Majority Electoral Systems Research Articles

External voting in Latin America. Explaining variations in turnout (1990–2017)

The study of turnout of expatriates has aroused early attention in the literature on external voting, given the low generalized participation rates. Although some causes have already been considered, not much progress has been made in theoretically supporting these reasons. At the same time, most are case studies or comparisons between a few cases, with mostly descriptive analysis strategies which do not allow to make causal inferences. In addition, the very few studies of large N cover short periods of time or do not address electoral participation. So, which are the factors that condition emigrants' turnout is a question that still needs to be answered. Drawing on an original data set of 104 elections held between 1990 and 2017 across 15 countries of LA and based on rational choice theory, we compare turnout at the aggregate level seeking to explain its variation among countries and over time, using time series and fixed effects models. The results show that turnout increases with simplified registration procedures, flexible deadlines and in presidential and second-round elections. Likewise, polarization contexts and majority electoral systems reduce the dissuasive effect on participation of non-competitive elections.

СПОРНЫЕ АСПЕКТЫ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ ИЗБИРАТЕЛЬНОЙ СИСТЕМЫ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ОРГАНОВ ЗАКОНОДАТЕЛЬНОЙ ВЛАСТИ ТЮМЕНСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

The subject of the article is a comparative analysis of the Russian electoral system’s features currently employed in the Russian regional and municipal elections and the predominantly majoritarian electoral system. At the same time, in our opinion, the domestic practice of the majority electoral system cannot be reduced to describing its advantages, such as effectiveness, objectivity, and the ability to hold elections in a single round. The issue is relevant since the Russian electoral system at the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation is unique, with no similar systems in foreign practice. In addition, there are only a few studies devoted to the issue in question, mainly due to the insufficient generalization of empir-ical data. Moreover, data on two-stage elections conducted in Russia via the website of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in the section “Elections, referendums, and other forms of direct expression of will” is not published. The article considers the effect of legislative changes and decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the electoral process. The interrelation between the electoral system and features of the current political regime in Russia is identified. According to the authors’ scientific hypothesis, the existing electoral systems mainly support the existing nature of the hybrid political regime. The authors’ idea of the existing nature of the hybrid political regime is tested on the example of members of representative assemblies of three subjects of the Russian Federation, with a conclu-sion provided. Electoral democracy represents such a state when political competition is manageable and the electoral system is favorable for the dominant position of the party in power. The combination of democratic institutes in Russia today has allowed for the formation of the majority of parties in power in the legislative authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation. In conclusion, the study suggests using an ideal model of the electoral system according to the Russian setting.

Opportunities and Challenges in the Implementation of Plurality - Majority (District) Electoral System for Strengthening the Indonesian Presidential System

Presidential government system has its own disadvantages, one of them is the possibility a minority president presence in this system, namely a president who is not supported by a parliamentary majority, even though the President has a strong mandate from public, but with a minority position, the government’s agenda which carried out by the president could be hampered by parliament or the legislature, therefore it is needed a coalition government. The combination of a presidential system with a multi-party system is difficult to implement because whoever the president is elected will be encountered with a certain condition that it is impossible to support him in parliament without forming a coalition. In order to respond the problem in strengthening the presidential system in Indonesia, the author offers a majority general election system or district system (first Past the Post) as an effort to create an effective and responsible government. This is a legal study which used two approaches, namely statutory approach and conceptual approach. Based on the results of study, it can be concluded that the majority system was more appropriate for creating an effective and responsible government because it could encourage the simplification of political parties and the responsibilities of people’s representatives to the voters in each district.

