Voting Systems in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Voting Systems Voting Systems in the United Kingdom Democracy is the government of people for the people and by the people. There are different voting systems operating in different parts of the world to support democratic system of government. Types of voting system There are generally three kinds of voting system: plurality/majority system, proportional representation system, and semi proportional system. All these three division of voting system somehow relate to each other and more likely to bring the same political results. So, we can say that the major difference in voting system occurs among the three voting systems, and not within them. Some of the details and description of three kinds of voting systems which is given below will help us in understanding the phenomenon of each voting system. Plurality/Majority System Plurality or majority system is the most frequently used voting system. This system of voting comes first in mind when people think of voting. This system has been inherited from British and today it is commonly used in United States, UK and some other countries as well. According to this kind of voting system the candidate who will gather either the majority or plurality of voters will ultimately win the election. The main object of this voting system is to represent the majority or plurality of voters in a particular district, locality or state. This system can be further divided into four different types which separate the plurality and majority system of voting. The first two are commonly used plurality system of voting, while the other two are majority systems. 1. Single-member district plurality voting. 2. At-large voting. 3. Two-round runoff voting. 4. Instant runoff voting. Proportional Representation System After plurality/majority system proportional representation system is the most used voting system. This voting system seems to be the competitor of plurality/majority voting system as this system is receiving popularity and persistently being used in most of the European countries. Proportional representation system provides more accurate representation of parties. The basic approach of proportional representation system is to represent or show multimember district instead of single member district. The number of seats declared to be won by a particular party in an election is proportional to the amount of votes given to that party by the voters. Electoral system designers divided the proportional representation system in three basic kinds in order to achieve more accurate proportionate results of voting. These three types of PR voting system are as follows 1. Party List. 2. Mixed-Member Proportional. 3. Single transferable vote. Semi Proportional System Semi proportional system lies somewhere between plurality/majority system and proportional representation system. Electoral administrator developed this type of voting system to solve the problem of misrepresentation of parties arising from the plurality/majority voting system. In this voting system candidates run in a multi-member district. People have multiple votes and vote for individual candidates. The winners are the candidates with the most votes. In this system votes of voters and the number of seats are closely related. Number of votes of voters depends upon the seats available. Semi proportional system of voting has two kinds which are the variations of at-large voting system. These two types of semi proportional system are as follows 1. Cumulative Vote 2. Limited Vote Plurality Voting System Plurality system as explained earlier is based on single member constituency system and is used in a majority of countries. Canada, India, the UK, and the USA are some of the prominnent democracies using this system of voting. There are different advantages and disadvantages of the different voting systems but here we are only analyzing the major advanatages and disadvantages of the plurality or majority system with respect to other systems available. Advanatges & Disadvantages Simplicty: First thought that comes to mind about plurality voting system is its simplicity. Simplicity of this system lies in the fact that it is the easiest to administer system. It is also very easy simple to explain to the common fols in the country. The system is easily understood by even by the illiterate villager residing in the remotest part of India for example. Other voting systems may become very complex for people to understand. People also want to see the direct outcome of their voting which is most evident in this form of voting. Accountability: People generally vote for individuals belonging to different parties and so both the individual and the party manifesto become important. Sometimes it happens that there is party approval but a very unpopular candidate fights the elction and people do not elect him. Similarly opposite could happen; A person is very popular but is backed by a party with low approval ratings than that person might lose out. This has happened in the past also for example Winston Churchil was very popular at the time of elections in 1945 in UK but Conservative Party was not as poular as result of which Churchil lost the elections. Also, in Ontario election the Progressive Conservative party was high on public approvaland won overall in its re-election bid but its education minister was defeated due to his earlier policies. So this aspect of plurality voting system can considered a double edge sword for political aprties and its candidates. Hence, whether it is a political party or a particular individual they all become accountable to the people of their consituaency as they have to go back to people for re-election. People can see the performance of an individual as well the party they voted for on the whole and cast their votes accordingly. Incompetent, fraudulent or corrupt behavior is checked by the people as they have the power to elect or reelect every individual seeking to represent them in the government. Equal Say: Another important aspect of the plurality voting system is that each member of the society has equal say in the electoral process. Each member of the society has one vote tocast in the process and therefore has a ssay in the whole process. Whether the person belongs to the urban area or to a small region, the citizen gets represented in the government. Misrepresentation Misrepresentation is the biggest flaw identified with the plurality voting system. The problem arises when parties win and make government even though they do not have the majority of the votes. Governments are made by parties that get majority of the seats. Hence, the party that gets for example fewer seats even with more votes loses out in the end. This actually happened in 2005 in UK when the winning part got only 36% of the national votes. This phenomenon