Electoral Systems Around teh World

1144 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: types of electoral systems essay

Within parliamentary elections, there are nine major electoral systems in use around the world, as categorized in the International IDEA Handbook of Electoral System Design. Among them, the System in which a proportion of the parliament (usually half) is elected from plurality majority districts while the remaining members are chosen from PR lists is called ‘mixed-member proportional representation’ (MMP). Under MMP the PR seats compensate for any disproportionality produced by the district seat result. German federal election uses two-ballot mixed electoral systems, which is a typical MMP system. It includes a single-member district tier, where only the candidate who garners a plurality of the candidate votes wins, and a PR tier. The PR tier offers even small party lists a chance to gain representation in the Bundestag if they get more than 5 % of all party votes nationally. Party votes are aggregated on the national level and determine the party seat shares in parliament. Germany is, therefore, considered a compensatory mixed system because – through a seat linkage – the PR tier does compensate the disproportionality of the plurality tier. Germany have constituencies where about half of the members in parliament are selected by closed party lists to correct partisan imbalances resulting from the election of electorate candidates by plurality rules. 1. For the Pattern of Electoral Turnout A number of empirical studies find that disproportionality reduces turnout and this finding is consistent with the assumption that an unequal translation of votes into seats diminishes some people’s sense of political efficacy leading them to abstain. Disproportionality may also influence participation in other ways. Disproportional outco... ... middle of paper ... ...mentary seats. There is thus one important characteristic of MMP electoral systems: The winner of an election is not necessarily the one who gains the most votes or even the most seats! The 2013 German federal election finally resulted in the third grand coalition of two largest political parties, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). Works Cited 1. Alan Siaroff, ‘Two-and-a-Half-Party Systems and the Comparative Role of the Half’, Party Politics, Vol.9, No.3(2003), pp.267-90. 2. Weldon, Steven;Nüsser, Andrea, ‘Bundestag Election 2009: Solidifying the Five Party System.’German Politics & Society, Sep 30, 2010; Vol. 28, No. 3, p. 47-64. 3. The Ubiquity and Strategic Complexity of Grand Coalition in the German Federal System.Kropp, Sabine, German Politics, Sep 01, 2010; Vol. 19, No. 3/4, p. 286-311.

Show More
Related

  • Purpose Of Government Essay

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    This greatly impacts people’s opinions of the government. The three different kinds of political cultures are Moral, Individualistic, and Traditional (Mitchell, Unit 3). A moral outlook on government focuses on the collective’s needs and desires. Government is seen as a positive force. The Individualistic approach views that government should only be where it is explicitly needed and values the role of the individual. The Traditional approach focuses on the government preserving the status quo. For Proportional representation (Mitchell, Unit 4) the seats of the legislative body are determined when, while casting votes, people select the party that they most identify with and the proportion of votes each party receives determines the number of seats that each parties obtains in the legislative body. Germany uses a proportional representation system in the lower house of their legislature (Carroll et al.). In Single Member District Plurality (Mitchell, Unit 4), a nation is divided into districts with the representative of the district determined by the person with the plurality of votes. The United States uses this system. The political culture will affect the type of system used or the opinions of the current system since many people are ruled by governments created before they existed. For a traditional population,

    Read More

  • Should British Elections Use Proportional Representation?

    1963 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this essay I will argue that British General Elections should be conducted using a system of Proportional Representation. First, I will argue that the system would be more democratic as every vote that is cast would be represented and this ...

    Read More

  • Canada Should Adopt Proportional Representation

    1987 Words  | 4 Pages

    A proportionate electoral system (otherwise known as proportional representation or PR) grants its voters a voice in their vote. The way that the PR system works is that for every percentage of votes a party receives, they will be granted around the same percentage of seats in parliament. For example, if a party receives 35% of the votes, they would receive 35% of the seats in legislature. This is important for Canada because it gives smaller parties a better chance of retaining a seat. There are many different varieties of PR, due to the fact that at often times, the voting percentages do not evenly translate into the number of seats available (King, 2000). For instance, if a party receive 33.6% of the vote, they can’ receive 33.6% of seats. Because of this, numerous variations of the PR system have been created. The most common...

    Read More

  • The Potential of a Majoritarian Electoral System Instead of a Proportional Electoral System in South Africa

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a democratically elected government, like South Africa, the electoral system determines who will hold the political power within a country. Hence, the significance of a fair and representative election cannot be hyperbolized nor undercut. For Norris (1997), electoral systems are deemed as mechanisms which are determined via voter preferences, as seats being translated in the process of electing politicians into political power. Namely these systems vary in dimensions including constituency size, voter election structures, assembly size, and open/closed list systems. The majoritarian and proportional representation systems are the two most common electoral systems which decide how votes are translated into seats.

