Voting Results Research Articles

Referendum konstytucyjne w Uzbekistanie z dnia 30 kwietnia 2023 roku. Deklarowane cele i wyniki

The purpose of the article is to analyze the causes and consequences of the constitutional referendum held in Uzbekistan on April 30, 2023. The referendum, which was held under the slogans of adapting the Constitution to the requirements of the “New Uzbekistan” and strengthening the protection of human rights, had quite ambiguous consequences. Along with a certain improvement in the legal status of the individual, the referendum “zeroed” the entire tenure of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and began counting the term of Mirziyoyev’s presidency from the moment of the official announcement of the voting results. The referendum preserved the existing form of government in Uzbekistan, which is characterized by the dominant position of the president in the state mechanism. Thus, the referendum guaranteed the further preservation and strengthening of authoritarian tendencies in the development of the political system of Uzbekistan.

Radiotherapy statements of the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Consensus Conference-aGerman expert perspective.

To summarize the radiotherapy-relevant statements of the 18th St.Gallen Breast Cancer Consensus Conference and interpret the findings in light of German guideline recommendations. Statements and voting results from the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Consensus Conference were collected and analyzed according to their relevance for the radiation oncology community. The voting results were discussed in two hybrid meetings among the authors of this manuscript on March 18 and 19, 2023, in light of the German S3 guideline and the 2023 version of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie (AGO) guidelines. There was ahigh level of agreement between the radiotherapy-related statements of the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Consensus Conference and the German S3 and AGO guidelines. Discrepancies include the impact of number of lymph node metastases for the indication for postmastectomy radiotherapy.

E-voting system using cloud-based hybrid blockchain technology

With the invention of Internet-enabled devices, cloud and blockchain-based technologies, an online voting system can smoothly carry out election processes. During pandemic situations, citizens tend to develop panic about mass gatherings, which may influence the decrease in the number of votes. This urges a reliable, flexible, transparent, secure, and cost-effective voting system. The proposed online voting system using cloud-based hybrid blockchain technology eradicates the flaws that persist in the existing voting system, and it is carried out in three phases: the registration phase, vote casting phase and vote counting phase. A timestamp-based authentication protocol with digital signature validates voters and candidates during the registration and vote casting phases. Using smart contracts, third-party interventions are eliminated, and the transactions are secured in the blockchain network. Finally, to provide accurate voting results, the practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) consensus mechanism is adopted to ensure that the vote has not been modified or corrupted. Hence, the overall performance of the proposed system is significantly better than that of the existing system. Further performance was analyzed based on authentication delay, vote alteration, response time, and latency.

Zieleń w rękach mieszkańców – miejsce zieleni w budżetach obywatelskich Katowic w latach 2016–2021

Budżet obywatelski (BO) jako narzędzie angażowania mieszkańców we współdecydowanie o mieście zdobywa coraz większą popularność. Pierwszy BO w Polsce został zorganizowany w 2011 r. w Sopocie, natomiast w Katowicach mechanizm ten wykorzystywany jest od 2014 r.. W latach 2016–2021 na realizację zwycięskich zadań miasto przeznaczyło ponad 117 mln zł. Szeroko rozumiana tematyka zieleni zajmuje relatywnie istotne miejsce wśród projektów wybieranych w BO. Wynika to z faktu, iż tereny zieleni odgrywają istotną rolę w życiu mieszkańców miast, będąc miejscem rekreacji i spotkań. Pełnią także szereg funkcji ekologicznych, m.in. jako środowisko życia roślin i zwierząt czy też bariera dla hałasu oraz zanieczyszczeń powietrza. Spośród 13 kategorii tematycznych wyodrębnionych na podstawie analizy wniosków ze zgłaszanymi przez mieszkańców propozycjami projektów do BO w Katowicach zieleń znalazła się na szóstym miejscu pod względem popularności wśród zadań wybranych do realizacji. W latach 2016–2021 w około jednej dziesiątej zwycięskich projektów ich autorzy, jako przynajmniej jeden z celów, uwzględnili działania związane z zielenią. Miejsce zieleni w katowickich BO na przestrzeni lat ugruntowało się, a odsetek wybranych w drodze głosowania projektów dotyczących tej tematyki nie ulegał znacznym zmianom. Jednak, zgodnie z wynikami głosowań w BO, dla mieszkańców wciąż istotniejsze od terenów zielonych wydają się działania związane z m.in. infrastrukturą drogową, komunikacją, bezpieczeństwem czy instytucjami świadczącymi podstawowe usługi w mieście. Co więcej, w ramach BO bardzo rzadko proponuje się i implementuje bardziej innowacyjne formy zieleni w mieście.

