Electoral Systems (2) (1)

Elections and Electoral Systems

The Purpose of Elections

  • Elections provide an opportunity for citizens to participate directly in the political process.

  • Strengthens the principle of representative democracy.

  • Raises the importance of voters.

  • Ensures a commitment to the political process.

  • Voters have the chance to choose between competing political parties and/or individuals.

Impact on Voter Commitment

  • May strengthen or alienate the voter’s commitment to the existing political system.

  • Possibility of causing disinterest among voters.

Legitimacy of Government

  • Provides legitimacy for a government through accepted election outcomes.

  • Authority of the government derives from success at preceding elections.

  • Election results are generally accepted due to the fairness of the system.

Peaceful Government Change

  • Elections facilitate peaceful change of government.

  • Changes government in an orderly fashion without violence.

  • Governments are formed with support from a majority of the adult population (generally over 18 years old).

Electoral Systems

  • Definition: Set of rules by which popular votes are translated into parliamentary seats.

  • Broadly divided into:

    • Majoritarian (requires winner to secure a majority)

    • Proportional (distributes seats in proportion to votes)

    • Hybrid (combination of both)

First-Past-The-Post (F-P-T-P) Electoral System

  • Candidates/parties compete to receive the most votes, akin to a horse race where only the winning runner counts.

Features of F-P-T-P

  • Country divided into single-member constituencies (usually of equal size).

  • Example: In Barbados, constituencies defined by population density.

  • Voters select a single candidate by marking an 'X' on the ballot paper.

Plurality Requirement

  • Winning candidate only needs a simple majority (more votes than any opponent).

  • Example: In the 1994 Barbados General Election, Dr. Richie Haynes elected with 1,757 valid votes while many votes were classified as wasted.

Party Formations

  • The party with the most seats forms the government.

  • Example: In the 1995 Dominica General Election, various parties’ vote counts reflect discrepancies between seats won and votes received.

Advantages of F-P-T-P

  • Simplest voting system; voting and counting procedures are easily understood.

  • Allows easy replacement of members through by-elections.

  • Normally results in clear majorities and stable governments.

  • Avoids coalition governments, establishing a clear responsibility between representatives and their constituencies.

  • Keeps extremism at bay by limiting small radical parties' chances.

Disadvantages of F-P-T-P

  • Candidates can be elected without an absolute majority (50% + 1) of votes.

  • Exaggeration: Overemphasizes winning party's support leading to situations where a party may hold power with fewer popular votes (e.g., Dominica 1995).

  • Distortion: Creates discrepancies between votes received and seats won (e.g., St. Lucia 1997).

  • Exclusion: Leads to unrepresented voters, where minority parties struggle for seats (e.g., T&T 2007).

  • Tends to favor larger parties, discouraging splinter parties and diversity in the candidate pool.

Proportional Representation (PR)

  • Aims to reflect voters' wishes by allocating seats based on the proportion of votes received.

  • More prevalent in areas with racial, religious, or other significant minorities.

Features of PR

  • Entire country acts as a single constituency.

  • Parties present candidate lists based on preference, and seats are filled according to votes received.

  • Potentially a threshold to exclude small extremist parties.

Examples: 1991 Barbados General Elections

  • Results under F-P-T-P indicated seat distribution disproportionate to vote shares.

  • Results using PR methods demonstrated better alignment of votes to seats with calculations based on percentage and quota methods.

Advantages of PR

  • Functions well with parties willing to compromise, promoting consensus government.

  • Supports minority groups in winning seats, preventing merges with larger parties.

  • Elimination of gerrymandering and perceived unfair boundary drawing.

  • Enhances democracy by ensuring majority votes translate to majority of seats and provides a clear choice for the electorate.

Disadvantages of PR

  • Complexity can confuse voters.

  • More expensive to administer than F-P-T-P.

  • Potential for instability; coalition governments may lack outright majority and risk collapse.

  • Weakens the representative-voter link due to multi-member constituencies favoring parties over individuals.

  • Party centralization can lead to issues with unpopular candidates on party lists.