Majoritarian system and proportional electoral system. Proportional and majoritarian electoral systems

electoral proportional political election

The main types of electoral systems are: majoritarian, proportional and mixed

Majoritarian electoral system characterized by the fact that the candidate (or list of candidates) who receives the majority of votes provided for by law is considered elected to a particular elective body. Depending on the majority required to win elections, majoritarian electoral systems are divided into relative majority and absolute majority systems. The majoritarian system of relative majority is a system in which the candidate who received greatest number votes, i.e. more votes than any of his rivals. This is the most simple system. It is always successful because someone always gets a relative majority of votes. A huge advantage of this system is the elimination of the second round. Under this system, there is usually no mandatory minimum voter participation in voting. The absolute majority majority system requires an absolute majority of votes to be elected, i.e. more than half (50% + 1) of their total number. Under this system, a lower threshold for voter participation is usually set. If it is not achieved, then the elections are considered invalid.

The advantage of this system compared to the system of relative majority is that candidates supported by a real majority of voters voted are considered elected, even if this majority was one vote. If no candidate receives more than half of the votes, a second round of elections is held, in which, as a rule, the two candidates who received the most votes are presented. In the second round, the winner is usually determined by a relative majority system.

Proportional system involves the distribution of mandates in proportion to the votes received by parties or party blocs.

Like the majoritarian proportional system, it has varieties. There are two types of it:

• - voting on closed party lists. In this case, the voter votes for the party list as a whole, without changing the order of the candidates;
• - - voting with open party lists. In this case, the voter has the right to vote not only for the party list as a whole, but also to rearrange candidates on the list of his choice.

Majority and proportional systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

One of the advantages of the majoritarian electoral system is that it contains the possibility of forming an effective and stable government. This is achieved by distributing mandates among large, well-organized parties, which form single-party governments based on a majority. This system also encourages smaller parties to form blocs or coalitions even before elections begin. Practice shows that the authorities created on this basis are stable and capable of carrying out firm public policy . In a majoritarian electoral system, the population votes for specific deputies. As a result, strong, sustainable ties arise between deputies and voters. Since deputies are directly elected by citizens of a certain district and usually count on their re-election, they are more focused on their electorate, trying, if possible, to fulfill their election promises or respond to current requests from voters. In turn, voters know their deputies better than when they were elected from a general party list under a proportional system. At the same time, the majoritarian electoral system also contains a number of significant shortcomings. This system largely distorts the real picture of preferences and thus does not reflect the will of voters. Under this system, for the distribution of parliamentary mandates, most often only the fact that a candidate receives a relative majority of votes matters. The votes given to all other candidates are not taken into account when distributing mandates and, in this sense, are lost. There is a fairly large opportunity to manipulate the will of voters through “cutting out electoral districts.” Knowing the preferences of voters, the geography of constituencies can be manipulated. For example, create purely rural and purely urban districts, or, conversely, mix them when it is beneficial for one or another candidate, etc. Thus, the majoritarian electoral system creates the possibility of forming a government that relies on a majority in parliament, but does not enjoy the support of the majority of the population. It severely limits access to parliament for minority representatives, including small parties. As a result, a majoritarian electoral system can weaken the legitimacy of power, cause citizens to distrust the political system, and become passive in elections. The proportional electoral system largely eliminates the obvious discrepancy between the number of votes cast for a party and the number of parliamentary seats it receives. Thus, the proportional electoral system most adequately reflects the political will of the population. The advantages of the proportional electoral system include the fact that the government bodies formed with its help present a real picture of the balance of political forces. It creates the opportunity to be represented in government bodies by national, religious minorities and other social strata that form small parties. Thus, the proportional electoral system ensures feedback between the state and civil society organizations, contributes to the legitimization of power, and intensifies the participation of the population in elections. The disadvantages of the proportional electoral system include the relatively less stability of the government. The broad representation of various political forces in parliament, characteristic of this system, very often does not allow any party to form a one-party government and encourages the formation of coalitions. The unification of parties that are dissimilar in their goals can lead to an aggravation of contradictions between them, to the collapse of coalitions and the resignation of the government. Since, under a proportional electoral system, voting is carried out not for specific candidates, but for lists of parties and associations, the direct connection between deputies and voters is very weak. This circumstance also contributes to the greater dependence of deputies on their parties than on voters. Such lack of freedom can negatively affect the process of passing important laws; a deputy most often votes in the interests of the party and its leaders than his voters. In order to overcome the excessive party fragmentation of the parliament, which will limit the possibility of penetration into it by small parties or representatives of extremely radical and sometimes extremist forces, many countries use so-called “electoral thresholds” that establish the minimum votes required to receive parliamentary mandates. IN different countries When using a proportional system, this “threshold” fluctuates. So in Israel it is 1%, in Denmark - 2%, in Ukraine - 3%, in Italy, Hungary - 4%, in Germany, Russia - 5%, in Georgia - 7%, in Turkey - 10%. Candidates of those parties or party blocs that have not overcome this “threshold” are automatically excluded from the list of candidates. A high “electoral threshold” sometimes results in a significant portion of voters being unrepresented in parliament. Minimal - essentially turns out to be ineffective. In a number of countries, in order to connect positive aspects various systems and to minimize their shortcomings, electoral systems are created mixed type. In which in one way or another elements of the majoritarian and proportional systems are combined. The practical implementation of a mixed electoral system in the voting process is that each voter receives two ballots. Accordingly, he has two votes: with one he votes for a specific candidate running in a given electoral district, with the other - for a political party or association.

