The majoritarian electoral system is applied according to. Majoritarian electoral system, its characteristic features and features
One deputy is elected from each constituency. The winner of the election is the candidate who receives the largest number of votes. If not two but several candidates are running in the same constituency, the one who gets less than 50% of the votes can win. In Russia, the President of the Russian Federation, the presidents of the republics, heads of administrations of territories, regions and other subjects are elected by the majority system of an absolute majority.
In countries with long democratic traditions, political life has long been monopolized by political parties, whose representatives basically only run for elections and then form the corresponding party factions in parliament or other representative body, acting in an organized manner. In those countries where the party system is still in its infancy, and the emerging political parties do not have much authority in society, majoritarian elections create a poorly organized chamber. More chances for election are people who can speak well, inflame the masses with attractive slogans, but are far from always capable of thorough, albeit routine, legislative work, in which demonstration of their own personality is absolutely not required. AT Russian Federation this was clearly seen in the examples of congresses of people's deputies, which sometimes made decisions dictated by emotions from the hysterical speeches of individual deputies. The majority system has several varieties, due to different requirements for the size of the majority of votes necessary for election.
The simplest variation is the plurality system, in which the candidate who receives more votes than any of the other candidates is considered elected. Such a system is used both in the elections of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and in local elections.
In accordance with Part 3 of Article 23 of the Federal Law of October 6, 2003 No. 131-FZ “On general principles organizations of local self-government in the Russian Federation The law of the subject of the Russian Federation establishes the types of electoral systems that can be used in the conduct of municipal elections, and the procedure for their application. In accordance with the types of electoral systems established by the law of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the charter of the municipality determines the electoral system, which is used in the conduct of municipal elections in this municipality. The law of the subject of the Russian Federation may determine the conditions for the application of types of electoral systems in municipalities depending on the number of voters in the municipality, the type of municipality and other circumstances. The electoral system is understood as the conditions for recognizing a candidate, candidates as elected, lists of candidates - admitted to the distribution of deputy mandates, as well as the procedure for distributing deputy mandates between the lists of candidates and within the lists of candidates.
In practice, the more candidates running for one seat, the fewer votes required to be elected. If there are more than two dozen candidates, a candidate with 10 percent of the votes or even less may be elected. In addition, Federal Law No. 225-FZ of December 5, 2006 “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” and the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation” canceled the so-called “ turnout threshold”, that is, the minimum percentage of participation of voters necessary for the election to be recognized as valid. And since under this system a significant part of the votes, namely the votes cast for unelected candidates, disappears, it sometimes turns out that a party whose candidates in the subject of the Federation were supported by the majority of voters may receive a minority of seats in the legislative assembly.
The majority system of absolute majority looks somewhat fairer, in which a candidate needs to receive more than half of the votes to be elected. In this case, the number of votes cast, recognized as valid, serves as the basis for counting in Russian legislation. An example of a majoritarian system of absolute majority is the system of voting in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation. In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 76 of Federal Law No. 19-FZ of January 10, 2003 “On Elections of the President of the Russian Federation”, a registered candidate who received more than half of the votes of the voters who took part in the voting is considered elected. The number of voters who took part in the voting is determined by the number of ballot papers of the established form found in the ballot boxes. The elections of the President of the Russian Federation shall be recognized as not having taken place if two candidates were included on the ballot at the general elections and none of them received more than half of the votes of the voters who took part in the voting.
In the case of an absolute majority system, the number of votes required for election may be less than in a relative majority system. After all, after the bar of 50 percent + 1 vote is taken, the candidate who received the absolute majority does not need any additional votes.
Under an absolute majority system, the more candidates there are in a constituency, the less likely it is that any of them will win an absolute majority of the vote. Therefore, elections under such a system often turn out to be ineffective. This can be avoided in various ways.
In the Russian Federation, the main such method is the re-election of candidates who have collected a certain proportion of votes. This is the second round of elections or a repeat voting of the two candidates who received the largest number of votes in the first round (this is provided for in the Federal Law "On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation"). For election in the second round, a relative majority of votes is sufficient, and therefore such a system is called a two-round system.