has been witnessed in some other countries in which the same system is in use as parties with majority votes lose out. Two Party Systems The plurality system of voting favors parties and countries become divided on major political affiliations. The countries in which such a system is in practice generally move towards a system that supports two parties. The result of elections generally results in the formation of a majority government. Multi party systems do not flouroish in a system that supports plirality and so a variety of schools of thoughts are restricted to two or three major schools of thought. “In May 1955, 96 per cent of the votes cast went to the Labor and Conservative parties. In May 2005, on the other hand, only 68 per cent went to the two main parties. Where fifty years ago 1 elector in 25 voted for other parties, by 2005 the figure had risen to nearly 1 in 3. Whom did they vote for? And why was it that such a huge increase in third-party voting had such little effect on the overall outcome?” (Corner, 2005). At the same time some experts consider it a an davantege rather than disadvantage as it is genereally difficult to build a consensus among different political perties resulting in frequent government changeovers. However, at the same time a wide range of perspectives and concerns remain unrepresented when there is a majority government and voters have limited choice. A voter might not agree with the agenda of one or the other major political party of the country but does not have any options give vent to his feelings. So, those people that do not belong to either left or right wing political parties and lie somewhere in the middle are in a dillemma in countries wheer either left or right or conservative or liberal parties sway the elections. Wasted Votes One criticism commonly hurled at the plurality voting system is that most of the times the votes that are in excess of the number required for victory go wasted. Again the example of 2005 elections in Uk becomes pertinent.” For example, in the UK General Election of 2005, 52% of votes were cast for losing candidates and 18% were excess votes - a total of 70% wasted votes” (‘Plurality voting system’). UK Voting System United Kingdom is considered to have the oldest electoral system. The current electoral system is said to have been started in the times of King John in 1172. The system established by King John is more or less intact today. In UK the parliament is elected to complete a term of five years. The Prime Minister has the duty to call the general elections before the end of the five year period. In order to call the general elections the Prime Minister has to pay a visit to the Queen who in return accepts the request and general elections are required to be held within four weeks. During this period the current government acquires the status of a 'caretaker' administration. Previously this whole process was very formal and Prime Minister had to be all dressed up. “Prime Minister visits the Queen, wearing an ermine robe and carrying a large staff made from the charred remains of Clarence House the location of the signing of the Magna Carta. Tradition states that his head must be shaved in the manner of King John (in the shape of the crucified Christ); however, nowadays a bald wig is used instead. The Prime Minister knocks on the inner door of Buckingham Palace three times, the Queen answers with a cup of tea” (Querio, 2001). The whole of UK is divided into hundred constituencies and every constituency chooses one Member of Parliament. During the four week period candidates go to the constituencies and ask for the votes from the people residing in the constituencies in each English county, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. While during the four week period candidates visit the constituencies but debates and publicity starts much before that. Media is used extensively by the candidates. The debates rage on different topic with opponents and TV and print media also plays its role. Major political parties also publish their manifestoes to inform people of their future agenda for the Kingdom. Manifestos are published in almost all the electoral systems all over the world but uniqueness in UK is that at the end of a term High Court asses the performance of the government according to the manifesto and makes its finding public. This aspect is very important as people get to know the performance of the party they previously voted for. The accountability aspect also makes government vying to perform to their best of abilities. The election like any where else in the world is done on a national holiday and public buildings are used and army assists in the process. People from different constituencies vote to elect their own MPs and the party winning most constituencies with their MPs makes the government on the request of the queen. The voting system used the card system but in 1997 the system was upgraded and electronic polling was introduced. In 2001 the electoral system also made use of Internet through web portals placed in McDonald’s restaurants and thus became the first country to allow Internet use in elections. Even though voting is not compulsory in UK like it is in other countries but in order to facilitate and encourage voters an official polling card is sent to the voter by the electoral returning officer a week before the election with the name, address, electoral registration number, date of voting and the address of your polling station. Another facility provided to voters is that if they are unable to go to the polling station they can choose to vote either by postal or proxy voting. For postal or proxy voting voter have to give an application. Thus, in UK the system remains same but technology is bringing modifications in the way people vote. References: ‘Plurality Voting System’ Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Wikipedia encyclopedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality_voting_system ‘How to vote’ (17 February, 2001) Retrieved March 2, 2007, from BBC News Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/voting_system/newsid_1171000/1171838.stm ‘Postal and proxy voting’ (29 May, 2001) Retrieved March 2, 2007, from BBC News Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/voting_system/newsid_1196000/1196730.stm Querio, E. (2001). The UK Electoral System Retrieved March 2, 2007, from All World Knowledge Website: http://www.allworldknowledge.com/ukelections/index.html ‘Types of Voting Systems’ (2005) Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/BeginnningReading/types.htm Corner, M. (July, 2005). Third Parties in the British General Election. Contemporary Review. 287(1674): 5+. Boivie, I. (2004). A Brave New World of Voting, Part II. The Humanist. 64(2): 32+. Barone, M. (1995). Beneath the Two-Party System. National Review. 47(23): 64+. Read More