Proportional system single-member constituencies. Proportional and majoritarian electoral systems

In country Z, parliamentary elections are held every 5 years. Find the features in the list below that indicate that in country Z parliamentary elections are held according to the proportional system, and write down the numbers under which the corresponding features are indicated.

2) There is the possibility of nominating independent non-partisan candidates.

4) The government is formed by a block of parties that won the parliamentary elections.

5) The winner is the candidate who receives the most votes in the election.

6) The number of seats received by a party in parliament depends on the percentage of votes cast for it in the elections.

Explanation.

The proportional electoral system means voting of voters according to party lists. After the election, each of the parties receives a number of mandates proportional to the percentage of votes received (for example, a party that receives 25% of the votes gets 1/4 of the seats). In parliamentary elections, there is usually a percentage barrier (electoral threshold) that a party must overcome in order to get their candidates into parliament; as a result, small parties that do not have broad social support do not receive mandates. The votes for the parties that did not overcome the threshold are distributed among the parties that won the elections. A proportional system is possible only in multi-mandate constituencies, i.e. where several deputies are elected and the voter votes for each of them personally.

The essence of the proportional system is the distribution of mandates in proportion to the number of votes received by parties or electoral coalitions. The main advantage of this system is the representation of parties in elected bodies in accordance with their real popularity among voters, which makes it possible to more fully express the interests of all groups of society, to intensify the participation of citizens in elections and politics in general. In order to overcome the excessive party fragmentation of the composition of parliament, to limit the possibility of representatives of radical or even extremist forces penetrating into it, many countries use protective barriers, or thresholds that establish the minimum number of votes necessary to obtain deputy mandates. Usually it ranges from 2 (Denmark) to 5% (Germany) of all votes cast. Parties that do not collect the required minimum of votes do not receive a single mandate.

2) There is the possibility of nominating independent non-partisan candidates - no, that's not true.

4) The government is formed by a bloc of parties that won the parliamentary elections - yes, that's right.

5) The winner is the candidate who receives the most votes in the election - no, that's not true.

6) The number of seats a party gets in parliament depends on the percentage of votes cast for it in an election - yes, that's right.

The proportional electoral system is characterized by the following features. Its application is limited to elections of deputies of legislative (representative) bodies; it does not apply to the election of officials. Only political parties (electoral associations) have the right to nominate candidates. Under such a system, voters do not vote personally for candidates, but for lists of candidates (party lists) put forward by electoral associations, and lists of candidates who have overcome the barrier, i.e., who have received the minimum required number of votes established by law, which is not may exceed 1% of the number of voters who took part in the voting. The resulting vacancies will be filled by the following candidates from the lists of candidates (party lists) admitted to the distribution of mandates, as a result of which no by-elections are foreseen.

Russian legislation knows two types of proportional electoral system, due to the use of closed (hard) or open (soft) lists of candidates. When voting by closed lists, a voter has the right to vote only for one or another list of candidates as a whole. Open lists allow a voter to vote not only for a specific list of candidates, but also for one or more candidates within that list. In our country, a clear preference is given to closed lists. Voting by open lists is provided only in a few subjects of the Federation (Republic of Kalmykia, Tver region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug).

The proportional electoral system is used in the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. It is rare in the subjects of the Federation in its pure form (Dagestan, Ingushetia, Amur Region, Sverdlovsk Region, St. Petersburg). As for municipal elections, the proportional electoral system is generally uncharacteristic for them. A rare exception in this regard is the city of Spass k-Dalniy of Primorsky Krai, whose charter provides for the election of all deputies of the city district on party lists.

Mixed electoral system

A mixed (majority-proportional) electoral system is a combination of majoritarian and proportional systems with a statutory number of deputy mandates distributed over each of them. Its application allows you to combine the advantages and smooth out the shortcomings of the majority and proportional systems. At the same time, political parties (electoral associations) are given the opportunity to nominate the same persons as candidates both on a party list and in single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituencies. The law only requires that in the event of simultaneous nomination in a single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency and in the list of candidates, information about this must be indicated in the ballot prepared for voting in the corresponding single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency

The mixed system is currently used in the elections of legislative (representative) bodies of state power in almost all subjects of the Federation. This is due to the fact that the Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” (Article 35) requires that at least half of the deputy mandates in the legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Federation or in one of its chambers were to be distributed among the lists of candidates put forward by electoral associations in proportion to the number of votes received by each of the lists of candidates.

When holding elections of deputies of representative bodies of municipalities, the mixed majority-proportional system is used much less frequently. In all likelihood, this is due to the fact that federal legislation does not require the mandatory use of elements of the proportional system in relation to the municipal level of formation of representative bodies of power.

Election commissions are collegiate bodies that prepare and conduct elections. All election commissions are divided into two large groups:

1) permanent election commissions, which are state bodies - the CEC of the Russian Federation (CEC of the Russian Federation), the election commission of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, as well as municipal bodies - the election commission of a municipality;

2) election commissions that are created in a specific electoral process - district, territorial, precinct election commissions. The formation of such election commissions is a separate stage of the election process.

Electoral commissions in various elections may be:

1. The district election commission is the top link in the system of election commissions in any electoral process. It extends its activities to the entire territory from which the elected person (s) is elected. Thus, during the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, deputies of the State Duma under the proportional electoral system, the entire territory of the Russian Federation constitutes one constituency. In this case, the CEC of the Russian Federation acts as a district election commission. During elections of State Duma deputies in single-member constituencies within the majoritarian electoral system, district election commissions are created in accordance with the scheme of single-member constituencies and act as the highest level of election commissions for the election of a State Duma deputy in the respective constituency.