In the period 1997 - 2002, before the adoption of the current Federal Law on the Election of Deputies of the State Duma, in scientific discussions on the advisability of choosing an electoral system for these elections, one of the proposed options for reforming the mechanism for electing deputies of the State Duma was precisely the transition to the election of all 450 deputies of the State Duma by the majoritarian electoral system of absolute majority with voting in two rounds. Its supporters motivated this by the fact that the elections of half of the composition of the parliament under the proportional electoral system in the conditions of an undeveloped multi-party system and the absence of a federal law "On political parties» do not meet the interests of voters, lead to excessive politicization and conflict in the State Duma, etc. The majority electoral system, in their opinion, could ensure a stable connection between voters and a candidate, the dependence of candidates on voters and, most importantly, the creation of a “full-fledged political system”, since parties would have to be blocked, creating larger electoral associations. This is in line with the widely held belief that a purely majoritarian system is conducive to a workable two-party system.
The advantages of the majority system usually include:
1) the relative ease of forming a government and its greater stability.
2) formation of stable ties between voters and deputies.
Along with certain advantages, the majoritarian electoral system also has a number of significant disadvantages. It largely distorts the real picture of preferences and the will of voters. With it, a situation is possible when a party that enjoys less support from voters will defeat the party that received the majority of votes in the country as a whole.
The direct dependence of election results on the distribution of voters by constituency creates the danger of manipulation through the biased cutting of electoral districts. This practice of distorting the will of the voters is called "electoral geography" or "gerrymandering" (after the name of its inventor, US Governor Jerry of Massachusetts).
By creating the possibility of forming a government that does not enjoy the support of the majority of the population and severely restricting access to the deputy corps of representatives of minorities, including small parties, the majoritarian system can weaken the legitimacy of power, cause citizens to distrust the political system, absenteeism, or even a tendency to radical, undemocratic methods. political struggle. The direct dependence of deputies on the population of a certain constituency induces them to parochialism, insufficient consideration of national interests.
In a highly conflicted society, the majoritarian system is quite dangerous for democracy, since by polarly dividing and opposing candidates, it can orient rivals, especially when their programs are close, not to finding a positive solution to social problems, but to criticizing and directly slandering the enemy, inciting an atmosphere of hatred. This can lead to the political polarization of society, the forgetfulness of the democratic rules of the game and the destruction of the democratic system itself.
Before the introduction in 1919-1922. elections by party lists elections by single-member districts existed in Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania; somewhat earlier, the transition to elections by party lists took place in Belgium (1899) and Sweden (1909).
Varieties
How to determine the winner
There are three varieties of the majority system: absolute, relative and qualified majority.
- In elections under the absolute majority system, a candidate who has collected an absolute majority of votes - more than 50% of the votes is recognized as elected. In the event that none of the candidates receives an absolute majority, a second round is organized, in which two candidates usually enter, having collected the largest number votes. The one who receives an absolute majority in the second round is considered the winner. Such a system, in particular, is used in the elections of deputies at all levels in France, as well as in presidential elections in most countries where these elections are popular (including France, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania).
- In elections under the majority system of a relative majority, a candidate needs to win more votes than any of the competitors, and not necessarily more than half. Such a system is currently used in Great Britain, Japan, the USA in the elections of members of Congress, in Russia in the elections of deputies of the State Duma (half of the seats), etc. All people's deputies of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR were elected in 1990 by the majority principle. The majority electoral system of relative majority is most often used in single-member constituencies. In English-speaking countries, the name of this system is the "first who is considered elected" or "first past the post" system. Majoritarian elections in multi-member districts include elections for the President of the United States, when the Electoral College is elected. Voters vote for lists of electors represented by different parties, a multi-member district in this case is a separate state with a number of seats proportional to the population. A variation of the relative majority system is a block system, when a voter from an allotted "block" of votes passes one vote to each of the candidates. If a voter has the same number of votes as the number of mandates filled in a multi-member constituency, then this block system of unlimited vote. If the number of votes less than number mandates - bloc limited vote system. In the extreme case, a citizen may be given the opportunity to vote for only one candidate - single (or single) non-transferable vote system .
- Under a qualified majority system, the future winner needs to gain a predetermined majority, which is more than half - 2/3, 3/4, etc. Usually used when resolving constitutional issues.