    Read More

  • The Two-Party System

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    So, what happens after a party wins? It has been observed, “Legislative seats almost always work to benefit the party winning the most votes” (Tufte, 1973). If the share of the votes increases, the share of the seats increases, and in most elections the winning party still will probably have less than 65% of the vote. The theory of the Cube Law says that the vote odds equal the seat odds, and that the outcomes of the votes to seats ratio will be predictable no matter what (Tufte, 1973). Although this Law has not necessarily predicted a correct outcome in every election since its birth, it should be noted that its accuracy around the whole world is higher than in just specific

    Read More

  • Mixed Member Proportional in Canada

    2626 Words  | 6 Pages

    There is a fundamental problem with the democratic process in Canada. This problem is rooted within our electoral system. However, there is a promising solution to this issue. Canada should adopt the mixed-member proportional representation electoral system (MMP) at the federal level if we wish to see the progression of modern democracy. The failure to do so will result in a stagnant political system that is caught in the past and unable to rise to the contemporary challenges that representative democracies face. If Canada chooses to embrace the MMP electoral system it will reap the benefits of greater proportionality, prevent the centralization of power that is occurring in Parliament and among political parties through an increased emphasis on cooperation, and the government will attain greater legitimacy with the ability to positively influence the representation of minority groups.

    Read More

  • Canada's Electoral System

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    Karp, J. A. (2006). Political knowledge about electoral rules: Comparing mixed member proportional systems in Germany and New Zealand. Electoral Studies, 25(4), 714-730.

    Read More

  • Scottish Devolution

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s vote for a party instead for an individual, and when the votes are tallied for the region the regional representative seats for that region are divided among the parties in proportion to the share of the vote that each party received.

    Read More

  • First Past the Post versus Proportional Representation Voting Systems

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Britain is considering changing current first past the post voting system (FPTP) to proportional representation (PR). The main reason is that FPTP is “quasi-democratic” voting system under which there is only one majority party ruling the government and it does not represent wishes of all voters as some votes are wasted. Whereas, PR seems to be the best alternative voting system with proportionality of seats in mandatory places, more parties ruling government and etc. Let us look at these two voting systems and analyze whether PR is suitable and alternative change for FPTP and do advantages of PR outweigh disadvantages.

    Read More

  • Canada Needs Proportional Representation

    1686 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ment plays an important role in determining the relationship between its politicians and electorates. It also “[calculates] how votes are translated into seats of political power... it... also affects the party system, political culture, the formation of government and the structure of the executive” (Trac 5). Most importantly, candidates in an SMP system can be elected with minimal amounts of public support as they do not require a majority of the votes. To be elected to the legislature in the PR system, a candidate must have “at least 3% of the party vote across the province” (Ontario Citizens' Assembly 3). In contrast to the SMP system, the PR system better represents the views of the citizens, supports a stable and effective government, and is a simple yet practical voting system. It successfully caters to the needs of the voters, unlike the traditional system.

    Read More

  • Weimar Government and its Weaknesses

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    The impracticality of the policy of proportional representation (PR), was one particular internal weakness of the Weimar government which led to its eventual loss of support among the people. The policy was put in place in an attempt to pursue democracy to its utmost, by granting seats to every party in proportion to the percentage of popular vote received. Ideally, this would allow for more interests to be represented, and that no individual could ever gain complete power. Ironically, its theoretical strength was also its Achilles' heel. The implementation of the PR led to the proliferation of small parties, which were oftentimes regional, narrow, or one-issue political parties. In 1928, 31 parties were on the ballot, and though the small parties did not have much influence, they disrupted proceedings and made the major parties appear incapable of maintaining order. One way they did so could be exemplified by the numerous problems with forming coalitions which invariably surfaced. With the sheer number of parties and the ...

    Read More

  • Political Parties Essay

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the nation’s founding, parties were widely considered to be dangerous to good government and public order, especially in republics. In such an intellectual climate, no self-respecting leader would openly set out to organize a political party. The pervasive fear of parties reflected both historical experience and widely held eighteenth-century beliefs. People in authority saw themselves as agents acting on behalf of the whole community; any organized opposition was therefore misguided at best, treasonous at worst. Accepting the same perspective, rivals justified their opposition by imagining that those in power were betrayers of the community’s trust.

    Read More

  • Changing the Electoral System in Canada

    1761 Words  | 4 Pages

    Uhr, John. "Why We Chose Proportional Representation." Representation and Institutional Change: 50 Years of Proportional Representation in the Senate. By Marian Sawer and Sarah Miskin. Canberra: Dept. of the Senate, 1999. 13-40. Print.

    Read More

  • The Social Democratic Party: The Green Party Of Germany

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    Party played a big role in establishing Germany as a well trusted partner for development and

    Read More

  • Presidential and Parliamentary Systems of Government

    2348 Words  | 5 Pages

    The concept of parliamentary political system was rooted in 1707 of Great Britain; the word derives from ‘parley’, a discussion. It was used to describe meetings between Henry III and noblemen in the Great Council (Szilagyi, 2009). It was originated in British political system and is often known as the Westminster model as it was used in the Palace of Westminster. It became influential throughout many European nations later in the 18th century (Smith, 2010). Countries with parliamentary systems are either constitutional monarchies such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, and Canada or parliamentary republics such as Greece, India, Ireland and Italy (McTeer, 1995). The parliamentary type of government is known for its three distinctive features; first, executive is divided into the head of state and the head of government, they are independently elected forming a dual executive; second, the fusion of ...

    Read More

More about Electoral Systems Around teh World

Open Document