Electoral systems

Exists two main electoral systems - majoritarian and proportional.

In turn, the majority system is divided into the following main types:

Majority system of relative majority. Under this system, the candidate who receives more votes than any of his opponents is considered elected.

Under such a system, elections are usually held in single-mandate constituencies, that is, one deputy is elected from the district. Counties are much less common multi-member when several deputies are elected from a district. An example is the U.S. Presidential Electoral College election in a state or federal district in which slates of electors compete.

As a rule, such a system does not establish a mandatory minimum voter participation in voting.

The advantage of this system is that elections are held in one round.

Main disadvantage This system is that a deputy is elected by a relative majority of votes. The absolute majority can vote against it, but their votes are lost. In addition, deputies nominated from small parties, as a rule, lose elections and these parties lose representation. However, the winning party often provides an absolute majority in parliament and can form a stable government.

Majoritarian system of absolute majority. Under this system, a person must receive more than half the votes to be elected.

An absolute majority can be threefold:

a) from the number of registered voters;

Under such a system, a lower threshold for voter participation is usually set. If it is not achieved, the elections are declared invalid or not held.

Elections are usually held in single-member constituencies.

Disadvantages of this system:

a) the party that received the majority of votes in the country may not receive the most large number seats in parliament;

c) ineffective elections, especially with a large number of candidates. If none of the candidates receives the required number of votes in the first round, a second round (re-vote) is held, in which, as a rule, two candidates who received greatest number votes in the first round (re-running).

The main ways to overcome ineffectiveness are the following:

a) to be elected in the second round, it is enough to receive a relative majority of votes;

b) alternative voting. This system can be considered using the example of Australia. When voting, voters rank numbers according to preference (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). If none of the candidates receives an absolute majority, then a redistribution of votes is carried out between the candidates, starting with the one who received the least number of the first two preferences indicated on his ballot, until one of the candidates receives the required number of votes.

Majority system of qualified majority. To be elected under this system, you must receive 2/3 of the votes. Sometimes the law may determine a different percentage of votes.

A unique variation of the majoritarian system is the cumulative vote and the system of a single non-transferable vote.

Cumulative vote- each voter in a multi-member electoral district has as many votes as the number of candidates to be elected, or another number established by law, but for all voters it is equal. A voter can give one vote to several candidates or give all votes to one candidate. This system is found in local government elections in some German states.

Single non-transferable vote system (semi-proportional)- in a multi-member electoral district, a voter votes for only one candidate from a particular party list. Candidates who have collected more votes than others are considered elected, i.e. When determining the voting results, the principle of the majority system of relative majority applies.

Proportional representation system political parties .

The essence of this system is that the number of deputy mandates received by a party is proportional to the number of votes cast for it. Parties nominate lists of candidates and voters vote not for specific candidates, but for a list of candidates from the party.

Lists of candidates can be linked or free. With a linked list, the voter does not have the right to make changes to the lists submitted by parties. With free lists, voters have this right.

The main advantage of the system is the guaranteed representation of even small parties that still have their own electorate.

The disadvantages of the proportional representation system include the following:

a) instability of parliament, where no party or their coalition can obtain a stable majority;

b) the voter may not know all the candidates from the supported party, that is, in fact, he votes for a specific party, and not for specific candidates;

c) the system can only be used in multi-member districts. The larger the district, the greater the degree of proportionality that can be achieved.

The main means of overcoming these shortcomings are the electoral quota and the divisor method.

Electoral quota (electoral meter) is the minimum number of votes required to elect one candidate.

Divisor method consists of sequentially dividing the number of votes received by each list of candidates by a certain series of divisors. Depending on which dividers are installed, large or small batches benefit. Least divisor represents an electoral quota. If an independent candidate is nominated, he must receive the established quota of votes.

Barrier point may limit the participation of parties in the distribution of deputy mandates on two grounds:

a) those parties that did not receive a single mandate in the first distribution are not allowed to participate in the second distribution of mandates, although they may have significant balances of votes;

b) most often, parties that do not receive a certain percentage of votes are excluded from the distribution of mandates.

This disadvantage is overcome in the following ways:

Linking lists of candidates (blocking)- bloc parties participate in elections with common lists of candidates, and after the common list has received a certain number of mandates, they distribute these mandates among themselves.

Panching- the right of a voter to vote for candidates from different lists or add new candidates to these lists. Panache can be used in a majoritarian system with multi-member districts or in a proportional system. In a proportional system, panning can be combined with preferential voting.

Mixed (majority-proportional systems). In a mixed system, most often half of the deputies are elected according to the majority system of relative majority, and the other half - according to proportional majority.

The electoral system is the procedure for organizing and conducting elections to representative institutions or an individual leading representative (for example, the president of the country), enshrined in legal standards, as well as the established practice of government and public organizations. In each country, electoral norms have their own specifics, determined by historical, cultural, political, social characteristics development of these countries. It is customary to distinguish three main types of electoral systems: majoritarian (absolute and relative majority), proportional and mixed.

Historically, the first electoral system was majoritarian system , which is based on the principle of the majority (French majorite - majority): those candidates who received the established majority of votes are considered elected. Depending on what kind of majority it is (relative, absolute or qualified), the system has variations. The majoritarian system is considered the simplest system, in which the candidate who received the largest number of votes, that is, more votes than any of his rivals, is considered elected. This system is successfully used in the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, India and Japan. This system can be used in both single-member and multi-member electoral districts.

