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    Minority and Proportional Representation. For political science students. BLS LLB 2 SEM

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    Minority and Proportional Representation. For political science students. BLS LLB 2 SEM

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    3 views6 pages

    Minority and Proportional Representation - 1 PDF

    Uploaded by

    Aadya
    Minority and Proportional Representation. For political science students. BLS LLB 2 SEM

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 6
    nould get weak govern we a tnat body. of support wht wi ples it to operate @ great programme, en nould multiply the number of We Jes which from time to time obscure (aca of real isstes, ie should be unable to have bye. 5 Jjections as a test of changes in opinion, aig we should encourage all dissident, armnin a party to seek that independent gqucture which ultimately means the roup system. Thereby we shoul sinsfer the place where governments je made from the country as a whole to the obscurer recesses of the legislative assembly. Not least, we should diminish the responsibility of the private member by increasing his sense that, whatever his personal effort, the party organisers who maintained the list of candidates would be able to ensure his return. Every such complication of electoral machinery is bound to result in the decline of civic interest in the political process. 7, Political decisions are not made by an arithmetical process of counting votes. ‘More urgent is the weighing of influences that take place in the law-making process. Minority Representation: The issue of giving representation to those who are in a ninority because of their religion, language, culture, racial make-up and the like, is, indeed, 4 delicate affair. While democracy means majority rule, it does not at all mean the suppression of minorities. It is true that in a representative system of government majority ‘must rule and the few must yield to the will of the many, but from this it does not follow that the majority should have no representation at all. As Mill forcefully asserts: “In any really equal democracy, every or any section would be represented, not disproportionately but *roportionately, A majority of the electors would always have a majority of the Tepresentatives; but a snininy of the electors would always have a minority of the Fepresentatives. Man for man they would be as fully represented as the majority, and unless they are, there is not equal government, but a government of inequality and privilege — Contrary to all just government, but above all contrary to the principle of democracy which Professes equality as its very root and foundation.” It follows that in a democratic system some Provision should be made for the representation of the minorities. Following devices may be Suggested for this purpose: 1. Limited Vote System: It requires that there should be at least three seats in a multi- member constituency and the voters be given votes less than the number of seats; they should also not be allowed to cast more than one vote for a candidate. In such a situation the position of the minorities is improved a little and they may have a chance of capturing one seat if they are fairly united and well organised. 2. Single Vote System: It prevails in a multi- member constituency with one vote of each voter. The candidates are elected on the basis of the majority of votes. The position of the minorities is much improved in this system in as much as they may cast their vote for their own candidate, while the votes of the persons in majority would be distributed among different candidates. 3. Proxy Vote System: Under it a voter may cast his vote for one candidate in a multi- member constituency. A minimum number of votes is fixed and a candidate securing that point is declared elected. It is also provided that those who vote for a candidate, who fails to be successful, may vote again for others so that the unfilled posts may be filled up. Obviously, this would require either a preferential ballot, or one which is most secret. 2 JS. Milt: Considerations on Representative Goverment, Ch. 7- BTe Preiples OF MOUA _ em: Under this Cumulative Vote System: L system a voter has as many voles a ane seats to be filled a pate 0 cast his votes either for different rend or all votes for a single candidate, Its obvious that the person Hi Ininority may east all their votes it to E ofa candilate of their community. [tis also Anown as plumping vote system. Weightage: It means that the persons in city may be given some extra benefits Thats, they may be entitled for more votes than those given to the persons in majority. For instance, in India in preindependence avs, the Mushms, the Sikhs, and the Christians had one vote inthe general for election ‘aseparate constituency for the candidates © their own community Nominations: There may be Rominations by the constituency and one more vote a system of head of the state or SServation of seats for the candidates of a Partcular class in minority. We may see ‘hat in our country some seats are reserved {or the persons of Scheduled C. Scheduled Tribes, while the “Anglo-Indi Tominated by Sabha and one May be State tes andl two members of an community. may be he President to the Loke member of thi Rominated by the Go Leislative Assembly. S community vernor to the Key Points 1A democratic system bas its ow ‘rbresenlaion and electone, ‘N mechanism Which coy, adult franchis, ‘eighted voting system, ale franchi Ehongh the systems of . sentation and proportional pup hi, soe their merits anc! demerit, fe ; ae aR presentation is taken ay thy moi M reasons, Let there be ay og ee riRlslOr ESA Bal and ae , . ty, * having Mey votes of others m, 2 the votes of more than yi | Y be dy elt to the vacant Post or posts, py asiest and so the best way ‘of 1 The majority system has the reat being simple to administer, It js also understand that the candidate, wh, Bets number of votes, is lected, In proportional representation, rules, complex, so much so that they May 5 defeat their very purpose, It is Not im clear who has been elected or how, Process may be lengthy if preferential