Attempts to make maximum use of the advantages of basic electoral systems and neutralize their shortcomings lead to the emergence of mixed electoral systems. The essence of the mixed electoral system is that part of the deputies to the same representative body of power is elected according to majoritarian system, and the other part - according to the proportional system. It is planned to create majoritarian electoral districts (most often single-member, less often multi-member) and electoral districts (with a proportional system with multi-member districts) or a single national multi-member electoral district for voting on party lists of candidates. Accordingly, the voter receives the right to simultaneously vote for a candidate (candidates) running in a majoritarian district on a personal basis and for a political party (list of candidates from a political party). In reality, when carrying out the voting procedure, a voter receives at least two ballots: one to vote for a specific candidate in a majoritarian district, the other to vote for a party.

Consequently, a mixed electoral system is a system for the formation of representative bodies of power, in which some of the deputies are elected on a personal basis in majoritarian districts, and the other part is elected on a party basis according to the proportional representation principle.

Mixed electoral systems are usually distinguished by the nature of the relationship between the elements of the majoritarian and proportional systems used in them. On this basis, two types of mixed systems are distinguished:

• * a mixed unrelated election system, in which the distribution of mandates under a majoritarian system does not depend in any way on the results of elections under a proportional system (the examples given above are just examples of a mixed unrelated electoral system);
• * mixed linked electoral system, in which the distribution of seats under the majoritarian system depends on the results of elections under the proportional system. In this case, candidates in majoritarian districts are nominated by political parties participating in elections according to the proportional system. The mandates received by parties in majoritarian districts are distributed depending on the election results according to the proportional system. Thus, in Germany, in the elections to the Bundestag, the main vote is voting for state party lists. However, German voters also vote for candidates in majoritarian constituencies. A political party that receives more votes than the number stipulated by law receives the right to represent its candidates who won in majoritarian districts (“transitional mandates”).

Focus political life V democratic society there will be elections.
From one point of view, they provide an opportunity for people with political ambitions and organizational skills to be elected to government, and from another, they involve the general public in political life and allow ordinary citizens to influence political decisions.

Electoral system in a broad sense is called a system public relations related to the formation of elected authorities.

The electoral system contains two main elements:

• theoretical (suffrage);
• practical (electoral process)

Suffrage— ϶ᴛᴏ the right of citizens to directly participate in the formation of elected institutions of government, i.e. elect and be elected. Electoral law also refers to legal norms regulating the procedure for granting citizens the right to participate in elections and the method of forming government bodies.
It is worth noting that the foundations of modern Russian electoral law are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Electoral process— ϶ᴛᴏ a set of activities for the preparation and conduct of elections. It is worth noting that it contains, on the one hand, the election campaigns of candidates, and on the other, the work of election commissions to form an elected government body.

The following components are distinguished in the electoral process:

• calling elections;
• organization of electoral districts, districts, precincts;
• formation of election commissions;
• voter registration;
• nomination and registration of candidates;
• preparation of ballots and absentee ballots;
• pre-election struggle; o voting;
• counting votes and determining voting results.

Principles of democratic elections

In order to ensure the fairness and effectiveness of the electoral system, the election procedure must be democratic.