Democratization of Zemstvo Electoral System in Ukraine after February Revolution of 1917

The paper analyzes the legislation of the Provisional Government of Russia of 1917 which ensured the democratization of the Zemstvo electoral system by introducing general, equal, direct elections by secret ballot. According to the transitional legislation of 1917, elections of county and provincial councillors were held according to the proportional electoral system. As a result of the elections, the provincial and county zemstvos were Ukrainized and democratized by involving peasants’ representatives. However, given voters’ low political culture and lack of political experience, this electoral system proved ineffective. Participation in the elections of mainly one public organization - the Peasants' Union, which received the right to elect provincial councillors, led to a decrease in the zemstvo governors’ professional training level, which was one of the reasons for the zemstvo self-government decline. Elections of volost councillors on the resolution of county zemstvos representatives’ congresses could be held under both majority and proportional electoral systems, which indicates the expansion of suffrage. On the territory of the Left Bank of Ukraine, the elections of volost councillors were held under the majority electoral system, which was quite justified, as voters were not ready for elections on the basis of the proportional system. Holding the volost elections showed a number of shortcomings, which, objectively, included insufficient level of election commissions’ preparation and, as a result, violations of the law. The low level of voters’ political and legal culture did not allow to ensure the proper conduct of the election campaign. Opposition by anti-democratic and anti-Ukrainian forces in the process of holding zemstvo elections led to absenteeism among voters.

Peculiarities of determining election results in proportional electoral systems

Introduction. This paper examines the issue of proportional electoral system, its constituent elements and types. Most types of elements of this system are analyzed here, indicating the specific countries that use them. This paper discusses in detail the basic electoral formulas of the proportional system, these formulas are usually based on the quota method or the method of divisors. The use of different methods makes it possible to favor smaller parties or, conversely, to restrict access to representative bodies to weak political forces. In practice, the application of appropriate formulas can achieve the required level of representation. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the impact of electoral formulas and voter lists on the results of popular will. Results. In recent decades, there has been a trend towards a shift from a majority electoral system to other types. Most countries choose a proportional electoral system. The relevant system has the highest number of qualitative indicators of minority representation, by minimizing the loss of votes. According to the experience of the countries listed in the paper, comparative characteristics of each type of proportional system are obtained. Properly selected and implemented electoral system is the key to the proper functioning of all democratic institutions. The analysis of electoral systems is based on modern tasks, such as the formation of authorities by persons with real support in society, increasing the representation of the interests of regions and minorities. For example, with the change of parameters, such as quotas, the order of counting of votes changes, which in turn affects the distribution of different interests in the representative body. Conclusion. For countries reforming their electoral system in the direction of proportionality, it is first necessary to determine the parameters of the electoral formula and the formation of electoral lists, then determine the method of voting. These issues are considered in this paper and give a general idea of the features of the most popular elements of the classification of the proportional electoral system and are justified by the practice of each of them.

Specifics of the Ukrainian election system

The paper considers the concept of the election process as an activity related to the exercise of suffrage. The list of subjects of the election process has been determined. The formation of the institution of elections under the influence of external factors is explained. The formation of the electoral process in Ukraine since the XIX century is analyzed under the influence of foreign states such as the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The introduction of elections in the second half of the XIX century is considered in details in connection with the reform. The change of the electoral legislation in Ukraine from 1989 to 2004 is noted. The main types of electoral systems such as majority, proportional and mixed are analyzed. The peculiarities of the majority electoral system, which has been operating in Ukraine for a long time, and the proportional one, which is currently used in accordance with the Electoral Code of January 1, 2020, have been identified. The issue of choosing the most effective electoral system, on the example of majority, proportional and mixed systems, is considered in detail. It is concluded that the optimal system of popular expression of will of citizens in Ukraine is proportional, which is supported by the opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the example of the development of other European states. The importance of a stable electoral system in Ukraine is noted. The main provisions of the Electoral Code of Ukraine, which entered into force on January 1, 2020, are considered. The election process and innovations of the Electoral Code of Ukraine are considered in detail. Particular attention was paid to the issue of gender equality during the elections, which caused a lot of discussion among Ukrainian politicians and European countries. The conclusion emphasizes that the electoral process in Ukraine has gone through a difficult and long path of formation, but the election legislation is quite at the stage of formation and development, due to difficult circumstances in the Ukrainian state to build civil society.

