Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on September 22, 2026, 10:37:23 PM

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on September 22, 2026, 08:23:54 PMWith MMP for instance, there would be 8 single-winner constituencies, so we would need at least 16 candidates (2 per) to make all of these races competitive, ideally more than that. With the way things look currently, I really can't see this happen.

I think this is related to the question you asked me elsewhere, but -- would it be feasible to use MMP with fewer constituencies? So if you had Miestra's four constituencies, each of which elect one or two members (for, say, six MCs total) with the remainder of seats apportioned in line with the party-list vote.

It would be more feasible, in the sense that we would now only need 12 candidates in total in a worst case, but at that point the MM part of MMP would be in question, in my opinion, and you may as well not bother with it.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on September 22, 2026, 08:23:54 PMWith MMP for instance, there would be 8 single-winner constituencies, so we would need at least 16 candidates (2 per) to make all of these races competitive, ideally more than that. With the way things look currently, I really can't see this happen.

I think this is related to the question you asked me elsewhere, but -- would it be feasible to use MMP with fewer constituencies? So if you had Miestra's four constituencies, each of which elect one or two members (for, say, six MCs total) with the remainder of seats apportioned in line with the party-list vote.

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on September 22, 2026, 08:03:38 PMHow committed are we to nation-wide, at-large elections for the Cosa?

It's just an idea but have we seriously considered creating provincial constituencies based on population and elect MCs through the provinces? I understand this would drastically reorient how elections are run and won, but it would inject much needed activity in our provinces and with a smaller electorate, candidates can be better vetted by the people they're asking for votes.

Two of the methods I listed at the top of this thread require constituencies (MMP by necessity, STV for feasibility), and the main issue I have with province-based constituencies boils down to lack of competitiveness. With MMP for instance, there would be 8 single-winner constituencies, so we would need at least 16 candidates (2 per) to make all of these races competitive, ideally more than that. With the way things look currently, I really can't see this happen.

I also highly doubt that local elections would revitalise the provinces, considering that Senate elections have been local since the beginning and it has accomplished nothing. If anything, moving the Senate away from provincial representation might actually be the way to go, but that's a separate issue that I may or may not write another post about.

I'm just gonna bring up a topic I didn't mention in our previous discussions:

How committed are we to nation-wide, at-large elections for the Cosa?

It's just an idea but have we seriously considered creating provincial constituencies based on population and elect MCs through the provinces? I understand this would drastically reorient how elections are run and won, but it would inject much needed activity in our provinces and with a smaller electorate, candidates can be better vetted by the people they're asking for votes.

Quote from: Moinul Moin on September 22, 2026, 01:59:13 PM->Bangladeshi Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani is one of my favorite dishes from Bangladesh. It is something you will often find at family gatherings, weddings, celebrations, or simply when people want to make a special meal at home(In Bangladesh and India). There are many different ways to make biryani, but this is a simple Bangladeshi-style version that I enjoy.

->[Ingredients]

1.For the chicken:

* 1.5 kg chicken, cut into medium-sized pieces
* 200 g plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons ginger paste
* 2 tablespoons garlic paste
* 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1.5 teaspoons red chili powder
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1 teaspoon coriander powder
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* Salt(1 or 2 spoon)
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons cooking oil

2.For the rice:

* 500 g basmati(thick & Long rice)
* 2–3 potatoes, peeled and cut in half
* 2 bay leaves
* 4 cardamom pods
* 4 cloves
* 1 small cinnamon stick
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* Salt
* Water for boiling

3.For the biryani:

* 3 large onions, thinly sliced
* Oil for frying
* 500ml warm milk(cow)
* A little saffron or saffron-colored food essence
* 2 tablespoons kewra water (Pandanus odorifer)
* 2 tablespoons Rose water
* 3–4 green chilies
* 2 tablespoons ghee(Clarified butter)
* Fresh coriander and mint

-->How to make it(Learnt from my mother)

First, I marinate the chicken with the yogurt, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala(mixed spices), salt, lemon juice, and a little oil. I usually leave it for at least an hour.
Next, I slice the onions very thinly and fry them until they become golden and crispy. These fried onions are called "beresta", and they add a lot of flavor to the biryani. I also lightly fry the potatoes and keep them aside.
I then fry the marinated chicken in a large pot over high heat. Once the chicken is partly fried and the oil starts coming out of the mixture, I add the fried potatoes.
While the chicken is cooking, I prepare the rice. I boil the rice with salt, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seeds. I don't cook the rice completely at this stage. It should be about 70% cooked, because it will finish cooking later with the chicken.
Now comes my favorite part: putting everything together. I place a layer of rice over the chicken, then add some fried onions, green chilies, coriander, and mint. I add another layer of rice and repeat the process.
Finally, I mix a little saffron with warm milk and pour it over the rice. I add the kewra water, rose water, and ghee, then cover the pot tightly.
The biryani is cooked on very low heat for around 20–25 minutes. This slow cooking allows the rice to absorb the flavors from the chicken and spices.
When it is ready, I gently mix the rice from the bottom upwards so that the grains stay intact.
It is best served hot, and I usually enjoy it with some salad or raita.