Democratic principles of organization and conduct of elections are as follows:

• universality - all adult citizens have the right to participate in elections, regardless of their gender, race, nationality, religion, property status, etc.;
• equality of citizen votes: each voter has one vote;
• direct and secret voting;
• availability of alternative candidates, competitiveness of elections;
• transparency of elections;
• truthful voter information;
• absence of administrative, economic and political pressure;
• equality of opportunity for political parties and candidates;
• voluntariness of participation in elections;
• legal response to any cases of violation of election legislation;
• frequency and regularity of elections.

Features of the electoral system of the Russian Federation

IN Russian Federation The existing electoral system regulates the procedure for holding elections of the head of state, deputies of the State Duma and regional authorities.

Candidate for the post President of the Russian Federation may be a Russian citizen of at least 35 years of age who has lived in Russia for at least 10 years. A candidate cannot be a person who has foreign citizenship or a residence permit, an unexpunged and unexpunged criminal record. It is important to note that the same person cannot hold the position of President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms. The President is elected for a six-year term on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Presidential elections are held on a majoritarian basis. The President is considered elected if in the first round of voting a majority of voters who took part in the voting voted for one of the candidates. If this does not happen, a second round is scheduled, in which two candidates who scored in the first round participate greatest number votes, and the winner is the one who received more votes from voters who took part in the voting than the other registered candidate.

A State Duma deputy can A citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of 21 and has the right to participate in elections was elected. IN State Duma 450 deputies are elected from party lists on a proportional basis. It is worth saying that in order to overcome the electoral threshold and receive mandates, the party must gain a certain percentage of the votes. The term of office of the State Duma is five years.

Citizens of Russia also participate in elections to government bodies and elective positions in subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. system of regional state power is established by the subjects of the Federation independently in accordance with the fundamentals of the constitutional system and current legislation. Established by law special days for voting in elections to government bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation and local governments - the second Sunday of March and the second Sunday of October.

Types of electoral systems

The electoral system in the narrow sense refers to the procedure for determining the voting results, which depends primarily on the principle counting votes.

Based on this criterion, there are three main types of electoral systems:

• majoritarian;
• proportional;
• mixed.

Majoritarian electoral system

In conditions majoritarian system (from the French majorite - majority) the candidate who receives the majority of votes wins. It is important to know that a majority can be absolute (if a candidate received more than half the votes) or relative (if one candidate received more votes than another). The disadvantage of a majoritarian system is that it can reduce the chances of small parties gaining representation in government.

The majoritarian system means that in order to be elected, a candidate or party must receive a majority of votes from voters in a district or the entire country, while those who collect a minority of votes do not receive mandates. Majoritarian electoral systems are divided into absolute majority systems, which can most often be used in presidential elections and in which the winner must receive more than half the votes (minimum - 50% of the votes plus one vote), and relative majority systems (Great Britain, Canada, USA, France, Japan, etc.), when to win it is extremely important to get ahead of other contenders. When applying the absolute majority principle, if no candidate receives more than half the votes, a second round of elections is held, in which the two candidates who received the largest number of votes are presented (sometimes all candidates who received more than the established minimum votes in the first round are allowed into the second round )

Proportional electoral system

Proportional The electoral system involves voting by voters according to party lists. After the elections, each party receives a number of mandates proportional to the percentage of votes received (for example, a party that receives 25% of the votes receives 1/4 of the seats). In parliamentary elections, it is usually established interest barrier(electoral threshold) which parties need to overcome in order to get their candidates into parliament; as a result, small parties that do not have broad social support do not receive mandates. Votes for parties that do not overcome the threshold are distributed among the winning parties in the elections. A proportional system is only possible in multi-mandate electoral districts, i.e. those where several deputies are elected and the voter votes for each of them personally.

The essence of the proportional system is the distribution of mandates in proportion to the number of votes received by parties or electoral coalitions. The main advantage of this system is the representation of parties in elected bodies with their real popularity among voters, which makes it possible to more fully express the interests of all groups of society, to intensify the participation of citizens in elections and politics in general. It is worth saying that in order to overcome excessive party fragmentation of the parliament and limit the possibility of representatives of radical or even extremist forces entering it, many countries use barriers or thresholds that establish the minimum number of votes required to obtain parliamentary mandates. It usually ranges from 2 (Denmark) to 5% (Germany) of all votes cast. Parties that do not collect the required minimum votes do not receive a single mandate.

Comparative analysis of proportional and electoral systems

Majoritarian an electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes wins promotes the formation of bipartisanship or a “bloc” party system, while proportional, under which parties with the support of only 2 - 3% of voters can get their candidates into parliament, perpetuates the fragmentation and fragmentation of political forces, the preservation of many small parties, incl. extremist type.

