Elections and Electoral Reform in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper analyses the process of electoral reform in Southeast Asia across electoral democracies, quasi-democracies and non-democracies. It argues that despite the region's diversity of regime types, both elections and electoral systems have become more meaningful in recent years. Southeast Asia today also has a much greater diversity of electoral systems than ever before, with electoral reform in recent years introducing several unusual forms of proportional, majoritarian or mixed-member electoral systems. The interaction of these unusual electoral systems with constitutional structures is also analysed. As a result, the region has become something of a showcase for the diversity of electoral system design.