And there is one thing I personally like to do after eating biryani: I drink Coke! It gives me a wonderful, refreshing feeling after a hearty plate of biryani.

For me, Chicken Biryani is more than just a meal it is one of those dishes that reminds me of home and special occasions in Bangladesh. The view:-

I am definitely stealing this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

I would like to nominate myself as Mençei

A few more technical thoughts on STV.

The problem of constituencies is not so much a problem with vote counting - there exist several very good online tabulation systems, like the one we use for the Fiova Praisidïeu. The problem is effective threshold for election.

There was a good hard debate on the 20-seat Cosa which means that from now on a party or independent candidate will need at least 2, maybe 3 votes to get a seat. The problem will become harder if you have a constituency which is half or a quarter of the country.

The threshold for election in an STV system is "total votes/number of vacancies+1". So, if the whole country is a single constituency and there are 105 valid votes, the quota for election on the first count would be (105/20+1) = 5 votes. Of course, you wouldn't need 5 first prefs to be elected - you could be elected on latter counts with many fewer votes than that.

(Australian Senate elections are notorious for this. They used to have a "Group Voting Ticket" which meant that instead of ranking every candidate, you could tick a box to indicate your party's "default" ranking. The overwhelming majority of voters used this box - which mean, for example, the Labor Party's top candidate might get 1 million first preferences, and their 2nd and 3rd ranking might get 5000 and 3000 votes respectively, but those latter two would still be elected because almost all the preferences would go straight down the GVT.)

But anyway, that would mean a party/candidate with 4.76% of the vote would be guaranteed representation. Now let's look at calculations I prepared earlier for ways in which you could divide Talossa up into 2 or 4 constituencies. (Turnout figures are those for the 62nd Cosa; I have used provinces as the basis for constituencies because there is simply no other non-arbitrary method.)



The first option divides Talossa into two constituencies:

• KA+VD+FL+BE, covering 61 citizens and electing 9 MCs
• FI+MA+MM+CZ, covering 75 citizens and electing 11 MCs

The quota for election is, respectively, 4.9 votes (10% of the first-pref vote) or 4.6667 (8.3%).

The latter divides Talossa into four constituencies:

• KA+VD, covering 28 citizens and electing 4 MCs: quota is 4.2 votes (20%)
• BE+FF, covering 33 citizens and electing 5 MCs: quota is 4.6667 (16.7%)
• FI+MA, covering 45 citizens and electing 7 MCs: quota is 4 (12.5%)
• CZ+MM, covering 30 citizens and electing 4 MCs: quota is 4.8 (20%)

So, not only does the percentage of the vote you'd need to get a seat climb higher as the constituencies get smaller, but it would vary between constituencies. 2 or 3 seat constituencies, as Marcel mentioned, would be so hard to win in they might as well be first-past-the-post.

I would just like to finally say that Marcel is absolutely right that STV relies on citizens ranking down the ballot, something that especially American voters have a hard time grasping, and also something which is very sensitive to ballot design (I believe that the last Fiova election was more or less inoperative because the ballot did not make rankings obvious or intuitive). One way around this is the Australian method for requiring more than one ranking for a valid vote - in some cases, ranking every candidate. But when this was briefly the case for Seneschal elections, one MC got extremely angry because it was "anti-freedom of speech" to require him to give a (2) ranking to his disfavored candidate. I'd say this is by far a greater difficulty than vote counting.

Oath sent over.

Judging by the debates on the Democracy Amendment in the last Cosa, there appears to be cross-party support for moving to a system where we vote for individuals as well as (even instead of) parties in the Cosa, while preserving proportionality. It is rare that you see @owenedwards and myself agreeing on something.

My personal preferences are either STV or a minimalist system where you vote for a party list + one candidate on that list. Let's get the debate going and try to get something out of this Cosa.

Thank you so much @Moinul !!