In a majoritarian system of relative majority, the candidate who receives the greatest number votes, i.e. more votes than any of his rivals. The majoritarian system of relative majority is unfair to medium and small political parties. The mandate goes to the candidate who receives a relative majority of votes, while more people could vote against him than for him. This means that he was elected by an absolute minority of voters, albeit a relative majority.

For an absolute majority majoritarian system, the candidate who receives an absolute majority of votes wins, i.e. 50% + 1 vote. Typically, a lower threshold for voter participation is set. If it is not achieved, the elections are considered invalid or not taken place.

In the case of applying the majority system of a qualified majority, the candidate who received the qualified majority is considered elected, i.e. established by law, majority of votes. A qualified majority exceeds an absolute majority. Such a system is extremely rare, since it is even less effective than the system of an absolute majority.

Already at the dawn of the formation of the constitutional system, ideas began to be put forward for proportional representation of political associations, in which the number of mandates received by such an association corresponds to the number of votes cast for its candidates. The practically proportional system was first used in Belgium in 1889. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were 152 varieties of it. Now it exists in more than 60 countries. society majoritarian pre-election pr

Main idea proportional systems is that each political party receive a number of mandates in parliament or other representative body proportional to the number of votes cast for it. Proportional electoral system guarantees representation even for relatively small parties, which, in a parliamentary or mixed form of government, creates difficult problems during the formation of the government and in the future, during its activities. Of course, problems arise when no party or stable coalition of parties has a stable majority in parliament, and the proportional system favors such a situation.

A significant number of countries adhere to the proportional system. These are Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Israel, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, etc. However, the proportional system also has its drawbacks. Firstly, difficulties arise in forming a government, since multi-party coalitions include parties with different goals and objectives. Governments created on this basis are unstable. Secondly, the proportional system leads to the fact that representation in bodies state power receive political forces that do not enjoy support throughout the country. Thirdly, under a proportional system, due to the fact that voting is carried out not for specific candidates, but for parties, the direct connection between deputies and voters is weak. Fourthly, since under this system voting is for political parties, deputies are dependent on their party leadership, which can negatively affect the discussion and adoption of important documents.

Due to significant shortcomings of the proportional and majoritarian systems, the formation of mixed electoral system . Its essence lies in the fact that part of the deputy mandates is distributed in accordance with the principles of the majoritarian system, which contributes to the formation of a stable government, and the other part is distributed in accordance with the principles of the proportional system, which contributes to a more complete accounting of votes and more accurately reflects the real picture of the political situation in country. The mixed electoral system is typical for Russia, Australia, Egypt and the United Mexican States.

The concept of an electoral system consists of the entire set of legal norms governing the procedure for granting voting rights, holding elections and determining voting results. The term “electoral system” also has a truncated meaning: when it is used in relation to the procedure for determining the voting results. In this narrow sense, proportional and majoritarian electoral systems differ. Within these basic systems, each country has very significant differences, often establishing an essentially completely separate and unique electoral system.

Historically, the first electoral system was the majoritarian system, which is based on the principle of the majority (French majorite - majority): those candidates who received the established majority of votes are considered elected. Depending on what kind of majority it is (relative, absolute or qualified), the system has variations. Below, I will take a closer look at these varieties.

Already at the dawn of the formation of the constitutional system, ideas began to be put forward for proportional representation of political associations, in which the number of mandates received by such an association corresponds to the number of votes cast for its candidates. The practically proportional system was first used in Belgium in 1889. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were 152 varieties of it. Now it exists in more than 60 countries.

Since the beginning of the last century, compromise ideas have been put forward aimed at ensuring at least partial representation of the minority - a limited vote, a system of a single non-transferable vote, a cumulative vote, characterized as semi-proportional systems. Some of them are used today because they allow one way or another to reduce the defects of the majoritarian system without moving to more or less pure proportionality.

In the interests of combining the advantages of the majoritarian and proportional systems and eliminating the inherent disadvantages of each of them, along with a combination of both systems in some countries, in some others they began to use the system of a single transferable vote.

The establishment of a particular electoral system is the result of a subjective choice, which is often determined by the balance of political forces in the legislative body. Certain methods of determining election results often turn out to be more beneficial to individual parties, and it is natural that they strive to include precisely these methods that are beneficial to them in the electoral legislation. For example, in 1993 Italy moved from a proportional system to a mixed, predominantly majority system, and New Zealand, - on the contrary, from majority to proportional. It is noteworthy that in both countries this issue was resolved through a national referendum.

As we already know, in Russia there are two main types of electoral systems: proportional and majoritarian.

The first means that deputy mandates in parliamentary elections are distributed in proportion to the votes cast, and the second means the distribution of mandates among electoral districts based on the majority of votes cast (the absolute majority system, when the winner is the candidate who received 50% of the votes plus one from voters who voted, or the relative system majority, when the winner is the one who received simply more votes than any other candidate).

The majoritarian system has single-member constituencies where a simple majority wins. This happens in the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, India and Japan.

Single-member districts have the advantage of being able to unite dozens of small parties around one of two traditional parties - Conservative or Labor, Republican or Democratic.

In countries with proportional electoral systems, multi-member constituencies are used and parliamentary seats are allocated in proportion to the percentage of votes received in a given constituency. In Anglo-American single-member constituencies, the winner takes all seats. In multi-member districts, the winner receives only his/her allotted percentage of the vote.