Votes h, tobe transferred. Quotients have tobe cal and the result, although fair, may not g seem to be 80. There is also a teng manipulate the system, for ing| introducing candidates in o, 805 to benefit from the m calculation, ‘dvan a eng tance, 4, rder to Split the yy. 5 Oe wechanics of the Lotion Proportional Tepresentations 4 panacea. It works well in 1S nop many countri the majority system has achieveq acceptable results in, other ¢ ‘OUuNtries, “Mar M7 Political writers have condemned the eis Wi time to t le Tightly war Should be free ate conditions ‘Me Which MS, cre; he autonomy of the social pas Tomes a sort of potential “ps : he overeig” power of the state. sjenge Finer well visualises that this ot Hem jot proceed from the integration of does re Tand then tempers this with the HF differences, but it proceeds at ft the postulate of integration into a irom the T* eparate communities whose tion is thenceforward to be umber vit ye integral imate ait ional Representation: It stands on ase Je that ‘votes should be weighed, we om an It has three ingredients: (i) there not ae ‘+ multiemember constituency, (ii) a nae should be elected not by gaining an caer relative majority but by obtaining ota of votes that is equivalent to the total aie of votes cast and divided by the number ai seats to be filled, and (iii) there should be a athematically exact, as far as possible, wntation of the electorate in the legislature. In other words, the system of proportional representation implies, firstly, a multi-member constituency and, secondly, a fact that the candidate is not to be elected by gaining what jscalled relatively absolute majority, but he is elected if he reaches a quota which is equivalent toa number of votes equal to the total of votes cast, divided by the number of seats to be filled. This is done, thirdly, to bring about a mathematically exact representation of the electorate in the legislature. It implies:* 1. That any legislature elected on the basis of a single-member constituency fails to oo aos Finer: Theory and Practice of Modern Government, Vol Ml, p. 907. Tepresent with precision or accuracy the state of opinion, e.g., as to woman suffrage existing among the electorate. It fails to be the mirror of the national mind or exactly reflect the will of the electors. 2. That it is possible by some system of proportional representation to frame 2 legislation which could reflect much more nearly than at present the opinion of the nation, or, in other words, of the electorate. 3. That it is pre-eminently that every desirable opinion existing among the electors should be represented in the legislature in as nearly as possible proportion in which it exists among the same electors. ‘A question arises as to how the method of proportional representation can be put to application. For this sake, two systems have been devised — single-transferable vote system and list system. The single transferable vote system was first devised by a Danish minister Carl Andrae, but it was presented in a refined form by Thomas Hare of England in 1859. So it is also known as the Hare System. Hare, however, could not make it free from the basic defect that has now been removed. According to this device, the voter is given a ballot paper having names and party symbols of all candidates on the left side and blank columns on its right side. He has to fill these blank columns with figures of 1, 2, 3, and so on in order to show his preferences. He may fill all the columns or some of them, but it is required that the marking of preferences must be done correctly, otherwise “Opponents of the plan argue that it is inconsistent with the principle of rational sovereignty, which is best maintained by choosing representatives Who have at heart the general interests of the people as a whole rather than the special interests of particular 5, 868." Gettell, op. cit, p. 319 AY. Dicey: Introduation ‘to the Study of the Law of Constitution, p. LXVL CF. Strong says that proportional "epresentation means very little taken bi self, since there are many varieties of it~ almost as many in fact eory. But all the varieties have at least one 472 Principles of Modern Political Science, the ballot paper shal be taken as cancelled. At the time of counting, all invalid papers a cancelled and the total number of valid ba . papers is divided by the number of seats to be filled up plus 1, and then the figure of 1 is added to the quotient. In case the remainder is more than half of the denominator, the figure of 1is further added to the quotient. This is called electoral quota. Its formula may be presented thus: Total Number of Valid Votes Total Number of Seats+i +1=Electoral Quota A candidate securing votes equal to or more than that of the quota is declared successful. If some seats remain vacant, the candidate having least number of votes is eliminated and his votes are transferred to other candidates according to the order of second preference, marked on the ballot paper by him, if still some seats remain to be filled up, the candidate with least number of votes is eliminated and his ballot papers are transferred to other candidates according to third preference. This process continues until all the seats are filled up, or only the required number of candidates remains in the field after the elimination of other candidates. In this way, only those candidates are elected who get quota after the transfer of surplus votes, or the votes of those candidates who have procured the least number of votes at the polls are, progressively eliminated. In the list system, the candidates are grouped according to the labels of their political Parties. Each party submits a list of its chosen candidates equal to the number of seats to be filled up or even less than that. The voter is asked to vote fora Particular list that also means ‘is preference to the candidates in the order Siven in that very list. Itis a different thing that in some countries the voters are Biven freedom to show theit individual prefegg the candidates as well. At the time of et, election quota is determined in the samen"n, as given above. Then, itisseen as to which 'y has secured votes in what percentage ang seats are apportioned between or among i’ according to the same percentage. It ma tert some parties either fail to have a Clear. percentage entitling them for certain seat, “! they may have to forgo some of their percen’ of votes. In such a situation, the pai may Pi its surplus percentage to the adjoining op "® other multi-member constituency ang ean claim duly adjusted there by capturing ons ms or more by the accumulation of rump Surphise, or it may lend its surplus percentage tg some other party so that a seat is obtained for a common candidate. The system of proportional TePresentation is appreciated for several reasons, It is said that it is the best way to ensure representation of all sections of the people as far as pi ossible. It gives political education to the masses and a sense of security to those people or parties that are in minority. It leads to the recognition of Political Parties on social and economic considerations The independence of the voters is secured and an effective check can be placed on the practices of electoral corruption. It recognises the nature of modern political parties as based no! altogether on sectional divisions but on social and economic problems of nati As Lord Acton says: democratic, ional importance. “It is profoundly for it increases the influence of thousands who would otherwise have no voice in the government and it brings men more neat an equality by so contriving that no vote shall be wasted and that every voter shall contribute to bring into a parliament a member of his own.” p nwo of proportional representation ceil has given these argumenty:? mn! ww eh 1 rere may come 10 DEA Proportional hf patie the popular chamber. ¥ pple clo nol simply vote because wy have nO pleasure in voting for a ite with whose policies they do not vn yet in the single-member system, no option but to choose the lesser atorate should Be 80 represented they can agrees dey have wil Tider this system the voters will be able jo vote for men of character and independence of judgment and they will pat be forced to accept the policy of a panticular party ‘The margin of unattached voters, the swing, af which usually decides the fortunes of iections, Will diminish to insignificance. put the system of proportional representation has its demerits too. It crpetuates a multi-party system with possible Piesiable consequences for a stable and effective government. It prevents development ofdisciplined parties and encourages factional groups and also frequent and temporary party liances. Its worst experiments can be seen in France under the Fourth Republic (1946-58) when the life of a government had come to a month on an average. It was due to the introduction of this system that the Nazi leaders recognising the political rights of th to every individual voter, emancipat political machines, and thus relieves It accords representation to minority groups, It allows full opportunity for political parties representation to other groups in proportion I power.” Refer to his ‘Foreword’ 38, Gited in Garner, op: ci. 38, For instance, a. pamphlet 8 it would produce the opinion of the electors in Pat {id it would secure that the majority of the elec (i it would giv '2 wide freedom in the choice soe wegen ty So from the pressure id the most trusted members greater independence by frecing them Parties representation to the ablest an 40. Se Martert The. Mechanism of Moder stat, Vol. 1 te GH. Hallet’ Proportional Representation: TR Commons: Proportional Representation, pp. SOMt 653. sued by the Proportional Representa liament and 0 jors shall rule an Mochaniam of Democracy ‘97 managed to emerge triumphant in the elections of 1933 and 1934. A French critic like Esmein says: “To establish the system of proportional Tepresentation is to convert the remedy supplied by the icameral system into a veritable poison; it is to organise disorder and emasculate the legislative power; it is to render cabinets unstable, destroy their homogeneity, and make parliamentary government impossible.” In spite of their support to the system of Proportional representation by a section of the English people,” it was rejected by the people in general. Lord Eversley tells us that the scheme of single transferable vote was rejected in 1884 due to these reasons: 1. No government can be vigorous and stable if the representation of the two main parties is based on mathematical proportion on the aggregate of votes cast. Proportional representation would lead to small majorities in the House of Commons and therefore to feeble executives and it would be difficult for them to develop a strong line of policy either in the domestic or in foreign affairs, 2. Large constituencies would impose upon candidates excessive expenses and labour. 3. Single-member districts would secure a great variety of members and an adequate representation of minoriti = Kaity The British Cabinet System, pp. 33536. Samuel Seubury offers this argument, "TNS (prope ional representation) does away the gerrymandering of districts banks the monopoly of the party machine by soles in proportion to their numbers. It secures independence of choice es him from being quired to vote for the candidate of one of the two ian from the frequent necessity of making a choice between two evils. but accords larger representation to more numerous groups to function. But it does not permit the plurality to deny "> their number. It ensures the equitable division of political The Key to Democracy. Also set tion Society of London in 1912 said that hther public bodies in their rue props id all considerable minorities shall be woul cenit) ofthe repress ands) woul! ese pp. 49495. a7 Principles of Modern Political Science nal Representation System Arguments of Hallet in Favour of Proportio elections half or more than half op & 1, It makes nearly every vote count, but in plurality ballots are usually wasted. ihe w er represents a part of the voters who apr. Voters agree on policies and each memby ro us sorts of minorities as the voters ‘ Make It gives representation to minorities or to vario their own groupings according to their interest. fei i . ingle di ystem it is necessary 4, eascures real majority rule, for under the single direct syste

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