THE PARLIAMENTS OF CANADA AND PAKISTAN: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS AND WEAK

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to make a deeper analysis of the parliament of Canada and Pakistan. This research deals with comparing two similar parliamentary systems. The two countries, i.e. Canada and Pakistan were chosen because of their majority electoral system and to a lesser extent, alike political trends. This research analyzed the weaknesses and strengths of both the legislative systems.
 Method: Data related to this topic has been collected from secondary sources such as reports, journal articles, and books. This research work is analytical as well as descriptive in nature. Qualitative techniques have been applied to investigate the research questions.
 Main Findings: This study acknowledges that the parliamentary form of government is the most representative and most efficient system of government that is running successfully in different countries. Parliament safeguards the political views of the citizens and thus provides them with all possible opportunities for more participation in the government. It creates a cohesive and strong party system. The main finding to be acquired from this study is that one problem that is common to both nations is provincial imbalance. However, overall it can be said that Canada has accommodated its provinces effectively through its responsible government, democratic system, and granting maximum autonomy. Another factor that is a major problem in Pakistan but not so in Canada is the branches of government overstepping their jurisdiction.
 Application of the Study: Using the yardstick of the function of legislation and making comparative references with other political systems was very useful in summarizing this research. Whatever weaknesses and criticisms may be discussed the overall fact is that the job done by these parliaments is undoubtedly necessary and useful and it is hoped this study may serve as a guideline for future parliaments to make them more efficient.
 The Originality of the Study: This research argues that a parliamentary system is a more desirable and efficient system of government than others. This research explains the differences between both these systems. Both the houses of these parliaments provide separate services that require separate investigation and throw further light on the subject.

Особливості проведення виборчих кампаній при різних виборчих системах

The article considers the specifics of conducting election campaigns in majority, mixed and proportional electoral systems. It is substantiated that the type of electoral system determines the nature of the election campaign and allows to determine the main types of electoral technologies used to win. Concepts such as "electoral system", "majority electoral system", "proportional electoral system", "mixed electoral system", "political brand", "party brand" have been studied. The focus is on the fact that the notion of elections is not limited to the act of voting, it is a much broader notion that takes place within an election campaign, the nature of which is determined by the type of electoral system already exercised. It is focused on the fact that in the majority electoral system it is important to focus on building a brand of politics, and in the proportional electoral system – the brand of the party. It is determined that all election campaigns, depending on the type of electoral system, were radically different from all previous election campaigns conducted in Ukraine: new channels of communication, new election technologies and means of manipulation. However, despite the availability of media technology, politicians continue to use outdated manipulative technologies. It is substantiated that the pro-government political force chooses one or another type of electoral system, given the possibility of obtaining the largest number of votes. Electoral technologies such as "administrative resource", "double" and "election grids" have been studied. It is shown that the process of virtualization has formed not only new forms of organization of public communication and analytics in politics, but also led to a radical change in the organization and conduct of elections. It is shown that there are universal electoral technologies that are used in any electoral system. It is concluded that media technologies are becoming more important today during election campaigns.

Sistemas electorales y su influencia en el diseño de la política ambiental

Se presenta el desarrollo de un análisis comparativo del impacto de los sistemas electorales mayoritarios y de representación proporcional en una política de impuestos que busca reducir la contaminación. Los resultados obtenidos son los siguientes: que en un sistema electoral mayoritario, la regulación ambiental es extrema con impuestos muy bajos o altos en comparación a la política socialmente óptima; que en un sistema de representación proporcional, la política ambiental es moderada (el impuesto se encuentra en una posición intermedia con relación en los impuestos implementados en un sistema mayoritario); y que la política ambiental en sistemas de representación proporcional se aproxima más a la política socialmente óptima.

Estimating the Effect of Competitiveness on Turnout across Regime Types

Electoral turnout as an indicator of political participation, political equality and, thus, democratic performance is one of the most important variables in the study of elections. While numerous studies have contributed to the explanation of electoral turnout, the picture is still incomplete. Notably, a variable which pertains to the core of elections, the competitiveness of electoral races, is not fully understood yet. We contribute to filling this gap by accounting for different effects of competitiveness in democracies and autocracies, as well as against the background of varying institutional settings. Our analyses suggest that vote margins are a suitable measure of competitiveness, but only in democracies with plurality or majority electoral systems. Ex ante measures of competitiveness capture the concept of competitiveness more comprehensively and are applicable across electoral systems and regime types.