APLIKASI E–VOTING PEMILIHAN KETUA DAN WAKIL KETUA OSIS PADA SMK MA’ARIF NU 01 WANASAR

The election of the chairman and vice chairman of the student council by implementing a general election system is a process of learning democracy directly for all students. The activity of election of the student council chairman right now still uses paper media to select candidates. Current technological opportunities allow elections to be conducted electronically through an e-voting system. The research aims to design a website-based E-voting application for the election of the student council chairman and vice chairman. The field study method is used to get complete and accurate data, with observation and interview data collection techniques. The designed system is technologically feasible and can be continuously developed. The designed system provides convenience for users both in voting and calculating vote results.

P350 Development of consensus statements for transitional care for adolescents with Inflammatory bowel disease throughout Australia and New Zealand

Abstract Background The incidence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rising, and as such there is an increasing need to support adolescents with IBD as they from transition from paediatric to adult care. The use of a structured process for transition is well supported in the literature, however, variation in the delivery of transitional care for adolescents with IBD has been identified across Australis and New Zealand. The aim of this study was to develop consensus statements, based on evidence and expert opinion, to guide transitional care services in IBD. Methods The consensus statements were developed using a modified UCLA-RAND methodology. An IBD expert steering committee was formed, and then a systematic literature review conducted to grade the available evidence and inform initial development of consensus statements. A multi-disciplinary group was formed comprising 16 participants [clinicians, nurses, surgeons, psychologists], that voted anonymously on the level of appropriateness and necessity for each consensus statement, as well as provided general feedback for each. Scoring was facilitated using Likert scales [1=lowest, 9=highest] with a median ≥7 required for inclusion. Results Fourteen consensus statements were devised by the Steering committee (Table 1). Key recommendations including the use of a structured transition programme and transition coordinator. Statements recommended assessment of mental health and transition readiness, and outlined discussion points regarding lifestyle, environment and psychosocial factors to be held with adolescents. The importance of allied health input, the age for transition, recommendations for clinical communication and handover were highlighted, as well as considerations for individual patients. In the first voting round by the multi-disciplinary group each statement reached a median score of ≥ 8 for appropriateness, and ≥7 for necessity. An online meeting with both groups was held to discuss voting results and refine statements. Table 1. Final consensus statements to guide transition of children with inflammatory bowel disease in Australasia. Conclusion There is an identified need for guidance in paediatric to adult transitional care for adolescents with IBD. Consensus statements were developed by a multi-disciplinary group, supported by published evidence, to provide this guidance. The planned publication of the consensus process and statements will facilitate standardize delivery of IBD transitional care within Australasia.

Outlining the contours of Russia’s legal mobilization

In 2020, based on the results of the all-Russian vote, the current Constitution of the Russian Federation was changed, it was supplemented by a number of new important norms relating to a variety of areas of constitutional and legal regulation. However, today a number of authors, experts, and representatives of government bodies raise the question of the need to continue to correct the Basic Law of Russia. Among such authors is N. M. Dobrynin, who in his article “The Russian constitutionalism in the framework of new geopolitical environment: milestones and vectors”, published in the journal “State and Law” of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2023. No. 9), outlines ways of possible changes to the Russian Constitution, including the establishment of guarantees of social justice and strengthening the spiritual and moral foundations of the country’s socio-political structure.

