La confianza en instituciones que son clave para el funcionamiento de la democracia ha caído de manera sostenida en el Perú y América Latina, entre ellas, la confianza en los medios de comunicación. Si bien se ha discutido cómo la desconfianza en la prensa puede afectar a las instituciones y valores políticos, hasta ahora sabemos muy poco respecto del impacto que la desconfianza en la prensa puede tener sobre uno de los pilares del sistema democrático: las elecciones. Para llenar este vacío, esta investigación estudia el efecto que la confianza en los medios de comunicación tradicionales tiene sobre la percepción de transparencia electoral y la confianza en los organismos electorales. Con datos correspondientes a las elecciones generales de Perú en el 2021, este trabajo presenta dos aportes valiosos para la discusión sobre la relación entre la prensa y los procesos electorales: por un lado, concluimos que la confianza en la prensa tiene un efecto significativo sobre la percepción de integridad electoral, independientemente de la confianza en otras instituciones vinculadas con las elecciones. Por el otro, este trabajo argumenta que los sucesos políticos y mediáticos particulares de las elecciones del 2021, especialmente las acusaciones injustificadas de fraude electoral, contribuyeron a que esta relación cambie en un breve periodo de tiempo. / Trust in institutions that are key to the functioning of democracy has fallen steadily in Peru and Latin America, including trust in the media. While it has been discussed how distrust in the press can affect political institutions and values, so far we know very little about the impact that distrust in the press can have on one of the pillars of the democratic system: the elections. To fill this gap, this research studies the effect that trust in the traditional media has on the perception of electoral transparency and trust in electoral bodies. With data corresponding to Peru's general elections in 2021, this paper presents two valuable contributions to the discussion on the relationship between the press and electoral processes: on the one hand, we conclude that trust in the press has a significant effect on the perception of electoral integrity, independently of trust in other institutions linked to elections. On the other hand, this paper argues that the particular political and media events of the 2021 elections, especially the unjustified accusations of electoral fraud, contributed to this relationship changing in a short period of time.

The thesis informs a reader about problems of establishing new/small political parties and their activities in Czech Parliament during the period of 2002 -- 2010. The surprising and unexpected results of Chamber of Desputies election that took place in May 2010 and brought considerable transformation of contemporary political establishment in Czech republic, represented the main impulse for writing this thesis. The aim of the thesis was to find out the size of political market openness for new/small political parties during the period of 2002-2010 and simultaneously evaluate what kind of position and substance these new/small political subjects in the political market have. A content of thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part is focused on theoretical theme and includes four chapters. There are mentioned mainly the issues of new/small political parties' definitions, the role of relevant parties in proportional representation systems and also some of the most important attempts of electoral reforms. The second part includes the final chapter that is focused on analysis of the factors that had influence on increase or decrease in chances of new/small parties to be successful in Chamber of Desputies elections from 2002 and thus become the part of political establishment. The fundamental questions were: How have the new/small political parties built up in that period of 2002-2010 and under what circumstances have they become the part of political establishment.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:34:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RENATO RIBEIRO DE ALMEIDA.pdf: 1434838 bytes, checksum: 785c9cb2927d7312172125601376e3c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-10 / Universidade de São Paulo / This master dissertation aims to systematize and provide discussions on the chances of acquiring ineligibility that follow bad representatives, especially after the introduction or modification of conducts arranged in Complementary Law No. 135/2010, popularly titled lei da ficha limpa amending the Supplementary Law No. 64/1990. It aims to systematize, in a single text, all the situations covered by the new legislation restricting the eligibility of those who are already in the exercise of political elective office, discussing what are the main legal nuances that, while restricting eligibility, concern, in general, the whole Brazilian society. Besides the specific subject of great legal significance which concerns the hypotheses about the acquisition of ineligibility during the period of elective office, this work will hold a debate about the principle of good governance and how it has been dealed by the international doctrine. This principle postulated in the Federal Constitution in Article 37, but also found throughout the constitutional text, argues that public managers, especially those agents with electoral and political mandate, with special emphasis on those dealing with public funds, have, as a functional duty, the obligation of providing proper accountability and transparency in their political- administrative acts featuring what can be named positive provisions of the State. / A presente dissertação de mestrado tem por objetivo sistematizar e estabelecer discussões sobre as hipóteses de aquisição de inelegibilidade a que estão sujeitos os maus mandatários de cargos eletivos, sobretudo após a introdução ou alteração de condutas dispostas na Lei Complementar n° 135/2010, popularmente intitulada Lei da Ficha Limpa, que alterou a Lei Complementar nº 64/1990. Objetiva-se sistematizar, em um único texto, todas as situações previstas pela nova legislação que restrinjam a elegibilidade daqueles que já se encontram no exercício de mandato político-eletivo, discutindo quais são as principais nuances jurídicas que, ao restringir a elegibilidade, atingem, de forma geral, toda a sociedade brasileira. Além da temática específica e de grande relevância jurídica sobre hipóteses de aquisição de inelegibilidade no exercício de mandato eletivo, este trabalho terá como pano de fundo o debate acerca do princípio da boa governança ou good governance, como é tratado pela doutrina internacional. Tal princípio, postulado na Constituição Federal principalmente no artigo 37, mas encontrado também ao longo de todo texto constitucional, dispõe que os gestores públicos, sobretudo os agentes com mandato político-eleitoral, com especial ênfase naqueles que lidam com recursos públicos, possuem, como dever funcional, a devida prestação de contas e a transparência em seus atos político-administrativos, caracterizando, desta forma, o que se pode chamar de uma prestação positiva do Estado.

