Prezident 21 Online Game
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Prezident 21 Online Game Report on the application of Janeček Method (D21) Table of contents List of Figures 3 Executive Summary 5 About the Institute H21 6 About the Janeček Method 7 General Context 9 Political System 9 Presidential Election System 12 2018 Presidential Election 14 Candidates 14 Mirek Topolánek 14 Michal Horáček 15 Pavel Fischer 15 Jiří Hynek 16 Petr Hannig 17 Vratislav Kulhánek 17 Miloš Zeman 18 Marek Hilšer 19 Jiří Drahoš 19 Pre-election Polls 20 Official Election Results 21 Prezident 21 Online Game 24 Main objectives 24 Implementation and Procedure 24 Data Collection and Processing 26 Population Sample 27 Prezident 21 Outcomes and Main Findings 28 Results 28 Voting Behaviour 30 Conclusion 40 References 42 2 List of Figures Figure 1: Polling Numbers of Candidates by Czech Public Television Figure 2: Polling Numbers of Candidates by Kdovyhrajevolby Figure 3: Czech Presidential election 2018 Participants and Results - First round Figure 4: Czech Presidential election 2018 Participants and Results - Second round Figure 5: Official results of the Czech Presidential election 2018 Participants and Results Figure 6: Prezident 21 Online Game, Results of the Second Phase of Prezident 21 Figure 7: Prezident 21 Online Game, Distribution of Plus and Minus Votes under the Janeček Method Figure 8: Prezident 21 Online Game, Results under 3 plus votes Figure 9: Prezident 21 Online Game, Vote Structure Figure 10: Prezident 21 Online Game, Voting Pattern based on the preferred Candidate Figure 11: Prezident 21 Online Game, Vote Distribution based on Age Figure 12: Prezident 21 Online Game, Voting behaviour based on the Level of Education of Voters Figure 13: Prezident 21 Online Game, Voting Pattern among Different Political Party Supporters Figure 14: Prezident 21 Online Game, Voting Pattern based on the Gender of voters Figure 15: Prezident 21 Online Game, Vote Distribution based on the Age of Voters Figure 16: Prezident 21 Online Game, Voting Distribution based on the Education Level of Voters 3 Figure 17: Prezident 21 Online Game, Vote Distribution Based on the Size of voters’ Residence Figure 18: Prezident 21 Online Game, Vote Distribution Based on the Salary Level of Voters 4 Executive Summary The Prezident 21 Online Game, (P21) ran between December 2016 and January 2018. In this game, the public could vote for the 2018 presidential candidates in the Czech Republic on the interactive website via a real-time, online voting tool, using the Janeček Method (D21), a voting method developed by Dr. Karel Janeček, a Czech mathematician and entrepreneur. Anyone who wished to participate could vote online, using up to three Plus votes and one Minus vote distributed across nine candidates. The P21 was executed and managed by the Institute H21 (at the time of the project called Institute for Democracy 21), a Prague-based non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing civic participation through innovative solutions for public decision-making. Throughout the P21, the IH21 team visited various towns and villages in the Czech Republic to mobilise and enable voters without Internet access to participate in the P21 by providing them with necessary electronic devices. The unique features of the Janeček Method (D21) incorporated in the P21 produced a different result from that of the actual election. This report shows why, providing both a detailed explanation of the proposed alternative voting method and an in-depth analysis of the P21 results. It also describes the relevant Czech political background and the official election results. 5 About the Institute H21 The Institute H21 (IH21) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 by Dr. Karel Janeček to boost civic engagement and to bring the Janeček Method (D21), to public attention in the Czech Republic and beyond. The Prague-based IH21 is comprised of a diverse team of social innovators who believe that changes in voting systems will help restore trust in democracy and lead to more positive, just societies. During its first year, the IH21 began its research activities, led by a team of experts from around the globe. Since its inception, it conducted three large-scale studies applying the Janeček Method (D21) along with other voting methods in the 2018 Presidential and Senate elections in the Czech Republic. The Institute offers practical and innovative solutions for public decision-making processes run by cities, governments, political parties and non-profit organisations through its online platform. Over 60 municipalities across different countries have adopted the Janeček Method (D21) in their budgeting procedures. The Institute H21 has a partnership organisation in India, the Foundation for Community Consensus (FCC), which applies the Janeček Method (D21) in urban planning and rural development projects in five states. For more information visit the IH21 website: https://www.ih21.org/ For additional data on and results of the Prezident 21, please contact the IH21 ([email protected] ). 