The 2023 Orthopedic Research Society's international consensus meeting on musculoskeletal infection: Summary from the in vitro section.

Antimicrobial strategies for musculoskeletal infections are typically first developed with in vitro models. The In Vitro Section of the 2023 Orthopedic Research Society Musculoskeletal Infectioninternational consensus meeting (ICM) probed our state of knowledge of in vitro systems with respect to bacteria and biofilm phenotype, standards, in vitro activity, and the ability to predict in vivo efficacy. A subset of ICM delegates performed systematic reviews on 15 questions and made recommendations and assessment of the level of evidence that were then voted on by 72 ICM delegates. Here, we report recommendations and rationale from the reviews and the results of the internet vote. Only twoquestions received a≥90% consensus vote, emphasizing the disparate approaches and lack of established consensus for in vitro modeling and interpretation of results. Comments on knowledge gaps and the need for further research on these critical MSKI questions are included.

Televising Talent: Musicality, Meritocracy, and the Aesthetics of Exclusion

AbstractThroughout the history of television, American audiences have participated in a tradition of programs that follow a consistent structure: Amateur musicians and entertainers are offered an opportunity to display their talent on stage, competing for audience votes to win first prize and a chance at stardom. This article contributes to a growing literature on the significance of televised talent shows, demonstrating how their remarkable longevity and representational power stems from their configuration as a “format,” the set of guidelines that structure and constrain the content of each broadcast—an aesthetic process grounded in exclusion. Through their formatting, I argue, these programs reify the notion of “talent” at the heart of talent shows, transforming a multidimensional and context-contingent assemblage of musical abilities into a seemingly stable object able to be recognized, rated, and ranked. Musical auditions offer a microcosm of formatting's role as a means of training audiences’ attention. They normalize the practice of eliminating whatever (or whomever) is deemed unworthy—on these programs and in the wider world. Through analyzing examples from Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour (1948), The Gong Show (1978), and The Voice (2017), the article demonstrates how beneath the widely discussed content of contestant demographics, judge commentary, or audience voting results, the talent show format serves to obscure the contradictions upon which meritocracy's cruel optimism rests.

An Electronic Voting Scheme with Privacy Protection

Privacy protection is one of the key focuses of electronic voting technology, and the privacy information of voting participants is particularly important, such as their personal identity information and election voting results. Protecting the privacy information of participants can ensure the fairness and trustworthiness of voting activities. When designing and implementing electronic voting systems, privacy protection issues must be fully considered. In this paper, an electronic voting scheme based on ElGamal homomorphic encryption properties is proposed. The scheme utilizes the feature of homomorphic encryption to encrypt the voting results of participants and decrypt the voting results to obtain the final data. This scheme can to some extent improve the anonymity of voting participants and ensure the security of voting data by the vote counting center.

A Wireless Voting System Using Wi-Fi-Based Microcontrollers and Face Verification

Voting systems nowadays are highly interesting due to their importance in expressing opinions. The proposed work aims to design a cost-effective and reliable Electronic Voting System (EVS) that can tackle the issues faced by manual election. The system uses small and lowcost microcontrollers with Wi-Fi network connectivity to avoid the issues of installing wire connections. Eligible voters are authenticated by recognizing their faces using deep neural networks (VGG-16 model). The Wi-Fi connections between the server and the clients are carried out through the Internet Protocol suite (TCP/IP) transmission method to ensure data arrival without loss. The client’s side comprises four small and cheap microcontrollers known as ESP8266-01, whereas the server side contains one NodeMCU ESP8266-12E microcontroller connected to a program computer. The voting results are displayed using the Visual Basic programming language. The system is specifically designed to facilitate voting on a particular opinion by providing two options: (Yes) and (No). Besides, it can be utilized for electing a committee manager or group leader and can be expanded to accommodate more options. The VGG model’s robustness is demonstrated through experiments, achieving 99.12% accuracy on Faces96 images and 98.61% on our database. Moreover, the practical implementation of the election process demonstrates that the system is highly reliable, secure and cost-effective.

