Does the Czech Republic need a majoritarian voting system? One of the more radical options for electoral system reform is the transition to a majoritarian, or majority, system.

Brunclik, Milos

The Czech voting system is rightly criticized for its inability to deliver a stable majority government that is capable of making decisions. One of the more radical options for electoral system reform is the transition to a majoritarian system. As with proportional voting systems, a wide range of majoritarian systems exist, and so it is more accurate to talk about majoritarian voting systems in the plural. Let us therefore try to summarize the positive aspects of such a system: (1) it has the ability to deliver a majority government that is both stable and capable of decision-making, (2) creates a clear delineation between the government and opposition, and their respective responsibilities, (3) parliamentary elections often determine not only the composition of the legislative branch, but also reflect the public opinion of the Prime Minister, (4) creates a closer relationship between elected representatives and the voter, (5) encourages political parties on the extremes to move towards the centre. The most well known majoritarian electoral system is the kind that has one round of voting (e.g., the USA and Great Britain), which is able to deliver a united majority government capable of decision-making decisions. But even this system is not immune to criticism.

A SINGLE MAJORITARIAN SYSTEM DOES NOT EXIST

There have been situations in which the party with the majority of votes has finished second (!) in terms of number of seats (e.g., Great Britain in 1974, and New Zealandin 1978 and 1981). Formerly, when New Zealand functioned under a majoritarian system, the state was thought to epitomize how a democracy functions in a majoritarian system. Dissatisfaction with their system did, however, lead them in 1993 to switch to proportional representation. Another variation of a majoritarian voting system is a two-round system, which is used in senate elections for the Czech Parliament. In most cases, it is indeed necessary to go to the second or run-off round, which can be challenging for the ordinary (comfort-seeking) voter. This system lends itself to producing low-voter turnout. The last variation of a majoritarian voting system worth mentioning is the Australian Alternative Vote, which closely resembles the aforementioned system, but differs because there is no need for a second-round of voting.

All majoritarian electoral systems are, however, criticized for creating a situation in which voter preferences may become distorted since a high number of votes can be ultimately wasted; this narrows the choice from the voters' point of view and leaves minority views underrepresented. Therefore, the transition to a majoritarian voting system in a state with particularly small and medium-sized parties could induce these vulnerable parties to artificially merge in an attempt to prevent the election of a majority. In the event of electoral success, the danger exists that such an alliance would disintegrate as the parties revert back to their previous factions. And in the end, the reason behind creating the majority voting system would become obsolete.

DEMOCRACY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Determining which type of electoral system is right for a particular country is predicated on understanding the nature of that country's democratic system. One can, perhaps simplistically, differentiate between a fledgling democracy that emphasizes equal representation for all parties and a well-established democracy that is mostly concerned with making quick and efficient decisions. There exists, as well, an obvious tension between the elected representatives who answer to a proportional system, and those who are helping the majoritarian voting system along.

With the exception of a long line of very small political parties which feel that the Czech proportional voting system is harmful to them, the people in general simply complain about the inability of the executive (overloaded with a torrent of competing demands and expectations) to address urgent problems and to deliver quick and effective solutions, which were zealously promised in pre-election campaign rhetoric. From this perspective, majoritarian voting systems appear much more desirable, even though they carry their own problems. But the ideal voting system that would be fair (that is, favorable) to everyone does not exist. It is not possible to create a circle from a square, but it is possible to round out the sharp edges. Proportional systems are generally quite flexible and it is therefore possible to improve them (i.e., by reducing the size of the voting district) and move them towards the intent of a majoritarian system while maintaining the principle of fair representation. This solution would also not require any changes to the Constitution, which discusses proportional representation.

FOR FURTHER READING:

Kostelecky, Tomas. Political Parties After Communism: Developments in East-Central Europe. (Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2002).

Lijphart, Arend. Thinking about Democracy: Power Sharing and Majority Rule in Theory and Practice. (Routledge, 2008).

Parkinson, R and Marian Sawer, eds. Elections: Full, Free & Fair. (Federation Press, 2001). [This texts delves solely into the Australian electoral system.]

Wolchik, Sharon L. and Jane Left wich Curry. Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy. (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007).

Milos Brunclik is a political scientist who lectures at FSV UK and the Cevro Institute.

Electoral Systems in the Post-Communist Countries
in Central and Eastern Europe

 Voting System Direct
 in the Lower Number of Presidential
 Chamber Seats Elections

Albania Mixed [M/PR] 140 No
Belarus TRS 110 TRS
Bah PR 42 M
Bulgaria PR 240 TRS
Czech Rep. PR 200 No
Croatia PR 151 TRS
Estonia PR 101 No
Litva Mixed [TRS/PR] 141 TRS
Lithuania PR 100 No
Hungary Mixed [M/PR] 386 No
Macedonia PR 120 TRS
Modolva PR 101 No
Poland PR 460 TRS
Romania PR 345 TRS
Russia Mixed [PR/M] 450 TRS
Slovakia PR 150 TRS
Slovinka PR 90 TRS
Ukraine Mixed [PR/M] 450 TRS

KEY:
PR: Proportional Representation, M: Majoritarian System, TRS:
Two-Round Majoritarian System