By constituency type
Type of second round
Advantages
- The majoritarian system is universal: with its use, it is possible to hold elections of both individual representatives (president, governor, mayor), and collective bodies of state power or local self-government (country parliament, city municipality).
- Since individual candidates are nominated and compete with each other in the majoritarian system, the voter makes a decision based on the personal qualities of the candidate, and not his party affiliation.
- The majoritarian system allows small parties and non-partisan candidates to actually participate and win elections.
- The mandate given by voters to a particular candidate makes him more independent of the party machine; the source of power is voters, not party structures.
from fr. majoritee - majority) - an election system in which candidates who receive a majority of the votes in the constituency where they are running are considered elected. There are M.i.s. absolute, relative and qualified majority (the latter is rarely used). In the first case, it is enough to get more than half of all votes, in the second - a majority relative to all other candidates, in the third - a majority exceeding half of the votes - 2/3, 3/4, etc. M.i.s. often combined with a proportional electoral system (for example, in the Russian Federation, one half of the composition of the State Duma is elected according to the MIS of the relative majority, and the other half according to the proportional system).
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
MAJORITY ELECTORAL SYSTEM
from the French "majorite" - majority) - a system for determining the results of elections, according to which a candidate in an electoral district is considered elected if he receives the majority of votes established by law. M.i.s. is the most used in the formation of parliaments. According to M.i.s. legislatures are formed in the USA, France, England and other countries. In 1917, the Constituent Assembly in Russia was elected on the basis of M.i.s. All people's deputies of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR were elected by the majority principle in 1990.
According to M.i.s. elections of half of the deputies of the State Duma of the first and second convocations were held. When developing a new law on the election of deputies to the State Duma of the third convocation, the President of the Russian Federation insisted that deputies be elected exclusively in single-member districts. However, the legislator did not agree with this approach, preferring the existing situation. At present, the majority of subjects of the Russian Federation use MIS, while few of them prefer a mixed electoral system. M.i.s. It is also used mainly in the elections of representative bodies of local self-government.
Dignity M.i.s. in its effectiveness (elections in all cases end in the victory of one of the candidates), personification, i.e. each deputy is elected in his personal capacity (the voter does not vote for the list of candidates, but for a specific candidate), in direct connection between the elected deputy and the voters (which makes it possible for the deputy to be elected in the next election). The disadvantages include the low representativeness, or representativeness, of the winning deputy, the loss of votes of voters who voted for the losing candidate. It turns out that the more candidates are nominated in the elections, the fewer votes the winner needs to get. The proportional electoral system is free from these shortcomings.
There are M.i.s. absolute and relative majority. In addition, the so-called M.i.s. qualified majority.
According to the majoritarian electoral system of an absolute majority, the candidate for whom absolute number votes (50% + 1). Such a system for determining the results of elections is used during the elections of the President of the Russian Federation. In accordance with federal law dated December 31, 1999 "On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation" (Article 72), a candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation who received more than half of the votes of the voters who took part in the voting is considered elected. The number of voters who took part in the voting is determined by the number of ballot papers found in the ballot boxes. Under a qualified majority majoritarian electoral system, a fixed or certain number of votes (25%, 30%, 2/3 of the votes of voters participating in the elections) must be won in elections.
Majoritarian electoral system of relative majority is such a method of voting, when the candidate who receives more votes than each of the competing candidates is considered elected. In accordance with the Federal Law of June 24, 1999 "On Elections of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation" (Article 79), the candidate who received the largest number of votes of the voters who took part in the voting is recognized elected in a single-mandate constituency. In case of an equal number of votes received by the candidates, the candidate registered earlier is considered elected. With M.i.s. absolute and qualified majority voting is carried out in two rounds, and with M.i.s. relative majority - in one round.