Zimbabwe: “Sham” Vote Results

Zimbabwe: “Sham” Vote Results

Glosa do postanowienia Sądu Najwyższego z 7 września 2023 r., sygn. akt I NSW 15/23

On 7 September 2023, the Polish Supreme Court issued a decision on the complaint filed under Art. 161a Polish Electoral Code to the information from the National Electoral Commission of 30 August 2023, regarding the scope of powers of persons of trust and social election observers. Based on the decision of the Supreme Court, there are two fundamental issues that require consideration. Firstly, is the position of the Supreme Court correct, according to which the information of the NEC of 30 August 2023, which does not have the form of a resolution of the NEC, may be treated as an act subject to appeal under Art. 161a E.C. Secondly, does the Supreme Court rightly conclude that pursuant to Art. 103b § 1 point 1 of the E.C. in connection with Art. 103c § 2 of the E.C. it can be concluded that persons of trust and social observers have the right to observe other activities of district electoral commissions apart from the procedure of adopting voting protocols, determining voting and election results and preparing protocols. In order to find answers to the above questions, a formal legal method was used and the achievements of case law and literature were analyzed.

Use of RFID Technology to Enhance Electoral Integrity

As the first democratic nation in South Asia, Sri Lanka continues to conduct elections using the traditional paper-based process. The main disadvantages of this procedure are its dependence on human resources, high printing costs, and inefficient vote counting. This research proposes the implementation of an RFID – based voting system to replace the current paper-based election system with paperless electronic voting systems. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a popular method for automatic identification and data capture that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify, and track tags attached to objects. In this system, each registered voter will have a separate voter identity card with an RFID tag printed on it. During the election, the RFID reader module senses the RFID tags with voter ID. After receiving the voter ID from the RFID reader, the IC compares the ID, and if the data matches the already stored information, the voter is allowed to cast his vote. The admin panel has a different ID, and they have authority to see the results, reset the voting results, add a new registered user, remove a registered user, reset all users, and reset all results. If the voter is not authorized the buzzer alarm will ring to inform them that the person is not allowed to vote. The implementation of this system helps to minimize the possibility of rigging in elections, reduce the probability of causing human error, and eliminate the need to do manual work.

The selection of indicators for monitoring health and social care integration in Dutch regions: a Delphi-study

Background: Health care systems in Western countries are increasingly pressured by population changes and labor market shortages. In response, Dutch health authorities and interest groups agreed on a reform agenda in 2018. A key reform principle is 'the right care in the right place': the regional coordination of initiatives to prevent, substitute, or relocate health and support services across health and social care systems in order to better meet the needs of residents and to improve their functioning. However, diverging stakeholder perspectives on this reform challenges regional partnerships to select useful indicators to determine local needs and improvement areas. We therefore aimed to facilitate academic and field expert consensus, and propose useful indicator sets in supporting the regional discussion about delivering 'the right care in the right place'.
 Methods: Modified Delphi and nominal group techniques were used. Invited experts included representatives from interest groups (patients, vulnerable residents, and care professionals), knowledge institutes, regional partnerships, municipalities and private health insurers. First, from published international research about measures used in the context of population health management, researchers identified indicators, clustered them in themes, which they then pre-selected for potential relevance. Second, a web-survey and validated scoring methods were used to establish expert consensus about relevant themes. Third, experts voted on themes, discussed initial voting results, and – if desired – changed votes during online meetings. Fourth, for the 25 prioritized themes, researchers identified available indicators from data collections in the Netherlands. Fifth, another web-survey was used for expert voting on indicator usefulness per theme. Sixth, indicator sets were presented, and next steps were discussed with experts. During rounds 2-6, experts added indicators, shared arguments on their selections, or both. These qualitative data were thematically coded.
 Results: Contributions by 40 experts resulted in: 1) a base set with available indicators with the highest aggregated score for the 25 prioritized themes, 2) a ‘optional set’ with other ‘not-low-scoring’ indicators, and 3) an indicator development agenda. Amongst themes with the highest priority, those about structure (e.g., ‘collaboration across health and social care systems’) and processes (e.g., ‘inflow, throughflow and outflow within care chains’) generally received more votes than those about outcomes (e.g., ‘healthy weight’). Experts argued mostly against the usefulness of available indicators for the highest prioritized themes. Arguments raised were often about ability to influence the indicator or whether the indicator says something about multi-system developments, e.g., both in health and social care. For twelve themes, experts did not comment on the indicators chosen for the base- and optional-set.
 Learned lessons and next steps: Consensus techniques facilitated the establishment of common ground for selecting useful indicators about regional health and social care integration. Although available indicators appeared acceptable for almost half of the prioritized themes, open and routinely collected data provide limited opportunities to indicate integrative regional reform as stakeholders intend. Prioritized and accepted indicators will be made accessible in an existing online data tool. Execution of the development agenda starts with instrument development for indicating cross-system regional collaboration.