The proportional electoral system does not give parties any reward for sticking together. Moreover, proportional representation even encourages divisions in parties and movements. In the elections of December 12, 1993 to the Federal Assembly in Russia, the Democratic Russia movement participated in four small parties.

Proportional-majoritarian elections in one round under a two-party system provide the opportunity for leading parties to alternately rise to the top of government power. Majoritarian elections in two rounds allow each party, even a small one, to act independently at the first stage, which creates conditions for the formation of a multi-party system. Proportional voting system encourages ambition political leaders to the creation of new parties. However, in elections their intentions are limited to obtaining 5 percent or more of the vote. Without gaining them, the party does not have the right to be represented in parliament. Russia's multi-party system in all these respects is still in its formation stage.

IN Russian literature on legal issues of the electoral system, the following alternative was proposed. The fact is that, according to Vadim Belotserkovsky: the small number of parties and at the same time their large number makes their dependence on nomenklatura-mafia circles, on state power and related commercial structures, to which dwarf parties must bow, inevitable. It is almost impossible for them to get into parliament with their own strength and money. In these conditions, the majority of deputies find themselves under the strict control of these circles and structures, and there can no longer be any talk of democracy. There is no one to represent the people in parliament. In this situation, a system of elections based on the production principle could provide a way out of the impasse. That is, when deputies are nominated and elected at enterprises, institutions and associations of workers - “individual workers” - farmers, writers, artisans, lawyers, private entrepreneurs. In other words, we're talking about about returning to the system of elections of the original Soviets, but not on a class basis, but on a public basis, so that all layers of society were represented in the legislative bodies of power. Private entrepreneurs - in proportion to the share of the private sector in the gross product.

In elections based on the production principle, candidates and parties no longer need to seek support from the authorities and financial structures. Candidates won't need a penny to campaign at their place of work! It is also equally important that voters will always be well aware of who they are voting for - after all, it will be their colleagues! - they can easily control the deputies they have elected and recall them if the deputies begin to defend the interests of others. During territorial elections, district voters, working in various places, are practically incapable of organizing to control deputies. During the elections production basis It will no longer matter how many parties there are in the country; the problem of a quorum of voters will no longer exist. Falsification of results will also become impossible.

Thus, elections on the basis under discussion are capable of undermining the dominance of the nomenklatura and the mafia over the legislative branch, and after it, over the executive and judicial power. The production-based election system is already well established in the world. They are used in the formation of central boards of large concerns with many branches, boards of cooperative associations and federations of employee-owned enterprises. There is now an opinion spreading around the world that everywhere the party-territorial election system is dragging people into crisis and is not responding modern concepts about democracy and should be reformed towards more direct representation of different social strata.

Majoritarian electoral system

Majoritarian electoral system is one of the types of electoral systems in which candidates who receive a majority of votes in the electoral district in which they are running are considered elected; used in many countries, including Russia.

The majoritarian electoral system has its own varieties and consists of the following. The territory of a state or a representative body is divided into territorial units - often one, but sometimes two or more deputies are elected from each. Each candidate is nominated and elected in his personal capacity, although it may be indicated which party or movement he represents. If, in order to win, a candidate must receive not only a majority of votes, but also at least half of the number of voters who took part in the vote, then in this case it is customary to talk about a majoritarian electoral system of an absolute majority. If a candidate who receives more votes than his rivals is considered the winner, and it does not matter how much this amounts to from the number of voters who voted, such a system is usually called a majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority. If a certain number of votes is needed to win (for example, 25, 30, 40% 2/3 of the number of voters participating in the election) - this is a majoritarian qualified majority electoral system.

Voting under the majoritarian electoral system of relative majority is carried out in one round, and under other types - in two rounds. The two candidates who received the most votes advance to the second round, and the winner may be the one who received a certain number of votes or more votes than the opponent.

The advantages of the majoritarian electoral system are that it is effective - it gives winners; in addition, voting is subjective - the voter gives preference to a specific person; MPs must maintain constant contact with voters, hoping for their support in the next elections. The disadvantage of the majoritarian electoral system is that votes cast for non-winning candidates are lost, and the winner in this case has the support of another clear minority of voters, i.e. we can talk about the low representativeness of such a deputy.

IN Russian Federation for elections in State Duma Since 1993, the principle of combining proportional and majoritarian electoral systems has been applied. At the same time, the majoritarian electoral system looks like this: it has been established that 225 (i.e. half) State Duma deputies are elected on the basis of a majoritarian electoral system in single-mandate (one district - one mandate) electoral districts formed in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the basis of a single norm of representation, for with the exception of electoral districts formed in constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the number of voters in which is less than the average number of voters established by the Central Election Commission for a single-mandate district. To win in the district, you need to get more votes than other candidates, i.e. This is a majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority. An election is considered valid if at least 25% of registered voters have voted.

The elections of half of the State Duma deputies were held under the majoritarian electoral system in 1993 and 1995. It may be recalled that in 1993 deputies were also elected to the Federation Council - two from each subject of the Russian Federation. A majoritarian electoral system of relative majority was used, with the difference that the district was two-mandate; The electoral district was the territory of each subject of the Russian Federation. As for the elections of representative bodies of power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in 1993 they were given the opportunity to introduce both a majoritarian and a mixed majoritarian-proportional system. However, in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, elections of bodies of representative power are held by electoral districts. Some subjects simultaneously formed two types of such constituencies: ordinary (based on the number of voters) and administrative-territorial (i.e., a district or city, respectively, became a constituency, from which a deputy was elected to the parliament of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation). In elections to representative bodies of local self-government (i.e., assemblies, city and district councils), deputies are elected using a majoritarian electoral system. At the same time, often the entire territory is a single multi-member constituency. However, each deputy is elected in his personal capacity, which is precisely characteristic of a majoritarian electoral system.