M.i.s. has its own varieties and consists of the following. The territory of a state or a representative body is divided into territorial units- more often one is elected from each, but sometimes two or more deputies. Each candidate is nominated and elected in his personal capacity, although it may be indicated which party, movement he represents. If, in order to win, a candidate needs to gain not only a majority of votes, but also at least half of the number of voters who took part in the vote, then in this case it is customary to speak of M.I.S. absolute majority. If a candidate is considered the winner who has received more votes than his rivals (i.e., a majority "relative" to his competitors), and it does not matter how much this amounts to from the number of voters who voted, such a system is usually called M.i.s. relative majority. If a certain number of votes is required to win (for example, 25, 30, 40% of the number of voters participating in the elections), this is M.i.s. qualified majority.
Voting by M.i.s. the relative majority is held in one, for other varieties - in two rounds. The two candidates with the highest number of votes advance to the second round, and the winner may be the one who has received a certain number of votes or more votes than the opponent.
Pluses M.i.s. in that it is effective - it gives a winner; in addition, voting is subject - the voter gives preference to a particular person; deputies must maintain constant contact with voters, hoping for their support in the next elections. Lack of M.i.s. in that votes cast for non-winning candidates are lost, and the winner in this case has the support of a sometimes clear minority of voters, i.e. we can talk about the low representativeness (representativeness) of such a deputy.
In the Russian Federation, for elections to the State Duma, since 1993, the principle of combining proportional and M.i.s. At the same time, M.i.s. looks like this: it is established that 225 (i.e. half) of the deputies of the State Duma are elected on the basis of M.i.s. for single-member (one constituency - one mandate) constituencies formed in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the basis of a single representation norm, with the exception of electoral districts formed in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the number of voters in which is less than the average number of voters established by the CEC for a single-mandate constituency (see para. Constituency). To win in the district, you need to get more votes than other candidates, i.е. this is M.i.s. relative majority. Elections are considered valid if at least 25% of registered voters voted.
According to M.i.s. elections of half of the deputies of the State Duma were held in 1993 and 1995. It may be recalled that in 1993 deputies were also elected to the Federation Council - two from each subject of the Russian Federation. M.i.s. was used. a relative majority, with the difference that the constituency had two mandates; the constituency was the territory of each subject of the Russian Federation. As for the elections of representative bodies of power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in 1993 they were given the opportunity to introduce both majoritarian and mixed majoritarian-proportional systems. However, in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, elections of bodies of representative power are held in constituencies. Some constituent entities simultaneously formed two types of such constituencies: ordinary (according to the number of voters) and administrative-territorial (i.e., a district or a city, respectively, became a district, and a deputy to the parliament of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation was elected from it). In the elections in representative bodies local self-government (i.e. assemblies, dumas of cities and regions) deputies are elected by M.i.s. At the same time, quite often the entire territory is a single multi-member constituency. However, each deputy is elected in his personal capacity, which is exactly what is typical for M.i.s.
Great Definition
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Under the electoral system usually understand the procedure for determining the results of elections, which allows you to identify which of the candidates running for election is elected as a deputy or for a particular elective office. At the same time, the preference for a certain method of counting votes may lead to the fact that the results of elections with the same voting results may turn out to be different.
Depending on the order of distribution of deputy mandates among candidates based on the voting results, electoral systems are usually divided into three types: majoritarian, proportional and mixed.
Historically, the first electoral system was majoritarian, based on majority principle. Those candidates who receive the established majority of votes are considered elected.
Under this system, the territory of the entire country is divided into districts approximately equal in the number of voters, from which deputies are elected.
The undoubted advantages of the majority system are simplicity, the possibility of voters participating in the procedure for nominating candidates, and listing all applicants by name.
In addition, it is believed that this system is more universal, since it makes it possible to take into account both party interests and the interests of voters who are not members of public organizations.
At the same time, it also has disadvantages: the danger of distorting the balance of political forces in parliament compared to the one that actually exists in society; the impossibility of accurately taking into account the real influence of organizations, electoral unions, parties.
Depending on the minimum number of votes required to elect a candidate, allocates the following varieties majority system: absolute majority, relative majority, qualified majority.
Under an absolute majority system(operating in France) the winner is the candidate who received the absolute majority of votes - 50% + 1 vote. What matters here is how the majority of votes is determined: 1) from the total number of registered voters; 2) from the number of voters who voted; 3) from valid votes cast. Foreign legislation can provide for all these cases. One of the main drawbacks of the system is the ineffectiveness of the voting results, when none of the candidates receives the required number of votes. In such cases, a second round of voting is usually held, in which, as a rule, only the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round are allowed to participate. In a number of countries, it is provided that in order to win in the second round, it is enough for a candidate to receive a relative majority.