ELECTORAL SYSTEMS – A SPECIAL REVIEW OF THE LOCAL-SELF GOVERNMENT IN SERBIA

The electoral system is part of the broader election law, which also includes an electoral form, constituencies, electoral competition, voting, methods of converting votes into mandates, as well as election threshold. Most often, the choice of the model by which the members of the representative bodies will be elected has a major effect on the entire political system of the state.Regarding the electoral form, the electoral systems at both the national and local level are divided into majority and proportional ones, but there is also a large number of "mixed" electoral systems. When it comes to the Republic of Serbia, as well as many other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the initial dominance of the majority electoral system in almost all the countries in the 1990s was gradually replaced by a proportional electoral system.Local self-government represents a democratic framework for citizen participation in managing the affairs of their immediate interest,where citizens, directly and by secret ballot, elect the municipal assembly members, as the highest representative body of the municipality. In the case of local self-government, the D'Hondt election method and the 5% threshold are applied.When it comes to the electoral systems and the parties of national minorities, the laws of the Republic of Serbia provide significant measures for the participation of this type of political organization in the distribution of mandates, subject to special conditions, even when they receive less than 5% of the total number of votes.

Possible Outcomes of Introducing a Majority System for Elections to the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies

This paper explores the possibility of introducing a majority electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies in the Czech Republic, and discusses the virtues and drawbacks of such a system. It recalculates the electoral results from two previous elections using majority electoral systems (first-past-the-post and two round majority system) to examine how such a change could influence the formation of governmental majorities in the chamber and what the possible consequences for the quality of democracy in the Czech Republic could be. The results show that majority system would likely radically simplify the formation of governments with clear majorities, and hinder emerging populist parties as well as weaken the communist party. On the other hand, the adoption of a majority system would substantially lower barriers to enter the chamber, which could lead to the disintegration of the party system and its increased fragmentation. Combined with the common practice of Czech politicians to hold various mandates at different levels of the political system at the same time, this could be a significant risk factor.

En defensa del sistema electoral mayoritario binominal de escrutinio político

The reason for multiple controversies and constant political weapon of the Political Parties of the governing Coalition and, of course, of the Communist Party, is the binominal majority electoral system that has existed since 1989 for legislative elections. Thus it has been described as "illegitimate", "perverse", "undemocratic", etc., by leftist ideologues and preferably by theoreticians trained in foreign universities, some of dubious academic quality, in approaches surpassed by history and what is worse , by the current world political reality.

How to better election system of Serbia

The basic question this work is trying to answer is: what is wrong in the electoral system in Serbia. At the same time, it is proposing certain improvements of the proportional electoral system. The author is not yet definitely opting for return on the majority electoral system, although he thinks that it is better than current one. Before processing the main, headline topic, the article cursorily deals with electoral law, electoral systems and history of elections.

ИМУЩЕСТВЕННЫЙ ЦЕНЗ КАК ОГРАНИЧЕНИЕ КОНСТИТУЦИОННОГО ПРИНЦИПА РАВЕНСТВА ПРАВ ЧЕЛОВЕКА НЕЗАВИСИМО ОТ ИМУЩЕСТВЕННОГО ПОЛОЖЕНИЯ

Purpose. The article deals with the category «property requirements» in constitutional law. The author investigates the property requirements in a broad sense as limiting the rights of citizens based on whether or not the property, and in the narrow restrictions of voting rights as citizens. The comparative analysis of the legislation of Russia and foreign countries for securing property requirements. Results. The analysis of foreign law the author comes to the conclusion that the existence of property requirements – this is a gross violation of the principle of equality is unacceptable in a modern democratic and humanistic society. Discussion. The study author election pledge showed that the implementation of the majority electoral system – is the factor that allows citizens to participate in elections without relying on the support of the party.