This research is an enquiry to find an electoral formula that conforms to Canadian constitutional values. Three core values that are pertinent to the issue of electoral systems are identified: democracy, diversity, and efficiency. Each of these core values is divided into different aspects. These aspects will form the backbone of the evaluation of different electoral systems in this work. I will begin with an evaluation of the plurality model of elections, which is currently used in Canada. I will demonstrate that many of the attributes of the current system are not in tune with Canadian constitutional values, in particular with the progressive interpretation that the Supreme Court of Canada has given to the right to vote as enshrined in Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although the interpretation of the right to vote will be the main thrust of the constitutional scrutiny in this work, attention will also be given to other pertinent rights such as equality rights, minority rights, and the freedom of expression. Next, I will examine provincial electoral reform initiatives that were initiated in five Canadian provinces. All of these initiatives - three of which were put to referenda and eventually defeated - proposed adopting a variant of proportional representation. Accordingly, I will evaluate proportional systems according to the intended values. I will conclude that these systems have problems of their own and they also cannot strike a fine balance between competing values. In the final stage, I will make a new proposal for elections to the Canadian Parliament. First, I will demonstrate that majority systems are better candidates to attain the envisioned values. Then I will introduce a new variant of the majority model, which I call a majority-preferential two-round variant. I will demonstrate that this new variant will outperform the other variants in the attainment of values if adopted for elections to the House of Commons. Finally, I will argue that the combination of a House of Commons elected through the majority-preferential formula and a proportionally elected Senate will result in a more balanced approach to the relevant constitutional values.

Inspired by critiques of controlled elections under “single-party rule,” this dissertation explores the performance, implications and potentials of China’s village elections. It first reviews the most important studies on the progress of China’s grassroots democracy and then analyzes the social-political background of village self-management which to date has been neglected in the academic literature. Based on empirical studies conducted in Sichuan, this dissertation investigates the roles and attitudes of various participatory groups in village elections and in the course of electoral reforms. It also discusses the failure of the existing law to set out fundamental rules for village elections and to effectively guide people’s behavior. Further, this dissertation offers detailed recommendations to improve the existing law in order to guarantee the accessibility, authenticity and competitiveness of village elections. / Graduate / 0398 / 0616 / aloeke@gmail.com

The basic problem in this study is to determine whether the electoral management body (EMB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is sufficiently independent and whether it complies with most of the criteria of an ideal independent EMB in order to conduct free and fair elections in the promotion of democracy in the DRC. However, an ideal type of an independent EMB is not easily realizable but Ghana’s electoral commission (EC) is widely regarded as a model of an independent EMB in Africa. Therefore, this study uses the EC as a workable ideal type of independent EMB that informs this study in assessing the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI)’s level of independence. The study discovered that while the formal legal framework guarantee the independence of the CENI, it lacks practical independence due to certain factors which include the mode of appointment and composition of the body, the unstable security of tenure of its members, the negative influence of the judiciary, executive and the parliament over the functioning of the CENI, and the lack of adequate funding. The study argues that the composition of the CENI has to be depoliticized; its members should enjoy a strong security of tenure and the issue of political parties funding should be effective and handled by the CENI in order to enhance political competitiveness in the electoral process. An adequate funding should be timely realized so that the CENI carries out its work with autonomy. The judiciary, the parliament and the executive should support the growth of democracy in the DRC by allowing the CENI to work without the interference of any quarter. / African Centre for Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies / M.A. (African Politics)

