4.

té tel: Elections
Elections are representative democracy in action. When voters cast their ballots, they, rather than
politicians or government, are taking control. The task of electing representatives can be done in a
wide variety of ways, and each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Elections in a liberal democracy should be competitive, free and fair. • A competitive election is one
contested by a number of parties • For an election to be free, citizens must enjoy basic civil liberties
such as freedom of speech and association, the right to vote in secret and the right to join a political
party and stand as a candidate. • In a fair election, the votes of individual citizens should be of equal
worth: ‘one person, one vote, one value’. • High standards are required in the administration of the
electoral process: citizens should have easy access to polling places, the counting of votes should be
transparent and, if disputes arise, there should be recourse to the courts. • Governments should not
be able arbitrarily to change electoral law to their own benefit.

Elections are central to the practice of democracy. its elections are based on: »Universal adult
suffrage »One person, one vote »A secret ballot »Competition between candidates and parties.

The main elections int he UK are:

»General elections – These are Parliamentary elections, in which all the seats in the House of
Commons come up for re-election. They take place every five years according to the Fixed term
Parliament Act, but can, in certain circumstances as in 2017 and 2019 occur before.

»Devolved assembly elections – These are elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh
Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. They are fixed-term elections that take place every
four years (first held in 1998 in Northern Ireland and in 1999 in Scotland and Wales).

»Local elections – These are elections to district, borough and county councils. They include elections
to the Greater London Assembly, the London Mayor and mayoral elections also taking place in other
local authorities. They are fixed-term elections that take place usually every four or five years

Different electoral systems have different political outcomes. It is possible for a party to win an
election under one set of rules, but to lose it under another. • Similarly, one electoral system may
produce a single-party government, while another would lead to coalition government. • Electoral
systems therefore have a major impact on political parties, on government, and also on the quality of
representation and the effectiveness of democracy.

Electoral systems translate votes cast by citizens into seats for candidates. There are three main
types:

Majoritarian systems, in which the winning candidate is the one who secures the most votes.
These are non-proportional systems and produce significant disparities between votes won and seats
allotted. Candidates are normally (but not invariably) elected in single-member constituencies.
Proportional systems produce a closer fit between votes cast and seats allocated. Electors rank
candidates in order of preference in multi-member constituencies.
 In Mixed systems some representatives are elected using a majoritarian system in single-
member constituencies and the remainder are elected by PR in multi-member constituencies. These
‘list seats’ are allocated to parties on a corrective basis.

Voting system int he UK:

First-past-the-post (FPTP): The electoral system used in UK general elections where the candidate
with the greatest number of votes is elected. The winner is the one with more votes than any other
candidate, not necessarily a majority. The main non-proportional voting system used in the UK is
first-past-the-post (FPTP) sometimes called the single-member simple plurality system. It is
undoubtedly the most important electoral system used in the UK. To stand in elections under FPTP a
deposit has to be paid and this is returned if 5% of the vote is obtained. All citizens aged 18 or over
are allowed to vote.

Alternative Vote is used to elect: chairs of most committees in the House of Commons the Lord
Speaker and by-elections for hereditary peers. Voters rank candidates in order of preference by
marking 1, 2, 3 and so on. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or vote for one
candidate. First preference votes are counted first. If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of
the first preference votes then they are elected. If no candidate reaches 50 per cent, the candidate
with the fewest first preference votes is eliminated. Their second preference votes are reallocated to
the remaining candidates. If one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put
together, that candidate is elected. If not, the process is repeated until one candidate has more votes
than the other remaining candidates put together. This candidate wins the election.

Supplementary Vote (SV) Elections for mayors in England and Wales, and for Police and Crime
Commissioners, use the Supplementary Vote system. One of the non-proportional electoral systems
used in the UK is the supplementary vote (SV). It has been used since 2000 for the election of the
London mayor and is now used in all elections for directly elected metro mayors in England, and in
elections for Police and Crime Commissioners.

Single Transferable Vote (STV) is used for: • Elections for Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons
• Northern Ireland Assembly elections • Local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland • STV was
also used in Northern Ireland to elect Members of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2019.

The Additional Member System (AMS) is used in the devolved regions of Scotland and Wales and for
the London Assembly. This system is a hybrid system, which combines the FPTP and the List system.
With AMS, the voters have two completely separate votes

The Closed Party List system was used in England, Scotland and Wales to elect Members of the
European Parliament between 1999 and 2019.Voters choose parties not candidates. The parties
determine the order in which candidates appear on the list

Voting behaviour: Short and Longterm influences