Electoral systems provide a set of rules which must be followed for a vote to be considered valid. It decides how votes are cast, counted, and translated into legislative seats and is an important component of how political power is allocated in a democracy. It is rare to find a democracy that does not divide their populations to form electoral boundaries that are allocated a certain number of legislative seats. There are two broad forms of electoral systems that are being used in liberal democracies today. The first is made up of plurality and majority systems, often called Single-Member District (SMD) systems and the second is Proportional Representation (PR). Given that single-member district systems and the second is proportional representation
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Proportional representation systems resolve the unfairness of single-member district systems by offering minority parties and independent candidates, a better chance of winning seats in parliament. In the 2014 elections in South Africa show how the number of votes under proportional representation can correspond much more closely to the percentage of seats won in the legislature. For example, the African National Congress won 62.2% of the votes, gaining 249 seats in the legislature, whereas the African People’s Convention won 0.2% of the votes and 1 seat. In a single-member system, the African People’s Convention would not have been represented in the …show more content…
For example, Germany, Japan and Mexico use what is known as a mixed electoral system. In this system, voters are given two votes – one for a candidate and the other for a party. Candidates in the single-member districts are elected on the basis of plurality or majority, while the PR segment of the election votes is allocated proportionally. The percentage of seats allotted for each electoral method varies from country to country. For example, in Germany, the seats in the lower house of the legislature are divided evenly between single-member districts and proportional representation, whereas in Japan, the breakdown is 60% single-member district and 40% proportional representation. Another example would be Germany where an individual might vote for the large, left-swing Social Democratic Party on the plurality single-member district portion of the ballot while reserving the proportional representation portion of the ballot for the smaller
Proportional representation systems resolve the unfairness of single-member district systems by offering minority parties and independent candidates, a better chance of winning seats in parliament. In the 2014 elections in South Africa show how the number of votes under proportional representation can correspond much more closely to the percentage of seats won in the legislature. For example, the African National Congress won 62.2% of the votes, gaining 249 seats in the legislature, whereas the African People’s Convention won 0.2% of the votes and 1 seat. In a single-member system, the African People’s Convention would not have been represented in the …show more content…
For example, Germany, Japan and Mexico use what is known as a mixed electoral system. In this system, voters are given two votes – one for a candidate and the other for a party. Candidates in the single-member districts are elected on the basis of plurality or majority, while the PR segment of the election votes is allocated proportionally. The percentage of seats allotted for each electoral method varies from country to country. For example, in Germany, the seats in the lower house of the legislature are divided evenly between single-member districts and proportional representation, whereas in Japan, the breakdown is 60% single-member district and 40% proportional representation. Another example would be Germany where an individual might vote for the large, left-swing Social Democratic Party on the plurality single-member district portion of the ballot while reserving the proportional representation portion of the ballot for the smaller