Analysis of the Electoral Systems - Case Study Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Elections Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction Elections are processes by of making decisions among a population on the person or group of people to run public offices. Elections have been used to achieve representative democracy in the modern world since the 17th century. They are used in selecting office holders in the legislature, in the executive and sometimes in the judiciary. The regional and local governments also use elections to choose their office holders. Elections are also used in other private organizations such as societies, corporations and other associations to choose office holders. In most democratic political systems, there are various types of elections which are done for different levels of public governance. These include the presidential elections where the head of state is elected, general elections that re mostly done in the parliamentary systems, primary elections where candidates are selected for the succeeding elections, by-elections which are done to fill vacant electoral, positions due to death or electoral court petition and local elections done on the local governments. Apart from choosing the leaders, elections play other functions which include enhancing democracy and accountability among others. This essay looks at various functions of elections and how different electoral systems achieve these functions. Electoral systems are arrangements by the country’s constitution and the voting systems that interpret people’s votes into political decisions. They supervise the elections, tallying the votes and determining the results of an election (Robert & Campbell 2003). Functions of elections Elections play a very important role in achieving democracy in a country’s governance. This is because it is very impractical to achieve direct democracy (a government where a group of qualified citizens make decisions). Direct democracy may not be possible in the modern societies and therefore a democratic government can only be achieved by electing representatives. Elections also contribute to democracy since the representatives are elected in a non-biased manner. Elections are done in a secret ballot where each citizen elects his or her preferred candidates and then the one who receives the majority of the votes is declared the winner (Dunleavy & Margetts 2005). Elections also play a role in contributing to accountability of the leaders. This is because during an election, the citizens elect leaders sp that they can hold them accountable for how they perform as they hold the public offices. Since most of the political leaders require to be reelected, they are compelled to perform well while in office. Elections also provide the members of the public with an opportunity to discuss their public matters and express their opinions. This is because when the election is competitive, the candidates have to make public their records and their plans for the future so that the public can have a chance to discuss them. Another function of elections is that it helps in legitimizing the actions of those who wield power. Elections also promote community stability and also indicate the value and dignity of the members of public as social beings. These functions are however achieved differently by the various electoral systems in different countries. Electoral systems The electoral system is the process by which citizens who are eligible to vote make choices of their leaders by participating in an election. The voting system consist f the voters, the ballots, the voters, tallying system and the electoral body to supervise of all these activities. The British electoral system follows the system of First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), or the plurality system. However, some countries such as North Ireland have reformed their system to ensure proportional representation. The electoral system forms the foundation for democracy in any election. This is because it is charged with the mandate of tallying the votes that determines the winner (Farrell 2001). How different electoral systems achieve the above functions a). Democracy Democracy is an aspect of leadership where the power to govern rests on the people. This can be done either by referendum or by representative democracy where the people elect representatives into the government. Democracy is characterized by the majority rule, however, the constitution and the electoral systems ensure that the minority group is not oppressed by majority. Democracy is based on the principles of equal rights. Competitive elections play an important role in ensuring democracy in a representative government. Elections are the basis for any democracy. In the modern times, democracies are mainly instilled by the election of representatives and this is determined by the mode of elections. The quality of elections is however determined by the conduct of the electoral system. This is because since it is charged with the role of supervising elections and announcing the results, it has to be accountable and unbiased to ensure that the citizens get what they voted for. The electoral system must have democratic rules which transfer the same to the citizens. For example one of the rules of the United Kingdom electoral system states that every citizen who has reached the legal adult age of 18 years, and is a British citizen, regardless of race, sex, location or creed can vote in a UK referendum, national elections and even the local council elections. Their electoral system is the First Past the Post (FPTP) where the elections re determined candidates with the highest polls. Under this electoral system, each voter casts a single vote and the candidate who receives the majority votes is elected for the position (Dunleavy 2006). In Australia, the system of government is based on the liberal democratic tradition. Their electoral system was inherited from the Britain and it includes limited charter, public and majority voting. Australia was the pioneer of reforms that strengthen the electoral practices in the modern democratic societies. Electoral change looked at issues such as voter intimidation, abuses and bribery. This ensures democracy in that the voters’ choices are not affected by anything and that they get what they vote for. The electoral rules are close top those of Britain where it is compulsory for citizens above eighteen years to vote in both states and federal government elections and failure to vote may result in prosecution (Denver 2006). The electoral systems ensure that the elections are held in a free and fair manner. This is because voting is the only means by which the citizens can express their opinions for leaders. All these are efforts by the electoral system to ensure that citizens receive democracy by exercising their voting rights. b). Accountability Elections give the citizens a chance to elect leaders and also to hold them accountable for how they perfume their duties while in the offices elected for. Accountability can only be undermined if the person elected does not care whether he or she will be reelected or not. Also in a situation where the person belongs to a dominant party such that the voters will have no choice of a leader from the other parties. The person is