The Electoral Systems of Russia, France, USA, and China - Essay Example

The electoral systems of Russia, France, USA, and China and how the future results might affect each country The year 2012 is one that may see a sweeping change of national rules all over the globe through elections. According to the International foundation of electoral systems, 29 nations are expected to hold presidential elections, in2012, and around 50 others are preparing for the parliamentary polls. This paper discusses the electoral systems, of four countries, and how future election results might influence political arena of each country. The countries to go to election this year include the U.S, France, and Russia. China is expected to change its leaders during a communist party congress that will take place this October. Major political leaders have been preoccupied with internal politics for the greater part of the year. They will not be positioned to concentrate on international issues. This need to score points within the domestic electorate, will lead these leaders to take nationalist stands on matters that require global cooperation. The United States voters will decide whether to keep president Barrack Obama as their president. Obama, who is a democrat, stands a chance of been re-elected to the office because he has less than aspiring republican challengers do. He is expected to push a policy that re-engages East Asia after a decade of pre-occupation with Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. is likely to take a harder stance toward China, if a Republican candidate, probably former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, wins the presidency by exploiting voters’ discontent with a stagnant economy. Romney has vowed that, as a president, he would strengthen tariff barriers to Chinese goods, if China refuses to let its currency float. This is due to increased pressure from the united states matched with tough and nationalist talk from china, whose new leadership will not afford to show any appearance of been compromised or flexible during the initial period of power. 70 percent of China’s top leadership stands to be changed during the part’s congress being held this October, which will see the generational handover of power being completed, next year, when Xi and the vice premier Li Keqiang take the posts of president and prime minister from Hu and Wen Jiabao. In Russia, Putin is expected to push for a bigger voice over Northeast Asia. He is trying to push for a gas project, which will see the laying of a gas pipeline from Siberia to South Korea through North Korea. This project may pave the way for the president to serve for another 12 years as president. In France president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is facing a huge battle against his challenger, socialist candidate Francois Hollande in his bid for reelection. Many voters are disenchanted with his frivolous behavior, Sarkozy wilol have to highlight his competence, in order to gain the upper hand over his less experienced contender. The election set for sixth of May is expected to be close. Sarkozy’s possible leaning towards the theme of protecting the country’s interests may affect the international efforts to solve the euro zone crisis. The choice of an electoral system is one of the most important choices that a country has to make. It refers to the way citizens choose public servants of the state. In the United States, the system of government is a representative democracy. Here people do not make governmental decisions. The country’s citizens elect officials, who govern on their behalf (Kleppner 32). When the constitution of the U.S. was written in the year 1787, it left the decision for each state, as who could vote in the elections. In 1971, the 26th amendment was passed that allowed anyone, who is over 18, to vote. On the average approximately 60 percent of the voting age Americans take part in the presidential elections. 10 years after the Constitution was written, the U.S. had two major political parties--the Federalist Party that was a proponent of a strong central government, and the Democratic - Republican Party (also called the Anti-Federalist Party) that supported strong state governments. The Democratic - Republican Party finally became the Democratic Party. Today, the two parties remain the leading parties, in the country, among the other parties, in the country. The citizens of the county elect a senator directly. A senator is the person who has pledged to support the presidential candidate who has the support of the states’ citizens (Kleppner et al 35). In Russia, the presidential term was initially four years, but a constitution amendment, in December 2008, saw it extended to 6 years. The responsibility of calling for elections rests with the federation council of Russia. In Russia, any citizen who is a registered resident of the country for at least 10 years, with or without citizenship, or right of residence, in any other country, but with the age of 35 years, or above is eligible for nomination (Moser 50). The winning presidential candidate, in Russia, has to have the majority of the total votes cast. A second round runoff election is held, in three weeks, if none of the candidates manages to secure this majority, where the two front-running candidates in the first ballot are the only contestants (Moser 30). None of Russia's two post-Soviet presidents, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, was a member of any political party. They preferred to stay above the fray, positioning them as higher authorities, who could publicly blame the government and the Duma for the country's ills. Putin is heading the party list of United Russia despite not being a member of the party (Moser 10). The president of Russia can only serve two consecutive terms. A third non-consecutive term is not ruled out. Putin finished his second term, in the spring, but there has been speculation that a puppet president may be shoehorned in and then "fall ill" and resign, allowing Putin to stand again in a matter of months (Moser 35). In china, there are five central and local levels of people’s congresses (Lin 24). The people’s congresses at all levels are constituted through democratic elections, all citizens of the country who have reached the age of 18 years are eligible to vote and stand for election, this is regardless of the ethnic background, lengthy of residence, educational level among others (Lin 68). All political parties and mass organizations either may jointly or separately recommend the candidates to be deputies. There are five central and local levels of people's congresses in China. They are the National People's Congress, the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the people's congresses of cities divided into districts, and autonomous prefectures, the people's congresses of cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties and autonomous counties, and the people's congresses of townships, ethnic minority townships and towns. The people's congresses at all levels are constituted through democratic elections. One party rules China, the Communist Party of China All citizens of the People's Republic of China who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and stand for election, regardless of ethnic background, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education level, property status or length of residence. People who have been deprived of their political rights according to law do not have the right to vote and stand for election. One voter has only one vote in each election (Lin 54). All political parties and mass organizations either may jointly or separately recommend candidates to be deputies. Candidates may also be recommended by a minimum of 10 voters in a direct election and 10 deputies in an indirect election (Lin 46). In both direct and indirect elections in china, the number of candidates must exceed the number of delegates elected and the elections must be competitive (Lin 46). In a direct election, the number of candidates should exceed the number to elect by one-third to 100%. In an indirect election, the number of candidates should exceed the number elected by 20% to 50%. Voters may choose to vote for, or against a candidate. In a direct election, more than half of potential electorates must vote to make the election process valid, and candidates who receive the votes of a majority of the voters elected. In an indirect election, candidates receiving the votes of a majority of the deputies voting elected (Lin 45). The costs of elections are paid out of the state treasury (Lin 50). The president of France is elected in two stages of voting process. All parties take part in the first round, promoting their candidates. Presidential hopefuls are required to present 500 endorsements signed by elected officials, in order to secure a place on the ballot. The top two candidates qualify for a runoff election, if no candidate obtains an absolute majority of all valid votes cast in the first round, where the candidate with the largest number of votes is elected to the office for a term of five years (Alvarez 34). The year 2012 is going to be a determining factor in the direction that these countries are going to take. The choice of a leader affects the development of a country greatly. This paper has explored the different electro systems that these countries adopt and the impact that the countries will face if the current leader is re-elected back to office. These countries have shown that the upcoming elections are a major determining factor in the countries future and the citizens have to do their duty well to have a brighter better future. . Works cited Alvarez-Rivera M. Election Resources on the Internet:Presidential and Legislative Elections in France. 23 April 2012. 01 May 2012 .Print Kleppner P., et al. The evolution of American electoral systems. Westport: Greenwood press, 2005.Print Lin F. Constitutional law in China. Hong Kong: Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2007.print Moser R.G. Unexpected Outcomes: Electoral Systems, Political Parties, and Representation in Russia. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh , 2001.print Read More