6 About the Janeček Method The Janeček Method (D21), is a single and multiple-winner voting system proposed by Dr. Karel Janeček, a Czech mathematician, entrepreneur and anti-corruption campaigner. Under the Janeček Method, each voter may express approval and disapproval toward each candidate by casting Plus and Minus votes. Unlike other voting methods, the Janeček Method (D21) adds a new dimension to the non-ranked voting space by introducing two features that comprise requirement criteria for the method: 1. Systematically Capped Multiple Votes – this sets a ceiling for the total number of votes each voter can cast on a single ballot; 2. A 2:1 Ratio of Plus to Minus Votes – this limits the number of Minus votes allowed to no more than half of the number of Plus votes. The Janeček Method (D21) permits voters to cast multiple votes that are either Plus or Minus in a single ballot. Since the Janeček Method (D21) can be applied in elections with single as well as multiple seats to be filled, voters are given at least twice as many Plus votes as there are seats to be filled. The upper boundary of votes is pegged to the number of ballot options. The method’s general definition proposes to limit the total number of votes to half of the number of options. Hence, the total number of allowed votes can fluctuate based on the number of candidates. However, in practice, no more than 2(N+1) votes are recommended, where N represents the number of seats to be filled. This feature is defined as the systematically capped multiple votes requirements. 7 The Janeček Method (D21) also gives voters an option of expressing disapproval by casting Minus votes. However, the number of Minus votes cannot exceed half the number of Plus votes allowed. A voter is permitted to use a Minus vote only after casting at least double the number of Plus votes. The latter requirement is the second unique feature of the Janeček Method (D21)– the 2:1 ratio of Plus to Minus votes. Under the definition of the Janeček Method (D21), all votes have the same absolute weight, count equally, and do not specify preferences between them. Votes cannot be accumulated. Only one vote, Plus or Minus, per candidate is permitted. The candidate with the highest score is the winner.1 1 The score is counted based on the final number of the Plus votes deducts the final number of the Minus votes. 8 General Context The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic which has a population of approximately 10.6 million people and is located in Central Europe. The country in its current form came into existence after the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation in 1993. In 1948, after a Soviet-backed communist coup, Czechoslovakia fell under a strict communist regime (Fawn, 2000). Even its own democratic reforms brought forward by the communist party leader Alexander Dubček were suppressed by the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion; the USSR-led intervention completely prevented democratic changes in the country until communism’s fall in 1989. Since the first free elections after the fall of communism in 1990, the country has developed vigorous democratic institutions, a private sector and highly-developed market economy (Fawn, 2000). Its democratic transformation was significantly stimulated by efforts to become a member of the so-called Western political structures.2 Political System The Czech Republic has a democratic system of government based on parliamentary democracy, free competition among political parties and universal suffrage. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic adopted in December 1992, every citizen, upon reaching the age of 18, has the right to vote (Constitutional 2 In 1999, the country successfully joined NATO followed by a membership in the European Union five years later. 9 Act No. 1/1993 Coll., Constitution of the Czech Republic, as amended - Czech Constitution, 1993, as amended, art. 1 and 18) The supreme legislative body is the Parliament, which consists of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the legislature, and the Senate , the upper house. The Chamber of Deputies, based on proportional representation, is made up of 200 Deputies serving four-year terms who are elected on party tickets by secret ballot. The Senate is comprised of 81 senators elected in individual electoral districts for six-year terms using a majority-wins system; the elections are held under a two-round system with a run-off. Every two years a third of the Senate seats are up for reelection. Therefore, in each Senate election cycle, 27 constituencies hold elections. The first round of Senate elections is held concurrently with regional or local elections (Šedo, 2016). In order to be elected into the Chamber of Deputies, a candidate must be at least 21 years of age, whereas, for the Senate, the minimum required age is 40 (Czech Constitution, 1993, as amended, art.