Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (2001-2006)

The module was administered as a post-election interview. The resulting data are provided along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables in a single dataset. CSES Variable List The list of variables is being provided on the CSES Website to help in understanding what content is available from CSES, and to compare the content available in each module. Themes: MICRO-LEVEL DATA: Identification and study administration variables: mode of interview; gender of interviewer; date questionnaire administered; election type; weighting factors; if multiple rounds: percent of vote selected parties received in first round; selection of head of state; direct election of head of state and process of direct election; threshold for first-round victory; selection of candidates for the final round; simple majority or absolute majority for 2nd round victory; primary electoral district of respondent; number of days the interview was conducted after the election Demography: age; gender; education; marital status; union membership; union membership of others in household; business association membership, farmers´ association membership; professional association membership; current employment status; main occupation; socio economic status; employment type - public or private; industrial sector; current employment status, occupation, socio economic status, employment type - public or private and industrial sector of spouse; household income; number of persons in household; number of children in household under the age of 18; attendance at religious services; race; ethnicity; religiosity; religious denomination; language usually spoken at home; region of residence; rural or urban residence Survey variables: political participation during the recent election campaign (persuade others, campaign activities) and frequency of political participation; contacted by candidate or party during the campaign; respondent cast a ballot at the current and the previous election; vote choice (presidential, lower house and upper house elections) at the current and the previous election; respondent cast candidate preference vote at the current election; most important issue; evaluation of governments performance concerning the most important issue and in general; satisfaction with the democratic process in the country; attitude towards selected statements: it makes a difference who is in power and who people vote for; democracy is better than any other form of government; respondent cast candidate preference vote at the previous election; judgement of the performance of the party the respondent voted for in the previous election; judgement how well voters´ views are represented in elections; party and leader that represent respondent´s view best; form of questionnaire (long or short); party identification; intensity of party identification; sympathy scale for selected parties; assessment of parties and political leaders on a left-right-scale; political participation during the last 5 years: contacted a politician or government, protest or demonstration, work with others who share the same concern; respect for individual freedom and human rights; assessment how much corruption is widespread in the country; self-placement on a left-right-scale; political information items DISTRICT-LEVEL DATA: number of seats contested in electoral district, number of candidates, number of party lists, percent vote of different parties, official voter turnout in electoral district MACRO-LEVEL DATA: percent of popular vote received by parties in current (lower house/upper house) legislative election; percent of seats in lower house received by parties in current lower house/upper house election; percentage of official voter turnout; number of portfolios held by each party in cabinet, prior to and after the most recent election; year of party foundation; ideological family the parties are closest to; European parliament political group and international organization the parties belong to; significant parties not represented before and after the election; left-right position of parties; general concensus on these left-right placements among informed observers in the country; alternative dimension placements; consensus on the alternative dimension placements; most salient factors in the election; consensus on the salience ranking; electoral alliances permitted during the election campaign; name of alliance and participant parties; number of elected legislative chambers; for lower house and upper house was asked: number of electoral segments; number of primary districts; number of seats; district magnitude (number of members elected from each district); number of secondary and tertiary electoral districts; compulsory voting; votes cast; voting procedure; transferrable votes; cumulated votes if more than one can be cast; party threshold; used electoral formula; party lists close, open, or flexible; parties can run joint lists; possibility of apparentement; multi-party endorsements; ally party support; requirements for joint party lists; types of apparentement agreements; multi-party endorsements on ballot; head of state (regime type); year of presidential election (before or after this legislative election); process if indirect election; if by electoral college: selection of electors, deliberates, and voting procedure; if by legislature: chambers of the legislature, voting procedure; power of the head of state (introduce legislation, expedited action, package veto, partial veto, legislate by decree, emergency powers, negotiate agreements, commander of forces, introduce referenda, refer legislation to judiciary, legislative sessions); head of government (elected independently, is the head of state, selection method if not elected independently); authorities of the head of government concerning the composition of the cabinet (name ministers, nominate ministers, review ministerial nominations, dismiss ministers); authorities of the head of government concerning the policy making process (chair cabinet meetings, legislature schedules, policy alternatives, refers policy to committee, votes of confidence); methods of cabinet dismissal (head of state acting alone, by head of government alone, majority of legislature, plurality of legislature, combination); dissolution of legislature prior to regularly scheduled elections; dissolution of legislature by: head of state, head of government, majority of legislature, combination; restrictions on dissolving legislature (on the timing, as a response to action/inaction by the legislature); second chamber of the legislature (method of election, composition, exclusive legislative powers, power over the cabinet); constitutional federal structure; central power over peripher