A fuzzy-based advisor for elections and the creation of political communities

Abstract

The rapid increase of information on the Internet is currently a key issue when one is looking for relevant information. At the same time, in the political sector, the amount of available information about candidates and political parties is also increasing. This is becoming a significant problem for voters when they face election processes that require them to select their representatives from a big list of candidates since, in many cases, the candidates are relatively unknown to their constituents. Additionally, the creation of political communities interested in addressing political issues is a hurdle yet to overcome. In this work, an advisor for elections and creation of political communities based on fuzzy logic is presented. The recommendation engine works with a modified fuzzy c-means algorithm and the Sammon mapping technique used for visualization of recommendations. First results demonstrate the potential for building political communities and the stimulation of civic participation.