Analisis Yuridis Terhadap Tingkat Efisiensi Penyelesaian Perselisihan Hasil Pemilukada oleh MK

The results of votes obtained in official legislative elections by the KPU often receive unsatisfactory responses from election participants. This was triggered by intent, negligence, technical errors, administrative weaknesses or human error. In order to realize democratic elections, the following principles should be applied; honest; independent; orderly, fair, legal certainty; prioritizing public interests; openness and transparency; proportionality; professionalism; accountability; efficiency; and effectiveness. The Constitutional Court should have credibility and professionalism as a decision maker in election disputes. In 2019, 676 PHPU cases were reported to the Constitutional Court and 1135 other cases related to Kada PHP. UU no. 7 of 2017" has been ratified as a codification of election law, in order to create consistency and legal certainty as well as effective and efficient elections. Brazil, as one of the countries with the title of an effective election system, has an institution called "the Electoral Judges for municipal elections", which can be used as a reference by Indonesia in resolving disputes over regional election results. The method used in this research is normative, with explanatory explanations, using various library sources.

EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

The article is devoted to the early elections held in Serbia on December 17, 2023 – parliamentary, metropolitan and partly local. The main motive for their early holding: the desire to confirm the legitimacy of power after mass protests of the opposition, also to demonstrate its political impotence, and simultaneously buy time on the foreign policy stage to reduce pressure from Washington and Brussels. The outcome of the election was another victory for President A. Vučič and ruling Serbian Progressive Party. She was not a mystery to observers or participants beforehand. You could only argue about the account. But in the capital, the opposition had good chances, and this was confirmed. The voting results were considered and an assessment was given of the opposition demonstrations after the elections, as well as the degree and nature of involvement in these events of Brussels and Washington. The reasons for the persistent invincibility of the ruling «progressives», the partial strengthening of the pro-Western «democratic» opposition and the unexpected success of the new populist movement «We are a voice from the people» have been revealed. The logic of political behavior and the relationship between foreign and political balancing of the President of Serbia were analyzed. It was concluded that A. Vučič mainly achieved his goals and retained such a structure of power that provides him with a central role in Serbian politics, as well as free hands in further orientation in the international arena. It will not be unambiguous and straightforward in any case. But his room for maneuver has narrowed, and the direction of drift will be determined by the balance of power in the confrontation between West and East.