The most common is the repeated voting, which is held for the two candidates who received the largest number of votes (as a rule, presidential elections are held according to this scheme, for example, in Poland). In some countries, all candidates who receive the percentage of votes established by law take part in the second round (in the elections of deputies of parliament, for example, France, it is 12.5%).
A feature of this electoral system is the requirement of a mandatory quorum, without which the elections are considered invalid. As a rule, the turnout of 50% of voters (presidential elections) is considered mandatory, less often - 25% or a different number of votes.
A positive feature of this variety of the majority system, in comparison with the relative majority system, is that the candidate who is supported by a real (representative) majority of voters wins.
In general, the majority system of the absolute majority is a rather confusing and cumbersome system that requires an increase in government spending on elections. In addition, when it is used, a significant part of the votes of the electorate is lost, since candidates for whom a minority cast their votes are not considered elected.
The most common abroad is majority system of relative majority, in which the candidate who receives more votes than any of his rivals is considered elected. The majority system of the relative majority is used in elections in the UK, India, Canada, the USA and other countries.
This system is effective and excludes the second round of elections, since it does not require the candidate to gain a set minimum of votes in order to win. Only if several candidates receive the same number of votes creates a situation where it is impossible to determine the winner. The unequivocal minus of the use of the majority system of relative majority, researchers call ignoring the votes cast for unelected candidates. The situation is aggravated when there are many candidates and votes are distributed among them. Then the votes cast for unelected candidates disappear and, if there are more than two dozen candidates, the one for whom less than 10% of the votes are cast may be elected. When applying the majoritarian system of relative majority, the electoral geography is of particular importance.
Under this system, the Anglo-Saxon countries do not set a voter turnout threshold, it is believed that voters who did not come to the polls agree with the opinion of the majority.
A specific, rarely encountered variety of the majoritarian electoral system is supermajority system, in which the candidate who receives a qualified majority of votes is considered elected. The qualified majority is established by law and exceeds the absolute majority. This system is used mainly in the election of heads of state and other officials. For example, the President of Azerbaijan in 1995-2002. in order to be elected, he had to receive 2/3 of the votes of the voters who participated in the voting. Then this rule was canceled as inappropriate. In the elections of the Chamber of Deputies, this system is used in Chile (in two-mandate constituencies, both mandates are received by the party that won 2/3 of the votes in the constituency).
Another type of electoral system is proportional system. It is based on the principle of proportional representation of political associations participating in elections. In contrast to the majoritarian system, under the proportional system, the voter votes for a political party (electoral association), and not for a specific person. The positive features of this system are that it contributes to an adequate reflection by the parliament of the real balance of political forces in society, strengthens political pluralism and stimulates a multi-party system. The disadvantages include the detachment of the majority of voters from the nomination procedure and, as a result, the lack of a direct connection between a particular candidate and voters.
The system, which is designed to combine the positive aspects and, if possible, eliminate the shortcomings of the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems, is called mixed. On this basis, elections to the German Bundestag are organized. Each elector has two votes. He gives one vote for a specific candidate, and the second - for the party list. Half of the deputies of the Bundestag are elected by the majority system of relative majority in constituencies. The rest of the seats are distributed according to the proportional system according to the number of votes cast for the lists drawn up by the parties in each Land.
In some countries, when changing the proportional system, there is a statutory clause, according to which a prerequisite for the party's participation in the distribution of mandates is the receipt of a certain minimum of votes. In Denmark, for example, it is required that a party collect national votes of at least 2% of all those participating in elections. Seats in the Swedish Parliament are distributed only between parties for which at least 4% of the total number of voters or at least 12% in one of the electoral districts voted. In Germany, a party gains access to the distribution of parliamentary mandates in the Bundestag if it collects nationwide at least 5% of valid votes or wins at least three single-member districts.
Common to all varieties of electoral systems is that they can be used both for any voter turnout in the elections, and for the established mandatory turnout percentage (25%, 50%), in these cases the elections are recognized as valid.