions that underlie party preferences in the 1990 elections for the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Analyzes of pre-election and post-election activities of political entities show the existence of an important link between ethno-confessional characteristics and attitudes on political issues and party preferences, which in accordance with the used theoretical model creates preconditions for talking about social divisions that have turned into party divisions. It can be determined that they are bh. political parties formed, with all their specifics, on the basic lines of Bosnia and Herzegovina social divisions. In the analysis of the relationship between social and political space and the influence of the structure of society on political relations and divisions, it is possible to determine that party divisions and divisions, their segmentation and polarization are conditioned, above all, by the depth and dynamics of fundamental Bosnia and Herzegovina social divisions. The divisions that emerged in the pre-election period of 1990 (we can conditionally define them as divisions communism vs anti-communism) were pushed into the background in the first post-election year and priority was given to the split that S. Lipset and S. Rokan defined as the center-periphery split. (or the territorial-cultural split as, after adaptation, Professor Nenad Zakošek called it). The second part of the paper presents an overview of the most important political parties in the 1990 elections and continues to examine the applicability of S. Lipset and S. Rokan's theory of turning social divisions into party divisions, this time in the first year of ethno-confessional parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Analyzing the basic lines of historical ethnic and confessional divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina society and in the sphere of political (sub) system through indicators such as: predominant (ethnic, confessional, linguistic, cultural and regional) identifications, the relationship between ethno-confessional and civil, the relationship to the rights and freedoms guaranteed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Constitution, the attitude towards different solutions to the state question (remaining in the common state of Yugoslavia vs. the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) tested the hypothesis that historical lines of ethno-confessional splits represent the basic determinant of political goals. It can be seen that the territorial-cultural divide (primarily in the form of center-periphery conflict) is actually a kind of complete split, given that it is a split that involves conflict between stable social groups (residents of the center and periphery but also members of different ethnic and confessional communities). In the Bosnia and Herzegovina case, these are (ethnic and confessional) communities that have different views on the most important issues of the social organization of the common state, which results in open conflict on the political scene in the form of voting for different political options, which can be transformed by ethnopolitical elites. (very easily) into various forms of violence against others and different in the territory that is under their political (and police) control.

Abstract 063: Racial/Ethnic Differences In Blood Pressure Around The Time Of The 2016 United States General Election

Introduction: Politics are a major source of stress and anxiety among U.S. adults, and the 2016 U.S. general election may have led to increased psychosocial stress among different racial/ethnic populations. Psychosocial stress can manifest physiologically in elevated blood pressure (BP). Yet, little is known regarding whether this response differs among racial/ethnic groups. We sought to characterize population-level changes in BP among non-Hispanic (NH) Whites, NH Blacks, and Mexican Americans before and after the 2016 U.S. general election. Methods: Using cross-sectional 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, we included participants aged ≥20 years with ≥1 systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) measurement during the examination periods just prior to and after the election. The pre-election period was from May 2016 to October 2016 and the post-election period was from November 2017 to April 2018. Survey-weighted data were analyzed to compare mean SBP and DBP pre- and post-election, stratified by race/ethnicity. Stratified analyses were also performed on hypertension status, defined as self-report, mean BP ≥140/90, or use of ≥1 antihypertensive drug. Results: We included 1,060 NH Whites, 720 NH Blacks, and 223 Mexican Americans during the pre-election period and 676 NH Whites, 564 NH Blacks, and 468 Mexican Americans during the post-election period. We observed a significant increase in SBP among Mexican Americans (mean±SEM, 118±0.5 mmHg [pre-election] vs. 121.7±0.7 mmHg [post-election], p=0.005), but not among NH Blacks (126.7±0.9 mmHg vs. 128.9±0.7 mmHg, p=0.083) nor NH Whites (123±0.6 mmHg vs. 124.8±1.4 mmHg, p=0.256). DBP increased among both Mexican Americans (69.5±0.5 mmHg vs. 72.6±1.1 mmHg, p=0.022) and NH Blacks (72.2±0.8 mmHg vs. 74.9±0.6 mmHg, p=0.012), but not among NH Whites (70.4±0.4 mmHg vs. 72.9±1.3 mmHg, p=0.075). These effects were largely attributable to BP changes among those with hypertension (pre-election: 414 NH Whites, 350 NH Blacks, 60 Mexican Americans; post-election: 330 NH Whites, 298 NH Blacks, 156 Mexican Americans), in whom there was an increase in SBP among NH Blacks (138.8±1.3 mmHg vs. 143.7±1.7 mmHg, p=0.032) and Mexican Americans (133.9±1.1 mmHg vs. 141.9±1.5 mmHg, p=0.0002); and an increase in DBP among NH Blacks (76.2±1.2 mmHg vs. 80.8±0.9 mmHg, p=0.005). No significant changes were observed in any racial/ethnic group without hypertension. Conclusions: At the population-level, NH Blacks and Mexican Americans had increases in BP following the 2016 U.S. general election, largely driven by BP elevations among those with hypertension. Patient-level data, especially linked with political affiliation, may provide additional insights into the psychosocial stress effect of major political events.

Legitimation of hate and political violence through memetic images: the Bolsonaro campaign

The federal elections were held in Brazil in 2018. The ballot resulted in a victory for the far-right candidate, Jair Messias Bolsonaro. The question that arose after the victory of the far-right was: How could this have happened? One of the instruments that undoubtedly contributed to this unexpected victory was a peculiar aspect of his political campaign: memetic communication. Through the use of memes in the social media (above all WhatsApp), Bolsonaro’s project transformed these violent discourses against political opponents, feminism, racialised persons and poverty into a series of discourses legitimised through humour and irony. It was a simplification through the memes affecting the static system of cognitive and metaphorical frameworks. During the pre-election period in 2018, we carried out digital ethnographic research in the WhatsApp groups of supporters of Bolsonaro’s project (“Bolsonarism”). In this period, we collected a sample of 132 memes belonging to WhatsApp groups composed of up to 256 members, who did not know each other and were geographically dispersed. The analysis we carried out demonstrates the trivialisation and legitimisation of violence against political opponents and other social groups. Much of this legitimisation was camouflaged under the mask of supposed humour and irony, which in reality was insulting, prejudicial and dehumanising.

Do opinion polls move stock prices? Evidence from the US presidential election in 2016

This paper analyzes stock returns before and during the 2016 US presidential election. This election stands out because both nominees Clinton and Trump were frequently characterized to have very different profiles and the outcome was considered as a major surprise. We explore the relationship between polling data and stock prices during the pre-election period. To measure the impact of polling data on stock prices, we develop the “Trump Head-to-Head Momentum” (THHM) reflecting increasing poll scores for Trump during election uncertainty. Implementing a GARCH-in-Mean model, we find that the measure is significantly related to industries representing about 30% of the market capitalization. Moreover, we find that THHM-based active trading strategies outperform passive strategies after the election. This also suggests that stock prices have been exposed to changes in the probability of the event “Trump wins the election” in the pre-election period.