Electoral System by Kumar Ingnam

1. Electoral SystembyKumar Ingnam

2. Importance of Electoral System • One of most important institutional decision for democracy, • Profound effect in future political life of country concerned, • Fundamentally political process and technical matter, • Impacts on political and institutional frame work and constitutional structure.

3. Directly relates to: • Encourage conflict resolution, • Involve democratic process “directly”, • Include in the main stream, • Empower through representation and full status, • Recognize existence equally, • Establish party and individual liberty side by side and • “Through the rascals out”.

4. Relates to • The Structure of State, • Federal or Unitary • Symmetrical, • Asymmetrical , • Influential political institution and governance.

5. Electoral System • Effective mechanism that automatically convert vote to representation, • Vote= of Woman Feeling Minorities of Indigenous Unity Representation Geo.balance Belief Among Federal unit and centre

6. Electoral System Focus on: • Equal opportunity to become a candidate for election, • Right to join, establish, a political party for competing an election. • Role of Party, free & fair election environment • Condition of Voters and • Settlement of conflict as possible by means of;

7. 1. Representation • Descriptive; Woman, Ethnic, Linguistic, Religious • Geographical; Region, District etc • Political party; Political Influence • Ideology; Ideology either Party or Individual identity.

8. 2. Accessible and Meaningful Election • Easy voting • Secret Voting By PR • Max. use of vote Repre’n Make • Ensure equal right • Safeguard Minority Respect wasted votes.

9. 3. Incentive for Conciliation • Inclusive support unity and balance from exclusion, 4. Accountable Government 5. Making election process sustainable • Bychoice, cost, administrative capacity, method and simplicity.

10. 6. Stability and efficient Government • Stability depends on fairness of election, • Common agenda and achievement and • Political treatment rather Party interest. 7. Accountable Representation • Locally popular representatives can be tested making them represent, • Can prove direct responsible to voter and • Possible to the open list candidate.

11. 8. Encourage political parties 9. Strong opposition 10. Account of International Standard • Free and fair, periodic, secret, adult franchise, • Voter's equality and equal representation and special consideration to physically disabled and minorityvoters.

12. Impact of election • On political situation, system, legitimacy and support, • Ultimate source of political and legal change, • Legitimate ground of “change” or “amendment”, • Directly identify and cure the burning problems and • Accepted democratic process Electoral System links to “problems” in general.

13. Election system based on the Principle

14. Internationally recognized element of election Equal Free Secret Direct Adult

15. Commonly used Electoral System

16. Single Seat Plurality • The plurality voting system is a system used on single member constituencies. • The most common system, used in Canada, India, the UK, and the USA, is first past the post or winner-take-all, • Single winner is chosen in a given constituency by having the most votes, regardless of whether or not he or she has a majority of votes, • This system is known "one person, one vote" or OMOV for "one man, one vote"

17. Each voter votes separate constituencies for one candidate from a list of candidates. • Winner represents the entire electoral district. • In single seat election i.e. President candidate who receives the largest number of votes represents the entire population. • FTPT is compared to Horse ridings • Applied in 81/217 states at present

18. Good Practice FPTP/UK/81 • Tory and Labor Party get majority in 1951 & 1974 in minority vote. • In 1997, labor party get 63.6% Parliament seat on 43.2% vote. • Tory + Liberal Democrats got 32.3% seat on 47.5% vote. • In 2005, 36% vote success to get majority in parliament but 70% (52% of losers and 18% of electors) vote was wasted. • No Party had form government on majority since 1935, so small parties are suffered by “Majoriterian Dictatorship”.

19. Political Party Election year • 1997 2001 • vote % Numbervote % Number Liberal Democrates16.8 46 19 52 Tory 30.7 165 – - Laber 43.2 419 43 413

20. Advantages • Simplicity; quicker, easier to administer, and easy to explain voter. Alternative voting systems may alienate some voters find hard to understand, and detached from the direct effect of their own vote. • FPTP gives voters a direct choice of single candidate. • Better choice between two parties • Most probability for constant government • Direct relation ship between voters and representatives • Make more responsible

21. Disadvantages • Encourage tactical voting techniques, like "compromising". • Excludes minorities, minority parties and woman. • Wastage majority votes and rules by minority votes. • No direct relation between voters and representatives. • Lead gerrymandering and boundary delimitation. • Leader and candidate may misuse money, muscle, post and public resources for more secure constituency. • Voter failed to represent became frustrate at last and choose alternate.