Bipartisanism assumes the presence of two large political parties, approximately equal in influence, which alternately replace each other in power by winning a majority of seats in parliament, elected by direct universal suffrage.

Mixed electoral system

Today, many countries 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 the majority system of relative majority, the second - according to the proportional system. A similar system was used in Russia in the elections to the State Duma in 1993 and 1995.

Mixed the system involves a combination of majority and proportional systems; for example, one part of the parliament is elected by a majoritarian system, and the second by a proportional system; in this case, the voter receives two ballots and casts one vote for the party list, and the second for a specific candidate elected on a majoritarian basis.

In recent decades, certain organizations (UN, green parties, etc.) have been using consensus election system. It is worth noting that it has a positive orientation, that is, it is not aimed at criticizing the enemy, but at 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. First place is awarded five points, second place is given four points, third place is given three points, fourth place is given two points, and fifth place is given one point. After voting, the points received are summed up and the winner is determined based on their number.

Majoritarian electoral system characterized by the fact that the candidate (or list of candidates) who receives the majority of votes required by law is considered elected. The majoritarian system can be of various types, depending on what kind of majority the law requires for the election of deputies - relative, absolute or qualified.

Different countries have different types of majoritarian systems. Thus, in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand there is a relative majority system, and in Australia there is an absolute majority system. Sometimes both varieties are used simultaneously. For example, in France, when electing members of parliament, the absolute majority system is used in the first round of voting, and the relative majority system in the second round. The qualified majority system is less common because it is less effective than the other two.

In a majoritarian system, as a rule, there are direct connections between the candidate and voters. Representatives of the stronger political current in the country win elections, which contributes to the ousting of representatives of small and medium-sized parties from parliament and other government bodies. The majoritarian system contributes to the emergence and strengthening of two- or three-party systems in countries where it is used. The authorities created on this basis are sustainable, and an effectively functioning and stable government is formed.

However, the majority system also has significant disadvantages. They are due to the fact that a significant number of votes (often about half) are not taken into account when distributing mandates and remain “thrown out.” In addition, the picture of the real balance of political forces in the country is distorted: the party that received smallest number votes, can receive a majority of parliamentary seats. The potential injustice inherent in this electoral system is even more clearly manifested in combination with special methods of dividing electoral districts, called “electoral geometry” and “electoral geography”.

The essence of “electoral geometry” is that electoral districts are formed in such a way that, while maintaining formal equality in them, the advantage of supporters of one of the parties is ensured in advance, while supporters of other parties are dispersed in small quantities in different districts, and their maximum number is concentrated in 1–2 districts. That is, the party that is forming electoral districts tries to do it in such a way as to “drive” the maximum number of voters voting for the rival party into one or two districts. She does this so that, having “lost” them, she can secure victory in other districts. Formally, the equality of districts is not violated, but in fact the election results are predetermined in advance.

Legislation as a series foreign countries(USA, France, UK, Japan), and Russia, proceeds from the fact that it is practically impossible to form absolutely equal electoral districts, and therefore sets a maximum percentage (usually 25 or 33%) of the deviation of districts in terms of the number of voters from the average district. This is the basis of "electoral geography". Its purpose is to make the voice of the more conservative rural voter more significant than the voice of the urban voter, creating rural areas more constituencies with fewer voters than cities. As a result, with an equal number of voters living in urban and rural areas, 2–3 times more constituencies can be formed in the latter. Thus, the disadvantages of the majoritarian electoral system are further enhanced.

When using proportional electoral system in government bodies a more realistic picture of the political life of society and the balance of political forces is presented. This is facilitated by the fact that mandates in electoral districts are distributed between parties in accordance with the number of votes collected by each of them. Each party participating in the elections receives a number of parliamentary seats proportional to the number of votes received. The proportional system ensures representation even for relatively small parties and takes into account the votes of voters to the maximum extent possible. This is precisely the advantage of a proportional electoral system compared to a majoritarian one. Today it is followed by a significant number of countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Israel, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, etc.

The proportional system of each country has its own specifics, which depend on its historical experience, established political system and other circumstances. Although all proportional systems have the goal of achieving proportional representation, this goal is achieved to varying degrees. In accordance with this criterion, three types are distinguished:

systems that fully implement the principle of proportionality;

systems with insufficient proportionality;

systems that, although they achieve proportionality between votes cast and mandates received, nevertheless provide for various barriers to the penetration of certain political forces into parliament. Candidates from a political party that does not receive the percentage of votes established by law throughout the country do not enter parliament. This “electoral meter” in Egypt, for example, is 8%, in Turkey – 10%, in Sweden – 4% in the country and 12% in the electoral district, in Germany and Russia – 5%. In Israel, this barrier is one of the lowest - 1%.

