THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

This is the means of choosing the representatives of the executive and legislative offices of a
country. This is usually carried out through an election in a democratic country.

ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
An electoral system denotes how votes are translated into seats. It determines how many votes
and what kinds of votes are necessary to award seats to candidates and parties in an election. A
voting system enforces rules to ensure valid voting, and how votes are counted and aggregated to
yield a final result. Common voting systems used in the Caribbean include the proportional
representation and the first-past-the-post.

FIRST-PAST-THE-POST VOTING (FPP)

_ This system of vote counting is the simplest and the easiest vote counting system to calculate
results.
_ The voter votes for one candidate and whoever gets the highest number of votes is elected.
_ The winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not
necessarily an absolute majority.
_ FPP is used in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and other countries.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (PR)

_ Proportional representation is the general name for a class of voting systems that attempt to
make the percentage of offices awarded to candidates reflect as closely as possible the
percentage of votes that they received in the election.
_ It is said to be the most widely used set of electoral systems in the world.
_ It is based on the assumption that parties are the real contestants and the principle that their seat
shares should accurately reflect their vote shares.
_ Counting and seat-determination processes are generally complex and not immediately
transparent.

PROCESS OF THE PR

_ Candidates are elected based on the total percentage of votes cast for their party.
_ In this system, the country is treated as a whole – that is, one single constituency.
_ Political parties involved in the election will prepare a list of candidates this is based on the
number of seats in parliament. This list is made in order of preference by the party leader.
_ People vote for the party and not the candidates.
Note. The PR is used in Guyana
.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM ADVANTAGES

1. It ensures that the candidate with the highest number of votes wins the constituency.
2. Each constituency can decide by voting their own representative.
3. With each constituency having a candidate who is responsible for it, this ensures
accountability.
4. Citizens in each constituency can appeal directly to their representative to fulfill their needs.

ELECTORAL SYSTEM DISADVANTAGES

1. Opposition candidates’ constituencies may be neglected or, worse, victimized.

2. A party with a minority of votes overall may form the government. (This may happen as the
number of voters in a constituency is never equal.)
3. This system may encourage gerrymandering.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
1. This system allows representation from minority parties in parliament.
2. It prevents any chance of gerrymandering.
3. Parties are given/allocated seats in proportion to the votes it receives.

PREPARING FOR ELECTIONS

_ The role of political parties is extremely important. A political party is defined as an
organized group of people with similar political aims and opinions that seek to influence
public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. They try to include in their
manifestos issues which benefit not only the voter but the party as well.
_ They link the governmental institutions to the society and help to ensure that political
activities are free and fair.
ROLES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

1. Collecting and articulating the needs and problems as identified by members and supporters
of the party. Channeling public opinion from citizens to government –behaving as a
mediator.
2. Socializing and educating voters and citizens on the functioning of the political and electoral
systems.
3. Activating and mobilizing citizens into participating in political decisions and transforming
their opinions into viable policy options.

NEGATIVES OF THE PARTY SYSTEM

1. Parties and candidates are sometimes described as actors that have the potential to be
destructive.
2. Practices of vote-buying or illegal party finance.
3. The proliferation of defamation and hate speech in campaigns.
4. Voter intimidation by party workers.
5. Corruption in decision making.
HOW POLITICAL PARTIES PREPARE FOR ELECTIONS

Since political parties are part of the democratic system in the Caribbean, where elections are

held every five years in most countries, they must prepare for elections so they can win and be

the next government.

1. Candidates will be selected to represent the party or a constituency.

2. Funds will have to be raised legally to help in campaigns.

3. The campaign trail, canvassing and public meetings will be held.

4. Parties will look on important issues and this will include monitoring the party in power or in

opposition.

5. The careful monitoring of the electoral processes will be very essential, ensuring the accuracy

of the electoral list and the election is conducted free and fair.

6. Encouraging public-opinion polls to gain support for the party and to determine where a party

stands in the race to parliament.

7. Each party is required to publish a manifesto which is a public declaration of policy and aims,

to be met by a political party or candidate once they are elected to power.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE OUTCOMES OF ELECTIONS

MEDIA COVERAGE

1.. The media, therefore, not only report on the performance of government but help the electoral
process in a number of essential ways such as
: _ Education of the voters on how to exercise their democratic rights.
_ Continuous reporting on the development of the election campaign.
_ Provision of a platform for the political parties to communicate their policies to the voting
public.
_ Allowing the parties to debate with each other so the public can hear first-hand relevant
information to enhance the voting process.
_ Reporting results and monitoring vote counting.

2. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING
3. PUBLIC-OPINION POLLS

4. VOTER TURNOUT
Voter turnout will affect the results of an election in any country. There are a number of factors
that may affect voter turnout for an election. These include the type of electoral system that is
being used and whether individuals see the importance of exercising their franchise.
5. VOTER ATTITUDE TO GOVERNMENT
Voters in an election will look back on the accomplishment of previous administration to
determine if they prefer continuation or a major change in direction.
6. CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
A political campaign is a structured effort which seeks to sway the decision-making process of
voters and to encourage them to vote for a specific political party. The success of a candidate lies
greatly in his election campaign strategies for the extent of the campaign in order to be
successful. The first strategy for an election campaign is raising funds to facilitate costly
decisions to interest voters.
7. CAMPAIGN SPENDING
Campaign spending is determined by the expectations of a party about election results.
Challengers tend to spend more money as it seems to be more important to them than
incumbents. They need to be known and also for good deeds.

PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS

Voting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express
an opinion, often following discussions, debates or election campaigns. The basis of every
democratic system of government is that there are government representatives that are selected
by the people/the electorate.
1. Voter participation is affected by many variables such as:
- Family beliefs/tradition/loyalty
- Neighbourhood factors/election antagonism
2. Individuals usually need a reason to vote:
- Voter apathy is voters’ lack of interest, for politics or towards the candidate.
3. Voting practices over the years in the country:
- Barriers such as threats
4. Voter participation is inevitably tied to campaign issues and voter loyalty to party politics.
5. Campaign strategies and candidate:
- Is someone who is personally known or has been personally contacted by a candidate.
6. Voting is viewed by many as a cultural and civic tradition.
7. Voter education:
 - Education, it is argued, is one of the important factors in a person’s possibility for voting.
The more educated it is said that a person is, the more probable it is that he will vote.
8. Trust in the government
- This is their attitudes towards the government. People are less likely to vote if they don’t
trust the government.
9. Voters’ age will also affect their voting:
Voter participation in elections may, therefore, be affected by attitudinal factors, assessments
of the personal individuality of the candidates, evaluations of government performance,
direction on specific policy issues, party manifesto and principles which are among the main
reasons for the choice of a candidate.

WAYS IN WHICH CITIZENS PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT POLITICAL

PARTIES
1. CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS
2. INTEREST GROUPS: Organise people with common interests and attitudes to influence
government to support their points of view.
THE MEDIA: The media play an important role in connecting people to government. The
media’s power also allows people to give feedback to the government.
THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF CITIZENS
In a democracy, every citizen has certain basic rights that the state cannot take away from him.
These rights are guaranteed under international law.
_ There is the right to have one’s own beliefs and to say and write what one thinks.
_ There is freedom of religion. Everyone is free to choose his own religion and to worship and
practise the religion as he sees fit.
_ Every individual has the right to enjoy his own culture, along with other members of the group
_ There is the right to associate with other people and to form and join organisations of one’s
choice, including trade unions.
_ One is free to move about the country and, if he wishes, to leave the country.
_ There is the right to assemble freely and to protest government actions.
_ Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state and local authorities.
_ Serve on a jury when called upon.
_ Defend the country if the need should arise
QUESTIONS AND REVIEWS

1.( a) The following table shows the results of a General Election in Country X. Use the
information in the table to answer questions (a) ( i) –( iv)

ELECTIONS RESULTS OF COUNTRY X

Party Name % Votes Cast No. of Seats National Turnout %

UAP 58.7 11

NWP 39.7 4

Independent 1.6 0

Total 100.0 15 70.7%

(i) What percentage of eligible voters did not vote?

(ii) Which party will be asked to form the government?
(iii) What percentage of the votes cast was not for the UAP?
(iv) How many members are likely to form the opposition in parliament?

(b) (i) Give ONE reason why there should be an opposition party in parliament

(ii) State THREE responsibilities of the Chief Election Officer/Elections Commission in the
preparation for general elections in your country.
(c) Suggest TWO ways members of the ruling party and the opposition party may share in
governing your country.

2. (a) Identify TWO factors that may cause voters NOT to participate in general election.
3. Josh : I have not voted for a parliamentary representative for my area for the last three
elections.
Stan : I don’t bother to vote either . The floating voters always decide the outcome of
elections.
(a) ( i) What does the term “ floating voter’ in the dialogue mean ?

( ii ) State the term used to describe the voter behaviour shown by the two speakers in the
dialogue above .
 (iii) Give TWO reasons why some registered voters may behave in a way similar to the
speakers engaged in the dialogue.

(b) State ONE problem that may arise when newly registered voters are NOT educated about the
process of voting in an election.

(c ) ( i) Suggest , giving full details, THREE strategies which the youth arm of a political party
may use to encourage young person’s to vote

(ii) Explain fully why EACH strategy suggested in is likely to be successful.

4. The table below shows the results of a country’s recent general election. Study it carefully
and then answer ( i) to ( v)
Constituenc Registered NDP ULP DRP Total Voter
y Voters Votes Turnout %
Northern 11 592 3136 5728 37 8901 77
Region
Southern 11 823 36 36 4983 29 8648 73
Region
Eastern 7 789 2528 3135 48 5711 73
Region
Western 65 83 2 444 2295 23 4762 72
Region
South 13 044 5005 4 875 19 9899 76
Leeward
Total 50 831 16 749 21 016 156 37 921 75

NDP – National Democratic Party

ULP – United Labour Party
DRP- Democratic Republican Party
(i ) State the overall voter turnout for this election.
(ii) State TWO factors that might have led to the level of voter turnout in the election?
(iii) Suggest ONE type of graph that could best illustrate how the population voted
(iv) I f the first – past the post electoral system is used, which arty would form the government
and how many seats would it have in parliament
(b) Suggest to the executive of a political party in your country THREE actions it can take to
increase the voter turnout among young people. Explain why EACH action you suggested is
likely to be successful.