Government And Politics Essay Research Paper Government

Government And Politics Essay, Research Paper

Government and Politics

Proportional Representation

An electoral system is an integral part of a democratic state which determines the method by which representatives are chosen by the electorate. It is the means by which the electors exert control over the government . The main objective of any electoral system is to achieve both equity and efficiency in government . The electoral system will satisfy this objective by producing a government [that] is equitably responsive to all sections of the electorate, and by enabling this government to be stable and effective . The objective should be met in this manner, regardless of the electoral system chosen, to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of government, which is necessary for a democratic state.

There are many different electoral systems including hybrid systems that adopt good points of many systems. We will examine the system of proportional representation, (in its purest form), as opposed to a plurality system, and its effectiveness as an electoral system. The plurality system, (or winner takes all system ), is currently in place in Canada and has managed to work fairly well. There are however, many arguments presented for the adoption of a system of proportional representation, which many supporters feel would better represent the diversity of the Canadian electorate. A proposed change of this magnitude must be carefully considered and the system of proportional representation must be accurately scrutinized. An examination of the system of proportional representation reveals major faults within the system itself and a failure to meet the objectives of an electoral system. An electoral system of proportional representation should not be adopted in Canada because it would produce multipartyism and balkanization of the political groups, an unstable government, as well as decreased accountability of the representatives.

Elections serve the purpose of vesting authority in chosen representatives whose duty is to reflect accurately the wishes and opinions of those he represents . The method of election, the electoral system, must empower the electorate to choose appropriately representatives that can effectively fulfill their duties. The plurality system, used in Canada since confederation, has provided the electorate with an effective formula that has produced many stable and effective governments that reflect the wishes of Canadians. The plurality system in Canada divides the nation into ridings , within which, the representative with the most votes is elected to government (either provincial or federal). The representative does not necessarily have a majority of the votes from the riding, but must have more votes than the other candidates. The representatives may or may not be associated with a political party however the plurality system leads to a three party system within Canada, which limits the choice of the electorate, but forces the parties, and therefore the representatives, to appeal to a large majority of the electorate.

With proportional representation, in its purest form, the seats in government are proportionately allocated to parties based on the percentage of votes they received. The actual representatives are then chosen from party lists which may be either closed to open to the public. Proportional representation usually results in the formation of a number of parties which can represent any group in society with a particular goal or interest. However in order to maintain their status as a viable political party, they must maintain a defined threshold of percentage of votes in each election . This eliminates the possibility of incredibly small political groups but does not limit their numbers to two or three, as with plurality.

Regardless of the system chosen, the end result is that the party that obtains the most seats within the House of Commons becomes the party in power. The ruling party has either a majority rule (more seats than the other two parties combined) or a minority rule (less seats than the other two parties combined). The party with the second most seats, forms the opposition and criticizes the policies put forth by the ruling party, effectively representing the portion of the electorate who voted for them and those opposed to the party in power. This presents an effective debate which prevents the adoption of political policies that may appeal to only a small number of Canadians. We will see that majority rule and the formation of a strong opposition are key to an effective government.

Effective government is very important to a nation as it enables the nation to function as a unit globally and influences the standard of living of its citizens. In Canada, we are used to a high standard of living and must ensure that the effectiveness of our government is protected to secure our future as a nation and as citizens. The system of proportional representation fails to ensure the formation of an effective government due to multipartyism, parliamentary instability and representative accountability.

The electoral system of proportional representation encourages multipartyism, which threatens effective government by creating a lack of focus within the House of Commons. Multipartyism, which is defined as a number of different political parties, creates a few large and many small (som