Since the proportional electoral system operates in multi-member districts, parties do not nominate individual candidates, but entire lists that include as many candidates as there are mandates allocated to the district. In this regard, the issue of distribution of mandates within the lists is important. Various options are possible here.

Under the system of “hard” lists, candidates are not placed on them arbitrarily, but depending on their “weight”, their position in the party. When voting for the list as a whole, voters do not express their attitudes towards individual deputies. Mandates won by the list are given to candidates in accordance with the order in which they appear on the list.

Under the “flexible” list system, the voter, while voting for the list as a whole, simultaneously indicates the candidate he prefers. Accordingly, the candidate with the largest number of preference marks receives the mandate.

With a system of preferential voting, the voter does not just vote for a list, but gives preferences to the candidates on the ballot (1, 2, 3, etc.), thereby indicating in what order the election of candidates is desirable for him. This system is used, for example, in Italy in elections to the Chamber of Deputies.

Undoubtedly, in a multi-party system, the proportional system is more democratic than the majoritarian system: it does not provide a large number of uncounted votes and more adequately reflects the real balance of political forces in the country at the time of elections.

However, the proportional system also has its disadvantages.

Firstly, difficulties arise in forming a government, since multi-party coalitions include parties with different goals and objectives. It is quite difficult for them to develop a single, clear and solid program. Governments created on this basis are unstable. For example, Italy, which uses a proportional electoral system, has had 52 governments since 1945.

Secondly, the proportional system leads to the fact that representation in government bodies is given to 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.

Topic Electoral systems

1.General characteristics electoral systems.

2. Majoritarian electoral system.

3. Proportional electoral system.

4. Mixed electoral system.

General characteristics of electoral systems

True democracies are political systems, in which access to power and the right to make decisions are exercised based on the results of general free elections. IN modern state The main form of elections is voting, which can be considered as the selection of the most worthy. The main function of elections is to translate the decisions made by voters, i.e. their votes, into constitutional government powers and parliamentary mandates. The methods of counting votes and the procedure for distributing deputy mandates are electoral systems.

The electoral system is the methods and methods by which deputy mandates are distributed among candidates for relevant public posts according to the voting results. The ways in which voters' decisions are translated into powers of government and parliamentary seats constitute the characteristics of the electoral system:

v The quantitative criterion by which the election results are determined - one winner or several;

v Type of electoral districts - single-member or multi-member;

v Type of electoral list and methods of filling it out.

Based on various combinations of these characteristics, two types of electoral systems are distinguished: majoritarian and proportional. The method of voting when electing candidates and the method of distributing deputy mandates and government powers are the main factors that distinguish one electoral system from another. The choice in favor of one system or another in a particular country is dictated by historical conditions, specific tasks of political development and cultural and political traditions. If in the UK and the USA there has been a majoritarian system for centuries, then in continental Europe there is a proportional one.

Majoritarian electoral system

Majoritarian electoral system - general type electoral systems, which are based on the majority principle and one winner when determining the voting results. The main goal of the majoritarian system is to determine the winner and a cohesive majority capable of pursuing a consistent policy. Votes cast for losing candidates are simply not counted. The majority system is used in 83 countries: USA, UK, Japan, Canada.

There are 3 types of majority systems:

• Majority system of absolute majority;
• Majoritarian system of simple (relative) majority;
• Majority system of qualified majority.

Majority system of absolute majority- a method of determining voting results, in which an absolute majority of votes (50% + 1) is required to obtain a mandate, i.e. a number that is at least one vote greater than half the number of voters in a given district (usually the number of voters). The advantage of this system is that it is easy to determine the results, and that the winner truly represents the absolute majority of voters. The disadvantage is that there is a possibility that there will be no absolute majority, and therefore no winner, which leads to repeated voting until an absolute majority is reached. In order to reduce costs, a re-balloting mechanism is being introduced in some countries, which means determining the winner in a two-round vote: in the 1st round an absolute majority is required to win, in the 2nd round a simple majority is required, i.e. you just need to get ahead of your competitors. Majority system of relative majority- a method of determining the voting results, in which it is necessary to collect a simple or relative majority of votes, i.e. more than your opponents. The advantage of this system is the mandatory availability of results. The disadvantage is a significant degree of uncounted votes. This system originated in the UK and operates in 43 countries. Majority system of qualified majority- this is a method of determining the voting results, in which a candidate, in order to win, must collect a clearly established number of votes, always exceeding half of the voters living in the district (2/3, ¾, etc.). Due to the complexity of implementation, this system is not used today.

