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A country's electoral system shapes
the number and nature of its political
parties
- The key difference in electoral
systems:
- Is it a majority
representation system, as in the U.S.,
Britain, and most Anglo-Democracies?
- Or its it a proportional
representation system--as in most, but not all
European countries?
Examples of majority
representation systems:
- United States held its last
election for the House in 1998
- Britain held a parliamentary
election on May 1, 1997
- The Labour Party won only 43.2%
of the vote in 659 single-member districts
- But it won 64.3% of the seats
in the House of Commons
|
House of Commons: 1 may 1997
|
|
|
% of votes cast
|
Number seats won
|
% of seats won
|
|
Labour Party
|
(social-democratic)
|
Lab
|
43.2
|
418
|
64.3
|
|
Conservative Party
|
(conservative)
|
Cons
|
30.7
|
165
|
25.0
|
|
Liberal Democrats
|
(social-liberal)
|
LibDem
|
16.8
|
46
|
7.0
|
|
Referendum Party
|
(anti-EC)
|
RP
|
2.6
|
|
0
|
|
Scottish National Party
|
(Scottish separatist)
|
SNP
|
2
|
6
|
1.0
|
|
Ulster Unionist Party
|
(Northern Irish conservative unionist)
|
UUP
|
0.8
|
10
|
1.5
|
|
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
(Northern Irish social-democratic)
|
SDLP
|
0.6
|
3
|
0.4
|
|
Playd Cymru/Party of Wales
|
(Welsh regionalist)
|
PC
|
0.5
|
4
|
0.6
|
|
Sinn Fein
|
(Northern Irish We Ourselves, separatist extreme
left)
|
SF
|
0.4
|
2
|
0.3
|
|
Democratic Unionist Party
|
(Northern Irish radical unionist)
|
DUP
|
0.3
|
2
|
0.3
|
|
United Kingdom Independence Party
|
(anti-EC)
|
UKIP
|
0.3
|
|
|
|
Green Party of England and Wales
|
(ecologist)
|
Greens
|
0.2
|
|
|
|
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
(Northern Irish liberal)
|
APNI
|
0.2
|
|
|
|
M. Bell
|
-
|
|
0.1
|
1
|
0
|
|
United Kingdom Unionist Party
|
(Northern Irish radical unionist)
|
UKUP
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Speaker
|
(member of Lab)
|
|
|
|
0.3
|
|
|
Totals
|
|
100
|
659
|
100
|
- France had parliamentary elections
in two rounds, on May 25 and on June 1, 1997
- France uses the two-ballot form
of a majority electoral system, with a second
ballot
- The Socialist party won only
23.5 % of the vote in 577 single-member districts,
but it won 41.8% of the seats
- The right-wing National
Front Party won 14.9 percent of the vote, but only
1 seat.
|
Assemblée Nationale: 25 may and 1
june 1997
|
% of votes won
|
Number of seats won
|
% of seats won
|
|
Parti Socialiste
|
(Socialist Party, social-democratic)
|
PS
|
23.5
|
241
|
41.8
|
|
Rassemblement pour la République
|
(Rally for the Republic, conservative)
|
RPR
|
15.7
|
134
|
23.2
|
|
Front National
|
(National Front, xenophobic)
|
FN
|
14.9
|
1
|
0.2
|
|
Union pour la Dèmocratie Française
(Union for the French Democracy) *
|
|
UDF
|
14.2
|
108
|
18.7
|
|
Parti Communiste Français
|
(French Communist Party, communist)
|
PCF
|
9.9
|
38
|
6.6
|
|
les Verts
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(The Greens, ecologist)
|
Verts
|
6.8
|
7
|
1.2
|
|
Génération Écologie
|
(Generation Ecology, centrist ecologist)
|
GE
|
-
|
|
|
|
Diverse right-wingers
|
|
|
6.6
|
14
|
2.4
|
|
Diverse left-wingers
|
|
|
2.8
|
21
|
3.6
|
|
Diverse extreme left-wingers
|
|
|
2.5
|
|
|
|
Parti Radical Socialiste
|
(Radical Socialist Party, social-liberal) *
|
PRS
|
1.4
|
12
|
2.1
|
|
Non-partisans
|
|
|
1.4
|
1
|
0.2
|
|
Diverse extreme right-wingers
|
|
|
0.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals
|
100
|
577
|
100
|
An example of a
Proportional Representation System
- Israel held its last election for
the Knesset in May 1999
- Israel uses a pure form of the
list system of proportional representation
- The entire country is one
electoral district.
- Parties prepare rank-ordered
lists of the candidates they nominate for the 12o seat
Knesset
- Voters vote for the party
lists
- Every party that receives at
least 1.5% of the popular vote gets a seat in
parliament
- The distribution of seats is
proportional to the distribution of
votes.