This research is an enquiry to find an electoral formula that conforms to Canadian constitutional values. Three core values that are pertinent to the issue of electoral systems are identified: democracy, diversity, and efficiency. Each of these core values is divided into different aspects. These aspects will form the backbone of the evaluation of different electoral systems in this work. I will begin with an evaluation of the plurality model of elections, which is currently used in Canada. I will demonstrate that many of the attributes of the current system are not in tune with Canadian constitutional values, in particular with the progressive interpretation that the Supreme Court of Canada has given to the right to vote as enshrined in Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although the interpretation of the right to vote will be the main thrust of the constitutional scrutiny in this work, attention will also be given to other pertinent rights such as equality rights, minority rights, and the freedom of expression. Next, I will examine provincial electoral reform initiatives that were initiated in five Canadian provinces. All of these initiatives - three of which were put to referenda and eventually defeated - proposed adopting a variant of proportional representation. Accordingly, I will evaluate proportional systems according to the intended values. I will conclude that these systems have problems of their own and they also cannot strike a fine balance between competing values. In the final stage, I will make a new proposal for elections to the Canadian Parliament. First, I will demonstrate that majority systems are better candidates to attain the envisioned values. Then I will introduce a new variant of the majority model, which I call a majority-preferential two-round variant. I will demonstrate that this new variant will outperform the other variants in the attainment of values if adopted for elections to the House of Commons. Finally, I will argue that the combination of a House of Commons elected through the majority-preferential formula and a proportionally elected Senate will result in a more balanced approach to the relevant constitutional values.

自第二次世界大戰結束後，日本眾議院選舉制度從1947年以來採用中選舉區制度，直到1993年眾議院大選後，除了日本共產黨以外的7個在野政黨一同組成聯合政府，結束了自由民主黨自1955年以來的長期執政，情況開始所轉變。日本新黨黨魁細川護熙就任日本首相後，為了兌現選舉承諾，而在任內推動了選舉制度改革，將選制改為小選舉區比例代表並立制，期望能以此改善國內政治獻金醜聞頻傳的金權政治弊端。而實施新選舉制度後所帶來的諸如小選舉區制有利於大型政黨但一黨難以過半、小黨在國會生存難度增加卻也有比例代表區維持其存在等效應，導致聯合政府從1990年代開始不再只是為了達成某種政治目標而形成的少數特例。自此以後，日本政黨結盟組成聯合政府便形成一種常態。因此本研究認為，1990年代選舉制度改革與聯合政府的形成，兩者可說是相輔相成。 為了進一步分析選舉制度改革對1990年代的日本聯合政府、乃至於日本政壇造成何種影響，本研究將以1996年小選舉區比例代表並立制首度實踐於眾議院選舉作為分水嶺，將1996年以前成立的細川、村山聯合政府定義為「選舉制度改革前的聯合政府」，1996年到2000年成立的橋本、小淵與森聯合政府定義為「選舉制度改革後的聯合政府」，並從政黨規模、意識形態、政黨穩定狀況與政治資金規正法修正案的實施等角度進行觀察與比較。本研究發現，選舉制度改革後的聯合政府在政黨規模上已形成一個大型政黨加上兩個小黨的合作模式，意識形態也趨向右派主導而多元。就政黨穩定狀況而言，經過選舉制度改革所帶來的政黨重組，使日本政黨正走向稍無定型的一強，或是二強n弱體制。而在政治資金規正法修正案與選舉制度改革雙管齊下實施後，日本選舉也已由過去的派閥主導，開始向政黨主導模式邁出了第一步。 / After the end of World War II, SNTV-MMD system (single non-transferable vote with multi-member district system) was adopted by the Lower House in Japan since 1947. However, the electoral system of Lower House has been adapted after the Japanese general election in 1993. The Liberal Democratic Party, generally abbreviated to “LDP,” has been the ruling party of Japan since it was founded in 1955, but the LDP lost its overall majority after the Japanese general election in1993. A coalition government was created by seven opposition political parties, and Morihiro Hosokawa, the leader of Japan New Party, was elected prime minister. Hosokawa promoted electoral reform, he adapted the electoral system of Lower House for single member district with proportional representation system, because he promised to eradicate the plutocracy in Japan. The new electoral system causes several conditions, including the major parties are superiors in election, but it’s difficult for them to win the majority seats in Lower House. Besides, it’s difficult for the minor parties to win the seats in single member district, but there is an opportunity for them to win seats in proportional representation. Those conditions cause that Japanese political parties form coalition government become normality. Therefore, the electoral reform and the forming of coalition government are complementarity in the 1990s. In this research, the coalition governments in the 1990s are divided into two groups by the executing of single member district with proportional representation system in Japanese general election of 1996. The Hosokawa government and the Murayama government are defined as “the coalition governments before the executing of new electoral system.” The Hashimoto government, the Obuchi government and the Mori government are defined as “the coalition governments after the executing of new electoral system.” Those two group are contrasted with each other from the scale of political parties, the ideology, the stability of political parties, and executing of the Political Funds Control Law. There four major findings in this research. The first one is the coalition governments after the executing of new electoral system are formed by one major party and two minor parties. The second one is even the coalition governments after the executing of new electoral system are leading by the right-wing parties, the ideology of them is multivariate. The third one is electoral reform causes the party realignment and the Japanese political party system become one unstable major party or two major parties with several minor parties. The last one is the leader of Japanese election is turning to the parties from factions, because the new electoral system and the Aamendment to the Political Funds Control Law are executed.