Advantages

2. Certainty of the result, competitive nature of the elections;

3. Close connection between the deputy and the constituency;

4. Political responsibility of the deputy to voters;

5. Interrelation of national problems with local ones;

6. Creation of a stable one-party government and a monolithic majority in parliament, capable of working together and pursuing consistent policies;

Flaws

1. Poor representation;

3. There is a possibility of abuse, manipulation of electoral districts;

4. The winner may not actually have a majority of votes nationwide;

5. Exclusion of third parties from government and parliamentary coalitions, despite regularly receiving a high share of votes.

Proportional electoral system

A proportional electoral system is a method of determining voting results, which is based on the principle of distributing seats in elected bodies in proportion to the number of votes received by each party or list of candidates.

The proportional system was first used in Belgium in 1884. Currently used in 57 countries: Israel, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands.

Distinctive features of the proportional system:

ü Strict correspondence between the number of votes in elections and representation in parliament.

ü Emphasis on the representation of various population groups in government bodies.

ü Availability of multi-member constituencies.

ü Fair character, because there are no losing or wasted votes.

There are 2 main types of proportional systems:

• Proportional party list system
• Proportional voting system.

Proportional party list system. Its peculiarity lies in the presence of multi-member districts (the entire territory of the state can act as a district) and the formation of party lists as a way of nominating candidates. As a result, the competitors in elections are not individual candidates, but political parties. Voters vote for the party, i.e. for her party list and all at once, despite the fact that it was created without their participation. Mandates are distributed between parties in accordance with the total number of votes received in the entire electoral district. Technically, the mechanism for distributing mandates is as follows: the sum of votes cast for all parties is divided by the number of seats in parliament. The result obtained is an “electoral meter”, i.e. the number of votes required to win one seat in parliament. How many times this meter fits into the number of votes received by the party, the number of seats it will receive in parliament. In order to prevent extremist parties from entering parliament, as well as to avoid party fragmentation and ineffective parliamentary activity, a percentage threshold is established. The parties that overcome it are allowed to distribute seats, the rest are excluded. In Ukraine the barrier is 4%, in Russia - 5%, in Turkey - 10%. Proportional voting system(Ireland, Australia). Unlike the party list system, where voting is carried out for parties, this system allows the voter to also choose between candidates from the party he supports. Candidates who receive a sufficient number of votes are declared elected; excess votes cast for them are transferred to candidates who did not receive votes. Such a system is fair to voters, taking into account the opinions of everyone.

Advantages

2. Promotes the formation of a multi-party system;

3. Stimulates coalition actions and a coalition parliamentary majority;

4. Protects the interests of political minorities;

5. More or less clear party identification of voters.

Flaws

1. Difficulty in determining results;

2. Transfer of the right to appoint deputies to parties;

3. There is no connection between deputies and constituencies;

4. Weak influence of voters on government decisions;

5. Tendency towards the establishment of a party oligarchy;

6. Giving advantages to small parties, which may lead to the destruction of large ones.

Mixed electoral system

One of the options for the electoral system is the mixed electoral system, which is designed to neutralize the disadvantages and enhance the advantages of both systems. This system is characterized by the combination of elements of proportional and majority systems. As a rule, there are 2 types of mixed systems:

• A mixed system of structural type involves a bicameral parliament, where one chamber (consisting of representatives of administrative-territorial units) is elected by a majoritarian system, and the second (lower) by a proportional system.
• A mixed system of a linear type - a unicameral parliament is possible, where some deputies are elected by a majoritarian system, and the rest by a proportional system.

The concept of an electoral system consists of the entire set of legal norms governing the procedure for providing 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, there is a difference between proportional and majoritarian electoral systems. 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 pinnacle 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 will be able to easily control the deputies they have elected and recall them if the deputies begin to defend other people’s interests. 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 the Russian Federation, for elections to the State Duma since 1993, the principle of combining a proportional and majoritarian electoral system 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 government 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 in single-mandate constituencies For elections to the Senate (such districts are also provided for elections to the Chamber of Deputies), a majoritarian system of relative majority has been established.

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.