|
Knesset: 17 may 1999
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% of votes won
|
Number of seats won
|
% of seats won
|
|
Yisrael Akhat
|
(One Israel)
|
(Labour, social-democratic)
|
Avoda
|
20.2
|
23
|
19.1
|
|
Gesher
|
(Bridge, moderate conservative)
|
Gesher
|
2
|
1.6
|
|
Meimad
|
(Dimension, Movement for Religious Zionist
Renewal, moderate jewish)
|
Meimad
|
1
|
0.8
|
|
Likud
|
|
(Consolidation, conservative)
|
Likud
|
14.1
|
19
|
15.8
|
|
Hit'akhdut ha-Sfradim ha-Olamit Shomrey
Torah
|
|
(International Organization of Torah-observant
Sephardic Jews, jewish orthodox)
|
Shas
|
13
|
17
|
14.2
|
|
Meretz
|
|
(Energy, social-democratic and liberal)
|
Meretz
|
7.6
|
10
|
8.3
|
|
Yisrael Ba'aliyah
|
|
(Israel and Immigration, russian minority)
|
YBA
|
5.1
|
6
|
5
|
|
Shinui-Mifleget Merkaz
|
|
(Change-Centre Party, liberal)
|
Shinui
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
|
ha-Merkaz
|
|
(Centre, centrist)
|
ha-Merkaz
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
|
ha-Miflaga ha-Datit ve ha-Leumit
|
|
(National Religious Party, jewish orthodox)
|
Mafdal
|
4.2
|
5
|
4.1
|
|
Yahadut HaTorah
|
(Jewry of Thorah)
|
(Union of Israel, jewish orthodox)
|
AY
|
3.7
|
5
|
4.1
|
|
Degel ha-Torah
|
|
(Banner of Torah, jewish orthodox)
|
DH
|
|
United Arab List
|
|
|
Ra'am
|
3.4
|
5
|
4.1
|
|
ha-Ikhud ha-Leumi
|
(National Union)
|
(Homeland, nationalist)
|
Moledet
|
3
|
2
|
1.7
|
|
Herut
|
(Freedom, nationalist)
|
Herut
|
1
|
0.8
|
|
Tekuma
|
(Revival, nationalist)
|
Tekuma
|
1
|
0.8
|
|
Hazit Democratit le-Shalom ve-Shivayon
|
|
(Democratic Front for Peace and Equality,
communist)
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Hadash
|
2.6
|
3
|
2.5
|
|
Yisrael Beteinu
|
|
(Our Home Israel, russian minority)
|
YB
|
2.6
|
4
|
3.3
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|
Al Tahammu al-Watani al-Dimuqrati
|
|
(National Democratic Alliance, Arab
minority)
|
Balad
|
1.9
|
2
|
1.7
|
|
Am Ekhad
|
|
(One Nation, socialist)
|
AE
|
1.9
|
2
|
1.7
|
|
|
|
|
Totals
|
100
|
120
|
100
|
- Germany has a mixed-system that
combines majority representation and
proportional representation
- In 1998, half of the candidates
were chosen in single-mameber districts
- Each voter in a district had
two votes
- One went for an individual
candidate running to represent that
district.
- The other went for a
national list of party candidates
- Every deputy elected in a
district got a seat in parliament
- All other parties that got more
than 5% of the vote on the national list shared in the
other half of the deputies.
- The final result was
essentially proportional, favoring the larger
parties
- At the expense of the parties
that didn't reach the threshold
|
Bundestag: 27 september 1998
|
% of seats won
|
Number of seats won
|
% of seats won
|
|
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
|
(Social Democratic Party of Germany,
social-democratic)
|
SPD
|
40.9
|
298
|
44.5
|
|
Christlich-Demokratische Union
|
(Christian-Democratic Union, conservative
christian-democratic)
|
CDU
|
28.4
|
198
|
29.5
|
|
Christlich Soziale Union in Bayern
|
(Christian Social Union in Bavaria, regional
conservative)
|
CSU
|
6.7
|
47
|
7
|
|
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
|
(Alliance 90/The Greens, ecologist)
|
Grünen
|
6.7
|
47
|
7
|
|
Freie Demokratische Partei
|
(Free Democratic Party, liberal)
|
FDP
|
6.2
|
43
|
6.4
|
|
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus
|
(Party of Democratic Socialism, extreme
left)
|
PDS
|
5.1
|
36
|
5.3
|
|
Die Republikaner
|
(The Republicans, xenophobic)
|
REP
|
1.8
|
|
|
|
Deutsche Volksunion
|
(German People's Union, xenophobic)
|
DVU
|
1.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals
|
100
|
669
|
100
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- What is the significance of this
information about political parties and elections in the
U.S.?
- Why do the other countries have so
many parties in their legislatures and the U.S. have so
few?
- Why does the U.S. schedule its
elections according to the movement of celestial bodies
and what consequence does that have for party politics in
the U.S.?
What is the relationship of
political parties to democratic government?
- "Political parties created
democracy and that modern democracy is unthinkable save
in terms of the parties."
- How to define a party?
- Burke's
definition:
- Body of like-minded
men
- Not well-defended definition
now.
- Downs and Epstein:
- Teams of competing
elites
- Motivated to win
office
-
- Why does
the US have a two-party system?
-
- Apparently,
most citizens aren't satisfied with a two-party
system:
-
- Nearly
60% of all Americans surveyed in late 1995 agreed that
we should have a third political party in the United
States.
-
- Against
this, however, we find that only 19% voted for a third
candidate when Perot gave them the opportunity in
1992.
-
- What we
do know is that support for a third party is strongly
related to age:
-
- About
63% of those under 25 favor a third party
- Only
36% of those over 65 favor a third
party
-
- Second, we
should consider why we have a two party
system:
-
- Due to
political socialization.
- Due to
electoral laws.
-
- Suppose we
sought to tune our laws so that we didn't get multiple
parties, only three.
-
- We
might ask how other countries function with a three
party system.
-
- That's
easy, for there are no genuine three party systems in
other countries.
-
- All the
other examples are at best 2.5 party systems.
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