22. Majority: Runoff votingTwo-round system • Runoff voting hold multiple rounds of plurality voting to ensure that the winner is elected by a majority. • Two round system voting, the second most common method,holds a runoff election between the top two options if there is no majority. Only two candidates with the most votes survive to the second round. • Used to elect a single winner and the voter simply casts a single vote for her or his choice candidate for second round too. • Using to elect French National assembly, presidents of France, Brazil, Portugal, Australia, Finland, Ghana, and for many primary election in the US (i.e. Louisiana).

23. In French National Assembly election any candidate with fewer than 12.5% of the total vote is eliminated in the first round, and all remaining candidates are permitted in the second round, in which a plurality is sufficient to be elected. • Historically, the President of Weimar Germany was popularly elected by a two round system that did not require an absolute majority in the second round, that need now. • Using in 32/217 countries.

24. Exhaustive ballot • The exhaustive ballot (EB) is similar to the two round system, but involves several rounds of voting rather than just two. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round then only one candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, before further round. There are then as many rounds as necessary, with one candidate being eliminated each time, until one candidate has an absolute majority. • Limitted scope because of several times voting, i.e. smaller contests (selection of prospective candidates,Conservative paery/uk)

25. Instant-runoff voting (IRV) • involves multiple rounds of counting and elimination of candidate with fewest votes each time. • unlike exhaustive ballot and the two round system, under instant-runoff voters vote only once. • voters votes for a single candidate and ranks all other candidates in order of preference and used to 'transfer' the votes. • IRV often elects a different winner and tends to produce the same results as the exhaustive ballot.

26. IRV is known by different names i.e. in Australia; Preferential voting; • United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Alternative Voting, or AV; • US, Ranked choice voting • Used for election of; • House of Representatives = Australia, Fiji, Legislative Council of Tasmania, New zealand. • National Assembly = Papua New Guinea • President = Srilanka, Ireland • Total country = 30

27. Advantages • Representation of Majority • Opportunity for good candidates • Economic, because of single voting • Simple to understand though voting or counting is exhaustive.

28. Disadvantages • Exhaustive and costly (two round/instant run-off) • Not convenience to ordinary voter to prefer • Same disadvantages of plurality • Time consuming, some times threat of instability.

29. Multi SeatPreferential voting (PV) • Preferential voting has a type of ballot structure in which voters rank a list or group of candidates in order of preference, • voter writes '1' for first, a '2' for second preference, or Ranked A B and so on. In multiple-winner elections the PV is known as Single Transferable Vote (STV), a form of proportional representation. • Voter can show his choice candidate in preference.

30. Popular candidate have chance of election • Empower minor community or groups candidates • Ranked ballot can use S.N., name, number, ovel mark and touch screen • Practice in; Australia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (1964-1975), Fiji (1999) Australia: One of few country of compulsory voting. Vote ratio 95%. • Used instant runoff and STV system for single and multi seat constituency.

31. Advantages • Respects voters as to their preference • Maintain good relationship between voters and representative • Higher chances of choosing qualified candidates • Prevent the cost and time of instant election • Results what voters likes • Establish harmonious relation between political parties.

32. Disadvantages • Exhaustive vote counting • May not so appropriate in single member seat • Requires qualified voters, so technical problems to few literate community • May not represent all community.

33. Proportional Representation • Electoral Formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes and the percentage of seats • Representation determined on Quota; Quota depends on the number of seat (seat ÷ number of votes). • Useful only in multi seat constituency or through out the country. • More popular because it deserve fair representation. • Equal chances of representation of marginalized, social, political and racial minorities in small homogenious society/ country.

34. Popular in Europe, i.e. Germany and most of Northern and Eastern Europe. • Eelection system for the elections of the European Parliament. • France, adopted the process at the end of world war II in order to prohibit the communist from being elected to power, but went back to a majority system after Charles de Gaulle came to power (1958). Placed again for parliament elections (1986) by the socialists to limit socialists losses, but was immediately terminated after they lose that election.