Majority system of qualified majority

Under this system, the candidate (list of candidates) who receives a qualified majority of votes is considered elected. The qualified majority is established by law and, in any case, exceeds the absolute majority. Such a system is extremely rare, since it is even less effective than the system of an absolute majority.

For example, in Chile, the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of parliament) is elected in two-member constituencies. The party that collected 2/3 of the total number of valid votes in the district. Receives both mandates from the district. If such a majority is not received by any of the parties, the mandates are transferred to the two parties that collected the largest number of votes.

Until recently, 65% of the vote was required to elect Italian senators running in single-member constituencies. In practice, as a rule, none of the candidates received such a majority; electoral districts were united across the region, and the distribution of mandates was carried out according to the rules of the system of proportional representation, discussed below. After the April 1993 referendum, a majority system of relative majority was established in single-member districts for elections to the Senate (such districts are also provided for elections to the Chamber of Deputies).

Proportional electoral system

The proportional electoral system is one of the types of electoral systems used in many countries, including Russia.

The proportional electoral system has many varieties, but its essence is as follows. The territory of the state or representative body is declared a single electoral district. Political parties and movements, their unions put forward lists of their candidates. The voter votes for one of these lists. Victory in this case is proportional to the number of votes cast for the corresponding list of the electoral association, and the counting is often carried out only on lists that received more than 5% (for example, Germany, the Russian Federation; there may be another percentage - in particular, 4% in Sweden, 3 - in Argentina, 2 - in Denmark, 1% in Israel). The total number of votes of voters who took part in the voting is divided by total quantity deputy mandates replaced by a proportional electoral system. The result is a selective quotient. This is how it is determined how many parties or movements have received seats in the representative body. Within the list, candidates receive mandates according to their order, starting from the first. If the list is divided into the central part and regional groups, candidates from the central part enter parliament first. Candidates from regional groups receive mandates in proportion to the votes cast for this list in the relevant region.

The advantage of the proportional electoral system is that votes are not lost (except for those cast for a list that does not exceed the 5% threshold). The disadvantage of the proportional electoral system is that here the voter chooses, as it were, abstract persons - he most often knows the leader of the party, movement, several activists, but the rest are unknown to him. In addition, elected deputies do not have a direct connection with the voters of a particular district, as in a majoritarian system. In order to take into account the interests of voters, many countries divide the list into territorial parts. Some countries have abandoned linked lists (when a voter votes for the list as a whole) and switched to a free list system - the voter has the right to give preference to candidates from the list of a party, movement, and even supplement the list. Many deputies, politicians and researchers consider the high percentage barrier to be a disadvantage of the proportional electoral system.

The proportional electoral system is used in the elections of the entire parliament (Denmark, Portugal, Luxembourg, Latvia), or only the lower house (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Brazil), or? composition of the lower chamber (Germany, Russian Federation).

In the Russian Federation, the proportional electoral system is used in the elections of half of the 225 deputies - the State Duma. Each electoral association, bloc can include up to 270 people in the federal electoral list of candidates for deputies. It is possible to allocate the central part to the lists and distribute the remaining candidates to regions consisting of groups or individual subjects of the Russian Federation. Only electoral associations, blocs that received more than 5% of the votes of voters who took part in the voting, participate in the distribution of deputy mandates. In the 1995 elections, these were the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Our Home Russia movement and Yabloko.

Electoral quotient is the number of votes per deputy mandate. In Russia, it is used when counting votes and determining the number of seats provided to parties and movements that received parliamentary mandates and nominated their electoral lists for elections to the State Duma in the federal electoral district.

Medvedev Alexey Grigorievich

The concept of the electoral system and its components

The electoral system is an indispensable element of modern civilization, an element of any democracy, which generally cannot exist without authorized representation, which ensures the real participation of the population in managing the affairs of society and the state. Such representation, in turn, can be democratic only if it is formed by society itself, by the people themselves. Representative democracy by itself does not solve all the problems of democracy. Only in combination with direct democracy does it ensure the civilized development of society, creates necessary conditions self-realization of the people. I.s. is the most important form of direct democracy, the main function of which is the formation of authorized popular representation. The nature of the electoral system directly determines the main characteristics of the representative system. Elections are not only an important form of direct participation of the population in the exercise of state power, not only the act of electing representatives of the people to government bodies. This is also a means of his education and self-organization. Finally, this is a practical implementation voting rights citizens, effective remedy perestroika modern society. Historical experience strongly suggests that major changes public life in general and in its individual spheres (and first of all, the political one) certainly concerned the electoral system, and in some cases its radical changes came to the fore. The currently existing system meets the needs of the formation of Ukrainian statehood and, as such, needs radical changes and renewal. I.s. - a set of legal, organizational and other means of forming representative bodies of state power and the exercise by citizens of their voting rights. Institute of I.S. found its legislative expression in the Constitution of Ukraine, laws on elections to the Councils of People's Deputies of different Lankas, and on the procedure for recalling deputies of people's councils. I.s. is built on such constitutional principles, as general, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, nomination of candidates by public organizations, labor collectives, meetings of military personnel; free and comprehensive discussion of the qualities of a candidate for deputy; election campaigning; holding elections at state expense; ensuring elections in districts by election commissions; voter orders; liability for violation of election laws and the like. There are several types of electoral system: majoritarian system (majority system), proportional system of representation of political parties and mixed.

