Understanding Electoral Systems: Should We Rethink How We Vote?
To what extent does electoral systems influence democracy? More than we often realize. When we think about voting in a democracy, the idea seems simple: each individual vote should directly and proportionally determine the result in the same way as any other voter. However, the process by which votes turn into seats, or seats of power, is far more profound and has profound implications on governance, representation, and sometimes, even several electoral behavior. But how do we vote? How does this affect our democracies and are some systems actually more valid than others?
Let’s take a closer look.
First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) is probably one of the most commonly used electoral methods. In an FPTP system, the mechanics are simple: The voters in an electoral district elect a candidate, and the person who obtains the highest votes wins. It can therefore be described as simple, convenient to implement and many a time results-oriented. This system is like in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada among other countries. Here the strength lies in their oversimplification and capability to incline towards bi-party system which conduces to stability in governance by avoiding policy logjam. However, turn these into an issue when it is realized that most of the votes are wasted — meaning votes for losers or…
