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Proportional Representation

Posted 27 Jul 2024

3 min read

Why in the news?

Recently, experts in India have called to consider Proportional Representation (PR) for Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections instead First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system.

Difference between First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation

 

First-Past-The-Post (Simple majority system)

Proportional Representation

Geographical unit

  • Country is divided into small geographical units called constituencies or districts.
  • Large geographical areas are demarcated as constituencies; the entire country may be a single constituency.

Representation

  • Every constituency elects one representative.
  • More than one representative may be elected from one constituency

Voting Process

  • Voter votes for a candidate.
  • Voter votes for the party 

Seat Distribution

  • A party may get more seats than votes in the legislature.
  • The winning candidate may not secure the majority (50%+1) of votes.
  • Every party gets seats in the legislature in proportion to the percentage of votes it receives.

Examples

  • U.S., U.K., Canada, India (Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies).
  • Israel, Netherlands.

Benefits

  • Simple to understand for common voters.
  • Facilitates the formation of a stable government.
  • Encourages voters from different social groups to come together to win an election in a locality.
  • Ensures representation of all parties based on their vote share.
  • Fairer treatment of minority parties and independent candidates.
  • Fewer votes are wasted as more people’s preferences are taken into account.

Concerns

  • Over or under-representation of political parties compared to their vote share.
  • Does not ensure due representation for minorities (small groups).
  • Can lead to fragmented legislatures with multiple small parties.
  • May result in coalition governments which can be less stable in parliamentary democracy.
A flowchart titled "Types of Proportional Representation System" with three main types: Single Transferable Vote System, List System, and Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR). Each type has descriptions explaining their election processes and uses.

Reasons for not adopting PR system by Constitution

  • Difficulty for voters to understand the PR system due to its complexity.
  • Unsuitability to parliamentary government due to tendency of system to multiply political parties leading to instability in government.
  • Highly Expensive and does not give any scope for organising by-elections.
  • Eliminates intimate contacts between voters and representatives.
  • Increases the significance of party system and decreases that of voter.

Way ahead

  • Law commission Recommendation (170th report): Introduction of MMPR system on an experimental basis.  It had suggested that 25% of seats may be filled through a PR system by increasing strength of Lok Sabha.
    • Incorporating MMPR system for incremental seats or allocating at least 25% from each State/UT could alleviate apprehensions of smaller states (like Meghalaya) about FPTP system dominance by larger States.
  • Increasing number of seats based on 2026 Delimitation Exercise: Over past five decades, uneven population growth across regions complicates allocating Lok Sabha seats solely by population, potentially undermining federal principles and causing state disenchantment.
  • Tags :
  • Elections
  • Proportional Representation
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