Electoral power - in some countries an officially recognized variety public authority- on a par with legislative, executive and judicial. It is carried out by the country's electoral corps, that is, in special judicial or quasi-judicial bodies such as electoral tribunals that consider disputes related to the organization and conduct of elections. In Ukraine there is no such institution: their role is played by election commissions - from the precinct to the Central Election Commission and the courts - from the district to Supreme Court Ukraine.

A polling station is a territorial unit created for voting and counting votes in elections for all councils of people's deputies. Organization and work of I. u. determined by election legislation. So, for example, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine” dated November 17, 1993, for voting and counting votes in elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, the territory of districts, cities, districts in cities that are included in electoral districts is divided into And .u. I.u. are formed with a number of from 20 to 3,000 voters, and in necessary cases with fewer or a large number voters.

Electoral deposit - sum of money, which, according to the legislation of a number of countries, including Ukraine, must be contributed by a candidate for deputy upon registration and which is returned to him only if the candidate receives at least five percent of the votes of voters who took part in the voting in the elections. The non-refundable deposit is counted towards the state budget. In Ukraine I. z. contributed by the candidate for deputy in the amount of five minimum wages.

The Election Commission is a body formed to organize and conduct elections to the Councils of People's Deputies. In Ukraine, the system of election commissions includes the Central Election Commission for the elections of people's deputies of Ukraine, district election commissions, precinct election commissions - for conducting elections of people's deputies of Ukraine; regional, district, city, district in cities, township, rural election commissions; district and precinct election commissions - to conduct elections of deputies of local councils. The Central Election Commission is formed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine upon provision of the relevant bodies no later than 4 months before the elections, consisting of a chairman, secretary, and 11 commission members. Her term of office is 4 years. Regional, district, rural V.K. are formed by the relevant Council for a period of 4 years.

An electoral district is a spatial (national-territorial) unit formed to conduct elections to the Councils of People's Deputies. Number of I.o. depends on the composition of the relevant Councils. Representation standards and number of acting representatives determined by election legislation. Yes, the Law on the Election of People's Deputies of Ukraine interprets that for the election of People's Deputies of Ukraine 450 single-member constituencies. They are formed by the Central Election Commission to provide the relevant Councils. From each V. o. One people's deputy is elected. But districts are formed with approximately an equal number of voters for all territories of Ukraine.

Electoral law has two meanings: 1) a set of legal norms that regulate the participation of Ukrainian citizens in elections of representative government bodies, the organization and conduct of elections, the relationship between voters, deputies and representative institutions; 2) the right of citizens to vote (active suffrage) and the right to be elected (passive non-suffrage). In other words, this is the subjective right of citizens. V.p. - one of the most important institutions of constitutional law in Ukraine. This is a set of constitutional and legal norms that regulate the procedure for organizing and conducting elections, the conditions for the participation of citizens in elections of representative bodies of power, the relationship between deputies and voters, the procedure for recalling a deputy by voters.

The electoral process in Ukraine is carried out on the following principles:

1) free and equal nomination of applicants and candidates;

2) publicity;

3) dispassion towards candidates on the part of government bodies, institutions, organizations, local and regional governments;

4) equality of opportunity for all candidates;

5) freedom of campaigning;

6) control over sources of financing and expenses for the election campaign.

Electoral process - the procedure, procedure for organizing and conducting elections is established by law; one of the elements of the Electoral System provides for certain stages, stages, non-compliance with which can lead to undesirable consequences - up to cassation of election results. Components of I.p. there are: 1) appointment of elections, which can be on duty, extraordinary (early), repeated, and also instead of deputies who have dropped out. 2) The formation of electoral districts and polling stations, the system of election commissions, - the Central Election Commission, district and precinct election commissions. 3) Compilation of voter lists, which is carried out by precinct election commissions. 4) Nomination and registration of candidates for deputies, the right to which belongs to the subject directly determined by law. 5) Procedural actions related to ensuring guarantees for the activities of deputy candidates and other participants in the electoral process. 6) Conducting voting. 7) Counting votes and determining election results (voting), and during the counting of votes, the election commission must adhere to the sequence of actions defined by law and properly draw up the relevant documents. 8) However, the described procedure may be continued when the need arises for holding repeat elections and elections of deputies to replace those who retired.

Types of elections

Elections are an extremely multifaceted social phenomenon. As the German statesman G. Mayer noted, on a national scale, elections are the most massive process that the law knows.

Depending on the grounds, several classifications of types of elections can be distinguished.

By territorial basis, elections are:

1) national (nationwide), which are carried out throughout the entire country: elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, elections of the President of Ukraine;

2) local (sometimes called local, communal, administrative): elections to representative bodies of local government (rural, town, city, district in cities, district, regional councils and village, town, city chairmen).

For the object that provides for bodies or positions to which representatives of the people are included or elected, elections can be classified as:

1) parliamentary elections - elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;

2) elections to the position of President of Ukraine;

3) elections of a representative body of territorial autonomy - elections of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

4) elections of representative bodies of self-government of city, rural, town, city, district in cities, district, regional councils;

5) elections for the positions of village, town and city chairmen.