Ghanaian Elections and Conflict Management: Interrogating the Absolute Majority Electoral System

In Ghana a president is elected by an absolute majority (50% plus one vote) of the total valid votes cast in the whole country. From a conflict-management perspective this electoral system has two major flaws which can, potentially, jeopardise the fragile electoral peace that has endured since the 1992 elections. First, it gives extra and strong incentive to the two dominant parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to engage in crude ethnic politics to win even when they have lost in the majority of the ten regions. Second, by turning the whole country into a single-member constituency, regardless of its ethno-regional divisions, the votes of minority regions could become insignificant in electing the president, a dynamic that can lead to political exclusion and, subsequently, conflict. To remedy this situation and to promote conciliatory politics in the increasingly acrimonious political climate of Ghana, this paper argues, a double-winning system should be introduced which requires that, in addition to the 50 per cent-plus-one vote a candidate must win in five regions with a simple majority of valid votes cast.

Análisis comparado del sistema de partidos y las elecciones generales en Chile 1989

The current Chilean process is an agreed and slow transition, characterized by the resurrection of the party system. In this paper, the framework prior to the presidential and parliamentary elections is presented and data from the 1989 plebiscite and mass polls are used to answer the question of how a party system will be projected after the authoritarian period. We maintain that the military regime polarized the political spectrum with the electoral system in place. Using various comparative graphs and tables, the electoral results are analyzed and it is concluded that since a binomial majority electoral system was adopted, the parliamentary representativeness was distorted, it was derived to a type of bipolar competition and that the structure of this system will depend on how the parties can fill the empty space of the center-right electorate.

India’s 2009 Elections: The Resilience of Regionalism and Ethnicity

The 2009 Indian general elections saw the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance retain power, with a remarkable increase of seats in the National Assembly (Lok Sabha), leading to claims of a ‘re-nationalization’ of the party system as well as of the voting pattern. However, evidence from the results themselves show that, on the contrary, the process of fragmentation of the party system and the electorate is still progressing, Indian voters having opted for regional and local players more than they ever did before. The distorting effect of the majority electoral system (‘First Past The Post’) provides the central explanation for this apparent paradox. A close look at the electoral results also demonstrates the resilience of ‘ethnic voting’, despite the recurring discourse on the predominance of ‘economic voting’.

The Seat–Vote Equation in French Legislative Elections (1978–2002)

After outlining a way of calculating the seat–vote equation for the French majority two-ballot majority electoral system, this article shows that the 2002 legislative elections were consistent with the ‘fourth exponent law’ and not to the more general cube law, mainly because of the nationalization of electoral behavior since the 1960s. More generally, the ‘fourth exponent law’ is a good indicator of the transfer of votes into seats in France, as long as the variation in votes between the Left and the Right-wing is not too large. In particular, the ‘fourth exponent law’ makes it possible to highlight bias caused by the drawing of electoral boundaries (specifically, malapportionment) and the presence in the second round of a third party, here the National Front.

Popper versus Schumpeter: srovnání dvou neklasických teorií demokracie

The author compares the non-classical theories of democracy develop- ed in the 1940s by two originally Austrian thinkers (Karl R. Popper and Joseph A. Schumpeter). He points out that most of the conclusions derived by Popper from his non-classical theory of democracy, especially in the 1980s, could also be derived from Schumpeter's non-classical theory. Such conclusions are ignored by people who recommend a proportional system of representation, multiparty systems and a broad coalition government as a 'better' model of democracy than the Westminster model, characterised by a majority electoral system (plurality), a two-party system and single-party government. In exploring the differences between the concepts put forward by the two Austrian thinkers, the author stres- ses the contrast between Schumpeter's theory of the irrationality of the political behaviour of the masses and Popper's thesis that the people's retrospective judg- ment on policies implemented and politics conducted may be competent. The author argues that some contemporary theories and conclusions of recent empi- rical studies are closer to Popper's view than to Schumpeter's. Sociologický casopis, 2003, Vol. 39, No. 1: 11-36