Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ELYSSA (ELectoral information and analYSis System for the enhancement of democrAcy)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
While the political and institutional dynamics triggered by the 2011 "Arab revolts" have generated a renewed interest in voter behavior in the countries of the region, the availability of comprehensive and reliable electoral data, as well as rigorous analyses of electoral results, is still limited. In this context, the ELYSSA project aims at facilitating access to electoral information and providing different categories of users (NGOs, media, political actors, cooperation institutions) with tools for the exploration, visualization and analysis of voting and political change in the post-2011 Maghreb. By allowing CSOs to participate in an action research team, the project contributes to a greater visibility and recognition of the importance of their activities in the electoral field, to raising awareness among CSOs of the importance of having complete, reliable and harmonized data based on scientific expertise. The interaction between users and researchers and the collaborative process of developing the database and tools, as well as testing the platform, also gives partners the opportunity to familiarize themselves with electoral geography in order to design their actions, identify their target groups, strengthen their networking with other NGOs, and pool their efforts in the electoral field. By facilitating access to and analysis of reliable and comprehensive electoral and political data, Elyssa helps build the capacity of civil society organizations and contributes to the improvement of democratic processes.
Activities include : I.Consolidation of the team of partners and identification of users' needs. Project partners are associations active in the electoral field (Tunisia and Morocco), of international NGOs and researchers (Tunisia, France and Morocco). The four workshops organized during the project have helped to familiarize the partners with Elyssa's objectives, clarify their expectations and identify their needs in terms of access to and analysis of electoral data The collaborative approach adopted for the implementation of the project also integrates the testing of tool and its functionalities, both with partners and experts. II. Collection, verification and formatting of electoral data. Significant efforts were made to collect, compile, and organize electoral data from various sources, including official election results, reports from electoral commissions, and independent monitoring organizations. Data collection concerns both the electoral data and the data related to the election environment (administrative divisions, socio-economic indicators, etc.). Data from the past 6 elections inTunisia were carefully curated to ensure accuracy and completeness. Main tasks performed include (i) Multisource complementary data collection , (ii) Data digitization (iii) data tables formatting, (iv) Harmonisation data content, (v) Data quality control through statistical verification. III.Construction of the database, data model and development of the technical system. The data processed from the various sources were formalized and stored in table form in a SQL DBMS (database management system), in our case PostgreSQL . The formalization carried out in order to migrate the collected data to the DBMS is based on a conceptual data model, made up of related classes. The technical system allows for the physical management of the stored data using the relational Database Management System (DBMS) PostgreSQL. Data Access to and modification is made possible through a data server system built around the three-tier MVC (Model View Control) principles and allows CRUD (Create Update Delete) operations on database tables and controlled entries and imports of data, as well as data consultation and rendering from public APIs).III. Development of the interactive platform and of the visualization tools. The interaction of users with electoral data is made possible by the frontend of the Elyssa project, which comprises two distinct interfaces for different user needs. The first interface is a straightforward JavaScript-based platform designed for public usage, providing an intuitive and accessible way for users to interact with the electoral data. The frontend facilitates intuitive visualisation of electoral data through interactive maps powered by deck.gl. Two types of base maps have been prepared: a) Electoral constituency maps and b) Administrative division maps with 3 levels: sector, delegation, and governorate. Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies were employed to overlay electoral data onto maps, allowing for spatial analysis and visualisation of electoral trends.
ELYSSA's achievements are manifold: (i) establishment of a comprehensive and reliable electoral database covering several elections
ELYSSA's achievements are manifold: (i) establishment of a comprehensive and reliable electoral database covering several elections
Being both an electoral data portal and an electoral mapping web server, the Elyssa interactive platform is the first tool designed for the Maghreb. It represents a major advance in this research field, both technically and in terms of the completeness of the data included and is also the only electoral data platform allowing for the visualisation of electoral data. The Tafra website, developed by a Moroccan association, offers only a brief and partial coverage of the territory and the cartographic representations are not interactive and limited to pre-recorded thematic maps in image format.The Elyssa platform, designed after analyzing various electoral mapping platforms, brings together several thematic mapping methods and allows non-specialist users to generate maps by varying three essential parameters: an indicator (vote, participation...) a date (election) and a territorial level (constituency, administrative levels...). In addition, the Elyssa platform, with its front-end consisting of two different interfaces designed to meet different user needs according to their level of expertise, differs from the mapping solutions for territorial and electoral analysis developed in Europe, which are mainly intended for experts.