Based on the timing of holding elections, they are divided into:

1) duty officers. Elections that are held during the expiration of the term of office (legislature) provided for by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine for the functioning of a certain type of elected body or position;

2) extraordinary or early. Elections that are held in the event of early termination of the term of office provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine for the functioning of a certain type of electoral body or position;

3) repeated. Elections that are held in cases where elections in a constituency are declared invalid or did not take place;

4) elections to replace deputies, chairmen (village, town, city councils) who dropped out. Elections that are held in single-mandate electoral districts in the event of loss of a deputy mandate or early termination of the powers of a deputy or a village, town, city chairman on the grounds and in the manner provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine;

5) elections that are held in the event of the formation of a new administrative-territorial unit.

Based on the quantitative basis of voter participation, elections are:

1) general, basic, when all voters of the state have the right to participate in them by law;

2) partial (additional), when the composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, local councils is replenished, in the event of the early departure of some deputies, or the recognition of elections as invalid.

Considering legal consequences elections are divided into:

1) valid - these are elections held in the manner prescribed by the Constitution of Ukraine and the relevant electoral law;

2) invalid - elections during which there were violations of the electoral legislation that influenced the election results.

Types of electoral systems

Electoral technology is a mechanism, a system of means and methods for organizing and conducting elections, the basis of the electoral system of any country.

Based on the procedure for determining election results, the following electoral systems are distinguished:

1) majority;

2) proportional;

3) mixed.

Majoritarian system

The majoritarian system is the oldest among electoral systems. Its name comes from the French majorite, which means “majority”. A majoritarian system is considered to be a system for determining election results, thanks to which only those candidates who received the legally required majority of votes receive parliamentary mandates (one or more) from the district, and all other candidates are considered unelected. 83 countries of the world use a majoritarian system, including the USA, France, Great Britain, and Canada. Depending on how the majority of votes required to elect a candidate is determined, there are:

1) majoritarian system of absolute majority; 2) majoritarian system of relative majority; 3) majority system of qualified majority.

When using a majoritarian system, electoral districts are most often single-member. Less common is the option of multi-member constituencies. In single-mandate constituencies, voting is, as a rule, personalized, in multi-member constituencies - as for certain persons, and according to party lists. There are multi-member constituencies in Japan, the USA, Russia, and currently in Ukraine.

The relative majority (or simple majority, or first-to-be-first-in-office) majoritarian system is the simplest type of majoritarian system. Under the conditions of its implementation, the candidate who received the largest number of votes is considered elected. This system is quite effective. When two or more candidates have the same number of votes, which is very rare, the law traditionally uses a lottery procedure. Under this system, voting occurs in one round. As a rule, no mandatory minimum voter participation in voting is established.

The disadvantage of the majoritarian system of relative majority is that it does not make it possible to take into account the interests of all voters in the district, because a candidate may be elected by an absolute minority of voters, although a relative majority of them at the time of voting, under such conditions the votes of voters who voted against elected candidate, disappear. This system also effectively cancels medium and small lots. With the adoption of a new body of electoral legislation, a majoritarian system of relative majority is currently being introduced in Ukraine, partly in parliamentary elections, and entirely in local elections. In accordance with Part 2 Art. 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Election of People's Deputies of Ukraine", 225 deputies of parliament are elected in single-mandate constituencies on the basis of a relative majority. In accordance with Art. 2 of the Law of Ukraine "On elections of deputies of local councils and village, town, city chairmen" elections of deputies of village, town, city, district councils in the city are held according to the majoritarian system of relative majority in single-mandate electoral districts into which the entire territory of the corresponding village, town, city, district, city. According to Art. According to this Law, elections of a village, town, city chairman are carried out according to the majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority in a single single-mandate electoral district, the limits of which coincide with the boundaries of the village, town, city. Also in accordance with Art. 4 of this Law, elections of deputies of the district council are carried out according to the majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority in multi-member electoral districts, the limits of which correspond to the limits of the corresponding villages, towns, cities of district significance, which are administrative-territorial units that are included in this region. Elections of deputies to the regional council are held according to the majority electoral system of a relative majority in multi-member electoral districts, the boundaries of which are at the same time the boundaries of the districts and cities of regional significance that are included in this region.

On the other hand, the absolute majority majority system requires more than half the votes to be collected to elect a candidate, that is, the formula is 50% + 1 vote. The derivative of this number of votes can be different: 1) total number registered voters; 2) the total number of voters who took part in the elections (received ballot papers); 3) the total number of voters who took part in the voting. When applying this system, as a rule, there is a mandatory lower threshold for voting participation. Also, sometimes a minimum number of votes is set, the collection of which is also a condition for the election of a candidate.

The advantage of this system is its potential democracy: it takes into account the interests of the majority of voters, although the votes of voters cast against it are again lost. The disadvantage of the system is not its effectiveness. Voting under this system usually involves repeat voting or repeat elections. Since voter turnout noticeably declines in the second round, legislation often does not establish any of the barriers that exist in the first round of voting. Another way to overcome the ineffectiveness of the absolute majority system already in the first round of elections is alternative voting (preferential or absolute voting), in which voters vote for one candidate, but at the same time indicate the order of their advantages for others. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first count, then the one who received the fewest votes is eliminated from the list and the corresponding second positions in the system are counted. This operation is repeated until one candidate receives the absolute number as a result of these vote conversions. This system was introduced in Australia during the elections of the House of Representatives.

