Proportional

representation

Smirnova P.
Avramenko T.
Saiko I.
 What is proportional
representation?
 Electoral system that seeks to create a representative body that reflects
the overall distribution of public support for each political party.
Where majority or plurality systems effectively reward strong parties and
penalize weak ones by providing the representation of a
whole constituency to a single candidate who may have received fewer
than half of the votes cast (as is the case, for example, in the United
States), proportional representation ensures minority groups a measure of
representation proportionate to their electoral support. Systems of
proportional representation have been adopted in many countries,
including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy,
Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The first proportional representation system was introduced in 1889 in
Belgium, and now 57 countries use this system, including Israel,
Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

There are two ways to create electoral districts

when using the proportional representation
Under the proportional system, parliamentary
system. The most common method is when the
seats are allocated to parties in proportion to
boundaries of electoral districts coincide with
the number of votes each party garners in a
the boundaries of administrative units. A less
constituency. Under this system, constituencies
common method is when the territory of the
are always multi-member.
entire state constitutes a single electoral
district.
According to
the influence of Party-list system
voters on the
placement of
candidates on
the voting list, Single transferable vote
the following
types of
proportional Mixed Member
systems are Proportional (MMP)
distinguished:
system
In order to prevent the rapid growth of small,
unrepresentative parties, proportional representation
electoral systems introduce an electoral threshold, which
means that only those party lists that have received a
certain percentage of votes, established by law, are
allowed to participate in the distribution of seats after the
vote. These thresholds vary, for example, in the
Netherlands - 0.67, Israel - 1, Sweden, Russia, Germany -
5, Liechtenstein - 8, Turkey - 10%. In Ukraine, according
to the new parliamentary electoral law, it is 4%.
 Party-list system

In the case of party-lists system, the voter votes for the list of the party of his or her choice as a
whole. The ballot paper contains only the names and emblems of the parties and sometimes a
certain number of the first candidates on the party lists. The system of party-lists is practiced in
Spain, Portugal, Israel, and Ukraine.

The proportional representation system of party-list is a form of electoral system used for
elections in many countries. This system is based on the idea of proportional representation,
where each party or political organization is represented in the parliament according to the
number of votes it received in the election.
 The main principles of the proportional representation
system of party-list system include:

Formation of lists: Each party draws up a list of candidates before the election in order of priority. The number of candidates
is determined by the number of seats a party can win in a given constituency.

Distribution of mandates: Mandates are allocated to parties according to their electoral support. Various methods can be used
for this purpose, such as the Gare method, the Dantzig method, the St. Leger method, or other algorithms.

Quotas and thresholds: Sometimes quotas or electoral thresholds are set for parties to be eligible for seat allocation. This can
be a minimum percentage of votes that must be received to participate in the distribution of seats.

Preliminary determination of mandates: The number of seats each party receives may be determined in advance based on the
electoral distribution of votes, or it may be determined after the election based on some method of allocating seats.
Single  Under STV, voters rank candidates on the ballot in
order of preference. In the 1860s Henry Richmond

transferable Droop developed a quota (the so-called Droop

quota) to determine the number of votes a
vote candidate needed to capture to win election under
STV. The quota is calculated by dividing the total
number of valid votes cast by the number of seats
to be filled plus one, and one is then added to the
quotient, which is expressed in the following
formula:
 Quota = (Total Votes/Total Seats + 1) + 1
A proportional representation system with single transferable
vote (or proportional representation system with preference
votes) is a form of electoral system that allows voters to
express their personal preferences for candidates within
party lists. This gives voters more freedom and influence
over who they see as the most suitable representative.

When using the system of Single transferable

vote, a voter not only votes for the lists of the
electing party, but also makes a mark opposite
the number of the candidate on the party list to
whom he or she gives his or her vote. In this
way, the candidate with the highest number of
preferences is elected; if the number of
preferences for several party candidates is
equal, the one with the highest place on the
party list is preferred. The STV system is
practiced in Finland, Belgium, and the
Netherlands.
 Votes with preferences:
Voters can cast their vote Distribution of mandates:
not only for a party, but Mandates are allocated to
The basic also for specific candidates
on the party's list. They can
parties according to the
total number of votes they
principles of a determine the order of
candidates on the list
received, taking into
account individual voter
according to their personal preferences.
proportional preferences.