2. The territorial election commission always extends its activities to a certain territory in accordance with the federal structure of the Russian Federation, as well as the administrative-territorial division of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Territorial commissions are the CEC of the Russian Federation (the territory of activity is the whole of the Russian Federation), election commissions of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and election commissions of municipalities. Also, permanent municipal (city, district) election commissions perform the role of territorial commissions in elections to federal and regional bodies of state power.

3. Precinct election commission - is formed by a higher territorial commission.

Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" dated June 12, 2002 (as amended by the Federal Law dated December 24, 2004)

Article 20 of the Federal Law on Basic Guarantees:

In the Russian Federation there are election commissions, referendum commissions:

Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC of the Russian Federation);

election commissions of subjects of the Russian Federation;

election commissions of municipalities;

district election commissions;

territorial (district, city and other) commissions;

district commissions.

The CEC of the Russian Federation is a federal state body that organizes the preparation and conduct of elections, referendums in the Russian Federation in accordance with the competence established by this Federal Law, other Federal Laws; operates on a permanent basis and is a legal entity; consists of 15 members and is formed by three subjects - the State Duma, the Federation Council and the President of the Russian Federation. Five members of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation are appointed by the State Duma from among the candidates proposed by deputies and deputy associations. Five members are appointed by the Federation Council from among the candidates proposed by the legislative (representative) state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Five members are appointed by the President of the Russian Federation.

For other commissions, a single formation procedure has been established that ensures the democracy of this procedure, parity participation in it of state legislative and executive authorities, active participation of public associations, local self-government bodies, and meetings of voters.

Thus, election commissions of the subjects of the Russian Federation and district election commissions for elections to federal bodies of state power are created by the legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state power of the subjects of the Federation on a parity basis: half of the composition of the commission is appointed by the legislature, and half by the executive. The appointment is made on the basis of proposals from electoral associations, electoral blocs, public associations, elected bodies of local self-government, election commissions of the previous composition. A guaranteed quota - at least one third of the composition of the commission - is provided to representatives of electoral associations (blocs) that have factions in the State Duma, as well as in the legislative (representative) authorities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. At the same time, no more than one representative from each electoral association (bloc) may be appointed to the election commission.

The formation of territorial election commissions, as well as district election commissions for elections to state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and LSG bodies, precinct election commissions is carried out by representative bodies of LSG in the same manner on the basis of proposals from the same subjects as in the previous case, as well as proposals from meetings voters at the place of residence, work, study, service.

As an additional guarantee of the independence of election commissions, the Federal Law establishes that state (municipal) employees cannot make up more than one third of their composition. The Federal Law on Basic Guarantees for the first time establishes the possibility of disbanding election commissions of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, district, territorial, precinct commissions in the event of such a violation of the electoral rights of citizens, which entailed the invalidation of the voting results in the relevant territory or the results of the elections as a whole. The decision to disband an election commission can only be made by a court upon the application of the deputies of the legislative (representative) body of the corresponding level, as well as the CEC (in relation to the commission of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation).

Electoral process

The term "electoral process" is not synonymous with the formation or formation of a new independent branch of law or a sub-branch of procedural legislation. Procedural (through the system of courts of general jurisdiction) and procedural (through the system of election commissions) forms of realization and protection of citizens' electoral rights express various (law enforcement and law enforcement) aspects of the electoral process as a whole. Through the procedural form, the activities of election commissions are carried out and the bulk of the electoral actions that make up the content of the election campaign are carried out, while through the procedural form in the proper meaning of this concept, the activities of the courts are carried out to protect the electoral rights of citizens and, more broadly, the foundations of the constitutional order.

The electoral process in the Russian Federation includes a set of stages established by law, consisting of specific electoral procedures and electoral actions.

Stages of the electoral process - these are the stages of organizing and holding elections, within the framework of which the electoral actions provided for by laws are carried out, as well as electoral procedures that ensure the exercise of the electoral rights of citizens of the Russian Federation and other participants in the elections, the integrity, completeness and legitimacy of the electoral process when forming a representative body, electing an elected official.

The main stages of the electoral process are:

1) appointment of elections (adoption by an authorized state body, local self-government body, official of a decision on setting the date of elections, including in the order of rotation of a part of the deputy corps);

2) formation of electoral districts, polling stations, compilation of voter lists;

3) nomination of candidates (lists of candidates) and their registration;

4) pre-election campaign;

5) voting and determination of voting results, election results and their publication. At the same time, the optional stages are: holding, in the cases provided for by law, repeat voting, repeat elections, elections of deputies instead of those who have left, new elections.

The electoral process and electoral legal relations are interdependent categories that act as two sides of a mechanism for the reproduction of power through the political will of citizens, expressed by voting in free and democratic elections, which is one in content and meaning.

The real implementation of democracy in the course of the preparation and conduct of elections is ensured by the purposeful and lawful activities of participants, or subjects, of the electoral process, the circle of which is determined by the current legislation. The electoral legislation in force in the Russian Federation and its constituent entities, which regulates electoral legal relations, provides for the following main typical composition of participants (subjects) of the electoral process: other normative acts that determine the procedure for preparing and holding elections: for example, the Federal Assembly of Russia, which adopts laws on elections to federal government bodies, or the Legislative Assembly of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, which adopts the Electoral Code. 2. Initiators of the electoral process - bodies and officials of state and local authorities, authorized to adopt legal acts on the appointment of elections, which often determine the dates and territory for voting. The issuance of a legal act initiating the electoral process is mandatory, since in the absence of such an act, the norms of substantive and procedural electoral law cannot be put into effect, although the latest electoral legislation provides for procedures to overcome the situation when the authorized body is unable to adopt the initiating act. The fact is that the specific subjects