In Ukraine, as is known, even recently, including in parliamentary and local elections, the majority system of absolute majority was used to count votes in elections. From now on, this system is preserved only for the elections of the President of Ukraine.

The majority system of qualified majority provides that the candidate (or list of candidates) who received a certain qualified majority of votes is considered elected. The qualified majority is established by law and, as a rule, exceeds the absolute majority. This system is used very rarely in election practice. The main reason for this is not its effectiveness. Until 1993, it was in effect in Italy for Senate elections, and is also used in Chile.

Proportional system

The second type of electoral system is the proportional system. It was first introduced in 1889 in Belgium, and now 57 countries use this system, including Israel, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Under a proportional system, deputy mandates are distributed between parties in proportion to the number of votes collected by each of them within the electoral district. When applying this system, constituencies are always multi-member.

There are two ways to create constituencies when using the proportional vote counting system. The most common method is when the limits of electoral districts coincide with the limits of administrative-territorial units. A less common method is used when the territory of the entire state constitutes a single electoral district.

The influence of voters on the placement of candidates on the voting list is divided into the following types proportional system:

1) with rigid lists;

2) with preferences;

3) with semi-rigid lists. When using rigid lists, the voter votes for the list of the party that he elects as a whole. The ballot paper indicates only the names, emblems of parties, and sometimes a certain number of first candidates on party lists. The rigid list system is practiced in Spain, Portugal, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine.

When applying the system of preferences (translated as “advantage”), the voter not only votes for the lists of the party that is electing, but also makes a note opposite the number of the candidate in the candidate list from the party to whom he gives his vote. Thus, the one who received the largest number of preferences is elected; in the event of an equal number of preferences for several candidates from the party, preference is given to the one who occupies the highest place on the party list. The system of preferences is practiced in Finland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The semi-rigid list system provides the voter with the opportunity to vote:

1) for the list as a whole;

2) determine preferences by noting or entering the names of one or more candidates. In the first case, votes are counted according to a system of rigid lists, in the second - according to a system of preferences. This system is practiced in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.

A proportional system with rigid lists has its advantages: during voting, first of all, the political platform and program for the future activities of the party are elected; this system the simplest form of implementation and the cheapest. Its disadvantage is that the party list can “pull” unknown, incompetent, unpopular politicians into deputies, senators, and the like. In contrast, the system of preferences makes it possible to expand the sphere of expression of the will of the voters themselves, because both lists and personnel vote." 1 This is its advantage, however, the disadvantage is, so to speak, majoritarian - the voter is focused more on individual political personalities, and not on the interests and tasks of the party as a whole. The introduction of a system with semi-rigid lists was caused by the need to overcome the shortcomings of the system of rigid lists and preferences.

A common, so to speak, “burdensome” circumstance when introducing a proportional system is quite complex system counting of votes. This more or less complex mathematical calculation requires a two-step operation. At the initial stage, each list receives as many seats as the number of times it meets the electoral coefficient. Since the number of seats allocated to a particular list is the total number of votes received by that list, there are always a few votes remaining. These votes are the remainder (or surplus), which is taken into account until the logical conclusion of the distribution of votes. The electoral coefficient (electoral quota, electoral meter) is a divisor that is used to recognize the number of seats that each list will receive during distribution. Most often, a simple coefficient is used, which is obtained after the vote by dividing in each district separately the total number of votes cast by the number of seats to be filled. There are other types of coefficients: Hegenbach-Bischoff coefficient, standard coefficient, reduction coefficient, double coefficient, selective coefficient.

The distribution of surpluses (residues) is carried out by two main methods:

1) The largest surplus method involves allocating seats to the list that has the largest number of unrepresented votes deferred from the first allocation, and so on until all seats have been allocated.

2) the greatest average method is a method by which the total number of votes received on a list is divided by the number of seats already received on that list, plus one fictitious seat. The list which thus receives the most average receives next place and so on until all places have been allocated.

There are other methods for calculating excesses: the d'Hont method, the Saint-lapeau method, modified method Saint-lapeau.

In order to prevent rapid growth The number of small, non-representative parties in proportional election systems introduces an electoral threshold, which means that only those party lists that have received a certain percentage of votes established by law are allowed to participate in the distribution of seats after voting. These thresholds vary, for example in the Netherlands - 0.67, Israel - 1, Sweden, Russia, Germany - 5, Liechtenstein - 8, Turkey - 10%. In Ukraine, according to the new parliamentary electoral legislation - 4%.

Mixed system

There is a fairly wide range of mixed systems, which are a combination of majority and proportional systems. At least 20 countries around the world use them. Mixed election systems are used, as a rule, in those countries where the search and establishment of electoral systems is underway or it is necessary to reach a compromise between the principle of representation of different political forces in parliament and the stability of the government formed by them.

Sometimes mixed systems are introduced in a modified form with the advantage of one or another electoral system.

Electoral systems that provide an advantage to the majoritarian voting method when using proportional voting are the following mixed systems:

1) a system with a single vote that does not allow transfer. Its content is that in a multi-member electoral district, a voter votes for one candidate, and not for a list of candidates from a party. This is practiced in Japan, China;

3) cumulative voting provides that the voter has as many votes as there are mandates in the district, and can distribute it among all candidates, or can cast all his votes for only one of the candidates.