representation
electoral system Calculation of votes: The
votes received by Preliminary determination
with single candidates within a party
list may be taken into
of mandates: The number
of mandates each party

transferable vote:
account in the distribution
of mandates for the
candidates who received
the highest number of
individual votes.
receives can be determined
based on the total number
of votes received by the
party and its candidates.
  Used in Germany, Bolivia, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, and Hungary, it is an attempt to combine the
positive attributes of both majoritarian and Proportional Representation (PR) electoral systems. A

Mixed Member proportion of the parliament (roughly half in the cases of Germany, Bolivia, and Venezuela) is
elected by plurality-majority methods, usually from single-member districts, while the remainder is

Proportional constituted by PR lists. This structure might on the surface appear similar to that of the Parallel
systems described earlier; but the crucial distinction is that under MMP the list PR seats

(MMP) systems
compensate for any disproportionality produced by the district seat results. For example, if one
party wins ten percent of the national votes but no district seats, then they would be awarded
enough seats from the PR lists to bring their representation up to approximately ten percent of the
parliament.
 Mixed Member
Proportional systems
provides an opportunity
for the voter to vote:

 for the list as a whole;

 indicate preferences by marking or writing

in the names of one or more candidates. In
the first case, votes are counted according to
the system of party-lists, and in the second
case, according to the system of single
transferable vote. This system is practiced in
Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.
 Two types of mandates: In this system, there are two types of mandates
- majoritarian (won in constituencies) and proportional (distributed
according to party lists).

The main
characteristics of Constituencies and lists of candidates: Each constituency has its own
candidate (or several candidates) from the list, who are elected by the
majority system (e.g., by winning the majority of votes in the
the system of constituency). Candidates are also determined separately and are
elected in proportion to the total number of votes received by the party

Mixed Member
list.

proportional Voting for a person and a party: A voter can vote for a specific
candidate in a constituency or for a party represented by a list of

representation
candidates.

system include: Adjustment of results: If a party receives more majority seats than it
should according to the proportionality of votes for the party,
"compensatory" seats are introduced for other parties that did not have
enough majority seats.

A common, so to speak, "burdensome" circumstance when
introducing a proportional system is a rather complicated system
of vote counting. This more or less complex mathematical
calculation requires a two-stage operation. At the initial stage,
each list receives as many seats as the number of times it
corresponds to the electoral coefficient. Since the number of seats
allocated to a particular list is the total number of votes received
by that list, there are always a few votes left over.
These votes are the remainder (or surplus), which is taken into
account until the logical conclusion of the distribution of votes.
The electoral coefficient (electoral quota, electoral meter) is a
divisor used to recognize the number of seats each list will receive
during the distribution. The most commonly used coefficient is a
simple one, which is obtained after voting by dividing the total
number of votes cast in each constituency by the number of seats
to be filled. There are other types of coefficients: Hegenbach-
Bischoff coefficient, standard coefficient, reduction coefficient,
double coefficient, electoral coefficient.

1st:
The method of the largest surplus involves
allocating seats to the list with the largest
number of unrepresented votes postponed
from the first allocation, and so on, until
all seats are allocated.
There are two main methods for
distributing surpluses (residuals):
2nd:
method of the greatest average - a method
by which the total number of votes Also, here are other methods for
received by a list is divided by the number calculating surpluses: the d'Hont method,
of seats already received by that list plus the St. Laplace method, and the modified
one dummy seat. The list that receives the St. Laplace method.
highest average in this way receives the
next seat, and so on, until all seats are
allocated.
The proportional electoral system has the following advantages:

 distribution of votes proportionally, reducing the possibility of

their loss;

 taking into account the interests of different social groups;

 minimizes opportunities for falsification of the results of the

expression of citizens' will;

 the development of the party system and party ideology is

promoted;

 MPs with the support of a political party have much more

opportunities to fulfill their election promises.

However, the proportional electoral system also has many negative

features:

 Voters do not vote for specific people, but for a party list,
which may include unknown, incompetent, unpopular
politicians;

 Lack of close communication, contacts between MPs and

voters, since MPs are elected not by voters of a particular
constituency, but by the electorate of the whole country;

 a rather complicated system of vote counting;

 many political forces enter the parliament, which complicates

the procedure of forming a parliamentary majority and often
makes the government unstable.