Against the background of the election taking place continuously for most people, the question arises, what is the proportional system?This problem has long ceased to be purely encyclopedic in nature, going to the plane to a greater extent practical.So it makes sense to characterize the designated electoral process and identify its strengths and weaknesses.
proportional electoral system: the distinctive characteristics
If you simply articulate the essence of this type of election, it might look like this: the voter votes for the image of this or that political force.And this is what distinguishes this kind of majoritarian model.But such a definition requires decoding.So, the main features of the proportional type are:
- unaccounted votes.
- direct correlation between the percentage of votes cast in the elections and the percentage of seats in the elected bodies.
These two features determine the election process.In fact, a certain area of the country or the entire state is a multi-member districts in which everyone is free to choose his favorite political force.Here are the elected parties, movements, associations, units, but only to the body are presented in the lists of registered individuals.It is worth noting that in developed democracies in the proportional electoral system may be exposed "connected lists" and "independent lists."In the first case, combining political forces are going to the elections as a united front, without specifying exactly who will represent them in the body.In the second - the proportional system allows you to set the sole candidacy of an individual (such a situation is typical for Belgium or Switzerland).
the whole electoral process of this system is as follows: coming to the polling station, voters cast a single vote for a specific party.After counting the votes, a political force gets so many places in the body, which corresponds to the percentage obtained in the elections.Further, the number of seats allocated according to the list registered in advance, between the members of a political force.Rotation of seats takes place only in those cases where an individual is unable to because of the physical or legal reasons to exercise the powers.
From all this we can conclude that the proportional system - a special kind of the electoral process, in which a representative of the electorate votes not for specific individuals, but for the political forces.It is also worth remembering that the territory in which the elections take place, is one large multi-member districts.
proportional electoral system: the advantages and disadvantages
As with any type of electoral process, this system has both advantages and disadvantages.The benefits should include the fact that the proportional system facilitates the preferences of the electorate, which has decided to announce his will.In this case, it compares favorably with the majority taking into account only the will of the majority.
But a significant drawback of this system is that the voter actually give the right to vote for the image of this or that political force, rather than a particular person.It is worth noting that in this case can be built on the image of the leader's charisma (as happened, for example, in Germany in 1933).This came to power other individuals may be completely unknown to the electorate.Thus, the proportional electoral system promotes the development of the "cult of personality" and, consequently, the possibility of transition from autocracy to a democratic system.However, this situation is not as common as a result of the implementation of the rules of deterrence.
Consequently, proportional electoral system - a convenient mechanism for recording the views of the whole of society, living in a particular part of the country or all over the country.