There is also a mixed system, which primarily uses a modified proportional representation system.

The single-vote transfer system means that voters vote for one candidate regardless of the number of seats in the constituency, but also express an advantage over other candidates.

The most simple option mixed electoral system is a parallel combination: certain part The representative body is elected on a majoritarian basis, the other - on a proportional basis. An example is the German parliament, where the lower house - the Bundestag - is elected half by a majoritarian system, and half by proportional representation. The same factors form the basis for the election of the parliaments of Lithuania, Georgia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria.

In Ukraine, the parliament is also elected on the basis of general, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot under a mixed majoritarian proportional system. A total of 450 deputies are elected. Of these, 225 are in single-mandate constituencies based on a relative majority, and 225 are behind the lists of candidates for deputy from political parties, electoral blocs of parties in a multi-member national constituency based on proportional representation.

1.5.3. Electoral systems: majoritarian, proportional, mixed.

The electoral system is the procedure for organizing and conducting elections to representative institutions or an individual leading representative (for example, the president of the country), enshrined in legal norms, as well as the established practice of state and public organizations.

There are parliamentary, presidential, regional (in the subjects of the federation), municipal, elections of judges, some officials(Coroners in the USA). In modern democratic states, elections, as a rule, are universal, equal, direct and secret ballot. Only in the United States are elections indirect (multi-degree), since voters vote for electors - representatives of a political party, and the latter directly choose the president. A specific form of electoral activity is a referendum - a special type of popular vote, the object of which is an important state question or bill (constitution). In rare cases, the object of a referendum becomes a specific person - a candidate for the presidency (Arab Republic of Egypt).

There are two main types of electoral systems: majoritarian (alternative) and proportional (representative).

Under a majoritarian system, to be elected, a candidate or party must receive a majority of the votes of the voters in the district or the entire country. Parties that collect a minority of votes do not receive any mandates. The absolute majority system is more often used in presidential elections, where the winner must receive more than half the votes (a minimum of 50% plus one vote). If no candidate receives more than half the votes, a second round of elections is held, in which only the two candidates who received the most votes are presented (sometimes all candidates who received more than the minimum number of votes in the first round are allowed into the second round). Under the relative majority system (USA, UK, Canada, France, Japan, etc.), to win it is enough to be at least a little ahead of other contenders.

The advantage of the majoritarian system is the relative ease of forming a government and its stability, since parliamentary mandates are distributed mainly among the large winning parties. Small batches are eliminated. As a rule, stable ties are formed between voters and deputies counting on their re-election in specific districts. At the same time, the majoritarian electoral system significantly distorts the picture of preferences and the will of voters. A party with less voter support sometimes wins over a party with a majority of votes nationwide by winning constituencies with fewer voters. Much depends on the drawing of electoral districts. By limiting access to the parliamentary corps of small parties, the majoritarian system can weaken the legitimacy of the government.

The proportional electoral system consists of distributing mandates in proportion to the votes received by parties or electoral coalitions, which allows the interests of all groups of society to be represented. Heterogeneous parties are often forced to enter into temporary coalitions, which fall apart when contradictions escalate and create government crises. The policies of the government, formed on the basis of an inter-party coalition, are characterized by uncertainty and inconsistency. For greater stability of party coalitions, a number of electoral systems use barriers that establish the minimum number of votes required to obtain parliamentary mandates. It usually accounts for three to five percent of all votes cast. In Russia since 2007 - 7 percent. Parties that do not overcome the barrier lose the right to be represented in parliament. The voter votes for the party list. There are three main types of voting lists: hard lists, when they vote for the party as a whole and candidates receive mandates in the order in which they are presented on the party lists; semi-rigid - in this case, the candidate who heads the party list necessarily receives a mandate, while the distribution of the remaining mandates received by the party is carried out depending on the votes (preferences) received by the candidate; free - the distribution of all deputy seats occurs in accordance with the preferences of voters.

There are various modifications of both majoritarian and especially proportional systems. Many countries, trying to make the most of the advantages of each of them and mitigate their disadvantages, use mixed systems that combine elements of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. Thus, in Germany, one half of the Bundestag deputies are elected according to a majority system of relative majority, the other half - according to a proportional system. A similar electoral system was used in Russia in the elections to the State Duma in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003. In recent decades, some organizations (UN, Green parties, etc.) have used a consensus election system. It has a positive orientation, i.e. is focused not on criticizing the enemy, but on finding the most acceptable candidate or electoral platform for everyone. In practice, this is expressed in the fact that the voter votes not for one, but for all (necessarily more than two) candidates and ranks their list in order of his own preferences. So, for example, if 5 candidates are vying for the post of president, then the voter determines the place of each of them. 1st place is given 5 points, 2nd - 4, 3rd - 3, 4th - 2, 5th - 1 point. After voting, the points received are summed up and the winner is determined based on their number.

By orienting political subjects to a certain order of struggle for power, various electoral systems directly determine the type of party systems and election campaigns. Laws can also influence the nature of party systems by, for example, imposing restrictions on the activities of a few parties, preventing access to elections opposition parties certain direction, allowing violent acts in relation to illegal party associations. Where majoritarian electoral systems operate (determining one winner based on the majority of votes received), two-party systems or systems with one dominant party are usually formed. Proportional electoral systems, on the contrary, give chances for representation in government more political forces, initiate the creation of multi-party systems and party coalitions, and facilitate the emergence of new parties.

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