However there are disadvantages. Although it does provide wide representation, it over represents the winning party creating an element of disproportionality. The winning party also rarely wins an out right majority making them the minority’s choice. It also under represents parties receiving less then 35% of the vote. Some votes matter more than others especially in marginal seats creating the problem of wasted votes. The system also creates regional imbalance, in 1997 the conservatives didn’t receive any votes in Scotland. Another weakness of the system exists in the fact that MP’s cannot possibly represent all their constituents this could lead effectively to an elective dictatorship.
The system of second ballot is used in France and holds advantages in the fact that the winner enjoys a majority making his position extremely legitimate and creating a stable government. The system is also very “pro-electorate” as it allows the chance to revote and is very simple to understand and easy to use. However the system, similar to the single member plurality is prejudice against smaller parties.
The alternative vote is used in Australia to elect its House of Representatives. The electorate marks their preference using numbers and the first preferences are counted. If no candidate has over half the votes the candidate with the fewest votes is knocked out. The advantages exist in the fact that voters have a greater choice of candidate and the winner has an overall majority. However there is a high level of invalid ballot papers, there is a large number of wasted votes and the party machine can dictate the rank order.
The closed list system is used in Israel and in Great Britain for the European parliament elections. The electorate has one vote but vote not for an individual candidate but for a list drawn up on a party basis. The system is beneficial as it can increase representation for minority parties. However the individual voter has no choice over who represents them. The open list system is used in Belgium and is good because voters can choose party or candidate, it creates a fair representation for smaller parties and encourages compromise politics. However the system is flawed because it leads to frequent changes in government, there is no MP constituency link and the governments are created over long periods of time and in “smoke-filled rooms”.
AMS is used in Germany, Italy and New Zealand. It combines single member plurality and proportionality. Each voter has two votes, one for their constituency and one for a party list. The constituency MP’s are elected by “first past the post”, the additional vote and the supplementary vote. Its advantages lie in the fact that it is highly proportional, the top up element helps smaller parties, there is a high degree of policy continuity, it encourages voter splitting and it usually leads to a stable government. There are disadvantages though because the constituency vote favours big parties but third parties are given a key role in the formation of government.
The single transferable vote(STV) is used to elect the Australian senate and in the Republic of Ireland. Voters express preferences in numerical order, then to be elected a candidate must reach a quota calculated by dividing the number of votes by the number of representatives needed plus 1. If no-one reaches the quota then the bottom candidate is eliminated. Its advantages exist in the fact that the system is proportional, it maintains good MP constituency links, voters can choose candidates not parties, it facilitates minority representation and there are no wasted votes. There are disadvantages though because it takes a long time to for the results and there is an element of chance in the final result.
The supplementary vote was used to elect the Mayor of London voters are allowed two preferences, if a candidate has over half the votes then he/she is elected. If no-one is elected then every candidate is eliminated apart from the top two. It proved to be quite successful.
In conclusion there are advantages and disadvantages in both Majoritarian and Proportional systems. As society develops so will electoral systems as demands for a more proportional system will develop and I think those countries such as the UK who use majoritarian systems will be the first to experience electoral reform.