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the past three decades the practice of international election observation has shifted its focus from elections taking place within a decolonialisation context, to those in independent, but formerly undemocratic, states. The latter accepted the presence of international observers with some reservation, citing the contention that observation amounted to an infringement on national sovereignty. The demise of the former East Block, however, established the primacy of the liberal democratic ideology in world politics, leaving these states with a limited choice between democratisation and isolation. Pro-democracy supporters in former authoritarian countries embraced the change in ideological climate. Realising the lack of capacity and trust to run elections by themselves, they generally supported the presence of international observers in elections of states emerging from prolonged periods of authoritarianism. Over the past decade this affinity with international missions has been transformed into skepticism. Three primary reasons for this disenchantment have been the apparent lack of electoral standards, uncoordinated observer missions and failure to convince voters of their impartiality. This assignment represents a scholarly attempt to evaluate the contributions of international election observers to South African elections. On a theoretical level it addresses the three criticisms against foreign observation. Drawing on the vast body of international literature, the author suggests three countermeasures. These suggestions, aimed at enhancing the contributions of international observer consist of: 1) a greater consideration for the political context within which an election takes place; 2) the pooling of international observer capacity and 3) more scope to, and cooperation with, local observer groups. Each of these measures is transferred to the South African electoral reality to establish the extent of their application in this practical context. With regard to the first proposal the author finds that clear consideration has been given to contextual factors in both elections. An assessment of the quality of coordination of international observer groups also indicates that the practice of pooling resources have been employed with success by a number of missions. In this field the U.N. played a leading role. Cooperation between international observers and their local counterparts is however an aspect that has been lagging behind. The opportunity for capacity building, a significant benefit of such cooperation, has therefore to a large extent been lost. In the light of this, and the uncertainty of future international involvement, the author asserts that in future South Africans will increasingly be dependent on the cultivation of homegrown capacity. He therefore believes that initiatives such as the creation of the SADC Electoral Forum in 1998 are commendable and should be encouraged. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die fokus van internasionale verkiesingwaarneming het in die loop van die laaste drie dekades wesenlik verskuif van die tradisionele dekolonisasie verkiesingskonteks, na waarneming binne onafhanklike state waar die omskakeling van outoritêre na demokratiese regeringsvorms redelik onlangs plaasgevind het. Laasgenoemde state moes waarnemers, en die verkiesings wat waargeneem is, met voorbehoud aanvaar. Die alternatiewe was egter beperk. Die val van die voormalige Oosblok en die gevolglike triomf van die liberale demokrasie, het ondemokratiese state met 'n eenvoudige keuse gelaat: hervorm of staar isolasie in die gesig. Pro-demokratiese groepe in voormalige outoritêre state het die nuwe klimaat van politieke vryheid verwelkom. In die besef dat nuwe demokrasieë waarskynlik nie oor die nodige ervaring en wedersydse vertroue binne die bevolking beskik om verkiesings volkome te laat vlot nie, is buitelandse bystand - met inbegrip van internasionale waarneming - deur dié groepe verwelkom. In die afgelope dekade het die positiewe konnotasie aan internasionale verkiesingswaarneming egter in gedrang gekom. Drie kernredes hiervoor was die skynbare gebrek aan universele verkiesingstandaarde, swak georganiseerde waarnemer afvaardigings en 'n algemene gebrek om hul motiewe bo verdenking te plaas. Die sentrale oogmerk van hierdie werkstuk is die evaluasie van die bydraes gemaak deur internasionale verkiesingswaarnemers in die twee Suid-Afrikaanse verkiesings van 1994 en 1999. Op 'n teoretiese vlak is die drie bogenoemde gebreke aangespreek, en na raadpleging van internasionale literatuur oor die onderwerp is drie teenmaatreëls geidentifiseer. Hierdie aktiwiteite, gemik op meer effektiewe internasionale betrokkenheid bestaan uit: 1) groter aandag wat geskenk moet word aan politeke konteks; 2) die kombinering van internasionale waarnemer vaardighede vir beter resultate, en 3) groter klem wat gelê moet word op samewerking tussen nasionale en internasionale waarnemers. Elkeen van hierdie vereistes is oorgedra na die Suid-Afrikaanse verkiesingskonteks om vas te stel tot watter mate dié gebruike in Suid-Afrika wortel geskied het. Wat betref die eerste voorstel met betrekking tot konteksgebonde evaluasie, is daar vasgestel dat dit wel deel was van internasionale waarnemer praktyk in beide verkiesings. 