35. Now gaining popularity in Canada i.e.five provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick currently debating whether to abolish FPTP. • New Zealand opted (1993) Mixed Member Proportional Representation and Canada is heading towards the same direction • United States. i.e. New York City, Cincinnati, Ohio, was adopted in 1925 but Republican party overturned proportional representation in 1957. Though still used in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Peoria, Illinois.

36. Proportional voting (74+23=97) • Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland used the system. • New Zealand apply it by 1993 replacing century long FPTP system. • UK has recommend it in 1998. • German use it to elect 50% (299 seat) of Bundestag. • Voter use two vote, one for Party & one for candidate of concern constituency.

37. Party List (62 Countries) • Party-list proportational representation, is popular allover the world except US. Its further division, depending on whether a voter can influence the election of candidates within a party list, open list and closed list. • Open list; voters may vote, depending on the model, for one person, or for two, or indicate their order of preference within the list. • Voter has wider freedon of choice. But may cause defficulties if the list is long. • the Netherlands , Finland (open list)

38. Closed list; voters vote for a list, not a candidate. Each party is allocated seats in proportion to the number of votes, using the ranking order on its list. • Israel (whole country is one closed list constituency), and member of European Parliament in all European Union countries, Spain, Porchugal, Austria, Finland, Poland, New Zealand, Germany (use closed list). • Voters may vote directly for the party, as in Israel, or they may vote for candidates, as in Turkey and Finland.

39. 240 Member ConstituenciesClosed Party List

40. 240 Member ConstituenciesOpened Party List

41. Seat allocation process in party-list PR Largest Reminder

42. Advantages • Represent proportionality • Representation of minority, woman, as to the setting of population • Prevent to hold by-election • No vote wastage • Participation in parliament as possible • Restrict limited and regional feeling • Block gerrymandering.

43. Disadvantages • Weak geographical representation • Lack of accountability to voters and weak relation ship between voters and represent • Applies only in multi seat • High chances of party splitting in simple confrontation • Party became more and more autocratic in absence of transparent indicators • Ordinary voter can not prefer candidate, in open list • Voter may confuse with unfamiliarity candidates • Probability of coalition or minority government causing instability.

44. Mixed-member (MMP) • Generally FPTP and List PR is used at the same time, and attempting to achieve combine positive features of both of these. • Helpful in countries with large populations, widely varying voting populations, i.e. geographic, social, cultural and economic realities, with the fairness and diversity of representation. • Mixed-member proportional representation also names; "compensatory PR," the "two vote system," and "the German system."

45. Generally half of the members are elected in single-member district plurality and half are elected by a party list vote and added on to the district members so that each party has its appropriate share of seats in the legislature. • Mixed-member proportional voting (MMP) is the best of both worlds: providing geographical representation and close constituency ties of single-member plurality voting. • Though it is still one of the least used PR systems.

46. Bolivia, Germany, Lesotho, Mexico, New Zealand, Scottish Parliament, Welsh, Italy and Hungary has introduced this systems. • Voters used two ballot; one for constituency and next for politiccal party. • In Germany two ballot is used, few state use single, for both single constituency and seat filled as to number of vote received. Generally same candidate is not use for both election. • Number of both seat: Venezuela 10 PR and 87 FPTP, Mexico 200 PR list and 300 FPTP

47. Mixed Ballot paper

48. Seat on second ballot

49. Advantages • Used all votes • Tie up relation between national and local constituencies • Minorities from all communities and woman get much greater representationaddition to balance with geographical representation. • Accountability • Disadvantages • Create class on representation • Complicated process • All disadvantages same to party list

50. Single Transferable Vote (STV) • STV, is a preferential voting system designed to minimise wasted votes • PR ensur that votes are explicitly for candidates rather than Party lists. • STV use only in multi-seat constituencies and by transferring votes that would otherwise be wasted. • STV allocates vote to their most preferred candidate, and then subsequently transfers unneeded or unused votes after candidates are either elected or eliminated, according to the voter's stated preferences.