therefore guaranteed of reelection. Most electoral systems promote accountability of the elected leaders because elections are done after certain number of years. Foe example, in UK electoral system, the parliament gets dissolved after every five years and all the seats are declared vacant. Therefore every constituency has to elect a member of parliament to represent them in the House of Commons that forms the government. The government is therefore formed by the political party that gets the majority votes. The parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom are conducted like a referendum on the performance of the members of parliament. This therefore allows the voters to hold their representatives accountable for their actions while in office. In other countries such as the United States, elections are done after every four years. Under such a system of elections, the elected leaders must therefore perform the office duties responsibly so that they can win the confidence of the citizens. The elected leaders also campaign for the seats by promising the citizens of better things. They must therefore fulfill these promises and perform their duties properly. Failure to do this may make them loose their seats in the next election. This electoral system therefore encourages accountability for those leaders who want to maintain their seats for more than one term. c). An opportunity for citizens to discuss their public matters and express their opinions Since there are no legal or constitutional processes that can be used to monitor the performance of the leaders or the extent to which they have fulfilled their electoral promises, voting gives the citizens a chance to reward or punish the electoral candidates based on how they have performed during the electoral term. The electoral system in UK allows for the candidates to campaign as they try to convince the voters to elect them. The campaigns therefore give the members of the public an opportunity to discuss with the aspiring leaders their needs, giving them their opinions and the matters affecting them. If the elected leaders do not meet their needs, citizens may refuse to reelect them. The electoral system therefore gives the citizens a chance after every electoral period to forward their worries to the electoral candidates. For example, in UK, since the members of the House of Commons are elected after every five years, so as they campaign for the seats, the members of the public can discuss with them their concerns and opinions (Garnett & Lynch 2009). d). Legitimizing the actions of those who wield power Since it is the citizens who vote the leaders into power, elections can play the role of legitimizing those who wield the power. Electing the leaders implies that people will bear the judgment over their political actions. Leaders who abuse power face eviction from the seat by the people who elected them. Elections therefore give the voters the right to monitor the actions of the leaders as they are in office. The electoral system ensures that before voting is done, the people are empowered on their voting rights. The constitution also gives guidance on the legal conduct of the members of the parliament while in the House of Commons. If the Member of Parliament goes against the legal conduct, the voters have the right to vote them out of the house. The electoral system therefore ensures that the ability of the house to remain in the house depends on his conduct and how the voters judge his conduct. If he or she goes against the will of the voters, or goes against the legitimate actions, the voters have the right to remove him from the house. e). Promoting community stability Elections help in reinforcing community stability since it joins the citizens to each other. The electoral system allows for campaign duration before the elections where the political parties explain their manifesto to the members of public. Elections are also won by the party that gets the majority of the votes. The candidates have to convince the majority voters so that they can win the election. Communities become stable as they join hands to make the majority. Through elections, members of the public are able to realize their rights and their strength over the composition of the government. Since for them to achieve change they must form the majority, the members of the community are able to come together and this will strengthen them eventually. Elections also promote social and political integration. This is because through elections the politicians realize the importance of following the will of the society. The politicians therefore maintain close relationships with the society so that they give them their votes in the next elections. f). Realizing value and dignity of the members of public as social beings Elections give the members of the citizen a chance to be served by the government that they have elected. They therefore enjoy the opportunity of determining their members of parliament. This therefore confirms how worth they are and also their dignity as part of the nation. By participating in a successful election, the members of the public feels that their esteem is promoted and they respect themselves and also their country. When the government serves the citizens properly, they feel appreciated since their will is respected. When citizens vote for certain parties, they also feel a sense of belonging. This is because when one fails to vote, he or she feels not part of that government. Voting gives the members of public a chance to speak out and also express partisanship. People are therefore fighting for their right to vote as a desire for personal fulfillment by participating in voting. Conclusion Elections play a very important role in every country. This is because it is an opportunity for the citizens to express their political views by electing leaders of their choice. Leaders elected by the citizens must be accountable to the citizens who elected them into the parliament. This is very important since they will struggle to fulfill their election promises so that they can be reelected in the parliament after the electoral term. The electoral systems also plays a very important role in ensuring that the elections are free and fair since this is the key to achieving democracy for the citizens. When the voters participate in elections, they feel valued and as part of their country. Bibliography Dunleavy, P., 2006, Developments in British Politics 8 (chapters on electoral politics and political participation), Palgrave Macmillan, London. Denver, D., 2006, Elections and Voters in Britain, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Dunleavy, P. & Margetts, H., 2005, ‘The impact of UK electoral systems’ in Norris, P. and C. Wlezein (eds) Britain Votes 2005, pp. 198-213, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Farrell, D., 2001, Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction, chapter 1 (introduction to the topic), and chapters 3 and 4 (for comparing majoritarianism and proportional representation), Palgrave Macmillan, London. Robert, P., & Campbell, C., 2003, Campaigns and elections: issues, concepts, cases, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Mexico. Garnett, M., & Lynch, P., 2009, Exploring British Politics, chapters 17 & 18, Longman Publishers, New York. Read More