Сравнительные итоги предварительного голосования по кандидатурам для последующего выдвижения от партии «Единая Россия» кандидатами в народные депутаты Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия) седьмого созыва и выборов в народные депутаты Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия) 10 сентября 2023 года

In the struggle for electoral votes, political technologies are coming to the forefront. Thus, the All-Russian party “United Russia” at the beginning of the XXI century began to use preliminary voting for the subsequent nomina-tion of candidates for elections. And if the use of this political technology for the party is justified, then its ulti-mate goals are not quite clear to the ordinary man in the street. The relevance of the topic of the article boils down to the fact that the political technology – the preliminary vote used by the Yakut regional branch of the United Russia Party – took place in May 2023, and the elections for which the preliminary vote was held took place in September of the same year. In this regard, there is a large amount of materials, analyzing which, it is possible to assess the effectiveness of the applied political technology, to determine its weaknesses and strengths. The article considers a comparative analysis of the results of the preliminary voting on candidates for subsequent nomination from the United Russia party as candidates for People’s Deputies of the State Assem-bly (Il Tumen) The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the seventh convocation and elections to the People’s Depu-ties of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Political Preferences Of Residents Of Donbass Republics (In The Context Of The Elections To The State Duma Of The Russian Federation In 2021)

Very approximate information is available about the electoral preferences of the residents of Donbass within the framework of the Russian political and legal field. The article considers the issue of establishing the exact results of the will of the voters of the L-DPR, who were citizens of the Russian Federation, in the elections to the State Duma in 2021. Conclusions about the electoral preferences of residents of the L-DPR are made on the basis of the difference in the results of voting on the proportional and majority components of the electoral system of the Russian Federation, within which residents of Donbass could not vote for majority candidates. The results of remote electronic voting (REV), “exit” voting at the polling stations of the Rostov region and post-election polling are analyzed. It is established that at least 200 thousand L-DPR voters voted in these elections. The results of the REV and “exit” voting differed somewhat. The greatest support was enjoyed by: “United Russia” (the “exit” vote of the DPR — 81 %, the LPR — 83 %, the REV — 88 %) and the LDPR (up to 10 % on the “exit” vote). The electoral culture of Donbass had features of “periphery” in relation to the whole of the Russian Federation: many residents are poorly versed in the intricacies of Russian politics, vote for patriotic forces, identify support for the Russian Federation and its leadership. According to the results of surveys, more than 60 % of residents of the L-DPR ethnically identify themselves as Russians. Depending on the wording of the questions, from 65 % to 80 % of respondents called joining the Russian Federation a priority vector of integration of the region. During the period of the existence of the L-DPR, the prevailing pro-Russian sentiments in this territory have only intensified.

VoteBlock: Blockchain Based E-Voting System

In the contemporary digital landscape, where the ease of hacking and system breaches prevails, the potential for data tampering looms, resulting in unfavourable circumstances. To mitigate this rick, blockchain technology emerges as steadfast solution, characterised by its near- impenetrable security features, rendering data alteration virally impossible. The act of voting, integral to any nation’s democratic process, stands as a cornerstone of societal decision making. The consequences of vote miscalculation or manipulation by external forces are dire, emphasising the need for a secure and reliable system. It is in this context that blockchain technology plays a cubical role, offering an avenue to enhance the integrity and accessibility of the voting process. This paper presents a comprehensive proposal for decentralised national e-voting system build upon blockchain technology. The system incorporates an administrative panel designed to facilitate the scheduling of elections, candidate management, and the declaration of election results. Concurrently, a user-friendly web application empowers citizens with an interface for inputting their personal details, including their name, mobile number, and a live photo captured during the voting process. To maintain the integrity of the voting system, voter eligibility is rigorously verified at the point of User ID entry. A crucial layer of security is added by confirming eligible voters through their registers phone numbers using One Time Passwords (OTPs). Subsequently, individual voters gain the privilege to cast their votes, with their actions monitored through a webcam or front cameras. Votes are securely recorded within a blockchain ledger, immune to tapering, while the system checks the voter’s addressed corresponding constituency in the backend. The voting results are diligently declared on a predefined date and managed by the administrator, with graphical representations available to provide clarity and transparency. This holistic system not only upholds the sanctity of the voting process but also offers citizens a technologically advanced and secure means to exercise their democratic rights