Electoral Systems
Electoral Systems
There is only one path to democracy and that is an election. It is the only way that a government can represent the will of the people. It gives legitimacy to government and ensures that the freedom one gives up in lieu of security and order is maintained. In a democratic state, the electoral process determines who will hold political office. The importance of a free, fair and representative election cannot be overstated in the 21st century nor can be the process of it undermined. Due to the rapid pace of globalization no one constituency, country or region is isolated from one another. Everything is interdependent on the macro level, be it an economy or an election. Human beings have come a long way in terms of civilization and the growth we have seen can be attributed to a number of factors. However if we narrow our vision one thing that is common to this period of growth and progress is civility and the realization that the only way to success is when one stops worrying about the security of life and starts contributing towards the engines of growth. Who provides that security and ensures prosperity has varied throughout history, and its success has been largely dependent on it as well. The governors of the world have ranged from religion to monarchies not to mention armies and cults but the only time the world has seen sustained progress has been when the people have been in charge. And the only way to put people in charge is via elections. Having determined that it is the people who govern best and not some king, who on his own whim determines the fate of his subjects (country), this paper will look at electoral systems that are prevalent in the world and to what degree are they representative of the people they govern.
According to Vernon Bogdanor, voting systems can be categorized under three headings: plurality systems; majority systems; and proportional systems. Under the majority system, the party or candidate winning more than 50
There is only one path to democracy and that is an election. It is the only way that a government can represent the will of the people. It gives legitimacy to government and ensures that the freedom one gives up in lieu of security and order is maintained. In a democratic state, the electoral process determines who will hold political office. The importance of a free, fair and representative election cannot be overstated in the 21st century nor can be the process of it undermined. Due to the rapid pace of globalization no one constituency, country or region is isolated from one another. Everything is interdependent on the macro level, be it an economy or an election. Human beings have come a long way in terms of civilization and the growth we have seen can be attributed to a number of factors. However if we narrow our vision one thing that is common to this period of growth and progress is civility and the realization that the only way to success is when one stops worrying about the security of life and starts contributing towards the engines of growth. Who provides that security and ensures prosperity has varied throughout history, and its success has been largely dependent on it as well. The governors of the world have ranged from religion to monarchies not to mention armies and cults but the only time the world has seen sustained progress has been when the people have been in charge. And the only way to put people in charge is via elections. Having determined that it is the people who govern best and not some king, who on his own whim determines the fate of his subjects (country), this paper will look at electoral systems that are prevalent in the world and to what degree are they representative of the people they govern.
According to Vernon Bogdanor, voting systems can be categorized under three headings: plurality systems; majority systems; and proportional systems. Under the majority system, the party or candidate winning more than 50
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