'n Waardeskatting van die koordinasie van internasionale waarnemingsgroepe dui verder daarop dat samewerking tussen waarnemergroepe oor die algemeen bygedra het tot 'n versterking van inisiatiewe deur internasionale waarnemers. Op hierdie gebied het die Verenigde Nasies veral 'n sleutelrol gespeel. 'n Aspek wat egter agterweë gebly het, is die vlak van samewerking tussen internasionale waarnemers en hul Suid- Afrikaanse eweknieë. Hier is 'n waardevolle geleentheid verspeel om die kapasiteit van plaaslike verkiesingswaarnemers te versterk. Dit, en die feit dat toekomstige internasionale teenwoordigheid in die toekoms nie 'n sekerheid is nie, sal volgens die skrywer, beteken dat Suid-Afrikaners in die toekoms toenemend aangewese sal wees op die ontwikkeling van eie kapasiteit. In die lig hiervan moet inisiatiewe soos SAOG se nuutgestigte Verkiesingsforum verwelkom en aangemoedig word.

Electoral Rules and Leader Selection: Experimental Evidence from Ugandan Community Groups. Despite a large body of work documenting how electoral systems affect policy outcomes, less is known about their impact on leader selection. We study this by comparing two types of participatory decision making in Ugandan community groups: (i) vote by secret ballot and (ii) open discussion with consensus. Random assignment allows us to estimate the causal impact of the rules on leader types and social service delivery. Vote groups are found to elect leaders more similar to the average member while discussion group leaders are positively selected on socio-economic characteristics. Further, dropout rates are significantly higher in discussion groups, particularly for poorer members. After 3.5 years, vote groups are larger in size and their members save less and get smaller loans. We conclude that the secret ballot vote creates more inclusive groups while open discussion groups favor the already economically successful. Preparing for Genocide: Community Meetings in Rwanda. How do political elites prepare the civilian population for participation in violent conflict? We empirically investigate this question using data from the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Every Saturday before 1994, Rwandan villagers had to meet to work on community infrastructure. The practice was highly politicized and, according to anecdotal evidence, regularly used by the political elites for spreading propaganda in the years before the genocide. This paper presents the first quantitative evidence of this abuse of the community meetings. To establish causality, we exploit cross-sectional variation in meeting intensity induced by exogenous weather fluctuations. We find that an additional rainy Saturday resulted in a five percent lower civilian participation rate in genocide violence. Selection into Borrowing: Survey Evidence from Uganda. In this paper, I study how changes to the standard credit contract affect loan demand and selection into borrowing, using a representative sample of urban micro enterprises, most with no borrowing experience. Hypothetical loan demand questions are used to test whether firm owners respond to changes in loans' contractual terms and whether take-up varies by firms' risk type and other firm owner characteristics. The results indicate that contracts with lower interest rates and less stringent collateral requirements attract less risky borrowers, suggesting that there is scope for improvement of standard financial contract terms. Credit Contract Structure and Firm Growth: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial. We study the effects of credit contract structure on firm outcomes among small and medium sized firms. A randomized control trial was carried out to distinguish between some of the key constraints to efficient credit use connected to the firms' business environment and production function, namely (i) backloaded returns (ii) uncertain returns and (iii) indivisible fixed costs. Each firm was followed for the 1-year loan cycle. We describe the experiment and present preliminary results from the first 754 out of 2,340 firms to have completed the loan cycle. Firms offered a grace period have higher profits and higher household income than firms receiving a rebate later on as well as the control group. They also increased the number of paid employees  and reduced the number of unpaid employees, an effect also found among firms that received a cash subsidy at the beginning of the loan cycle. We discuss potential mechanisms behind these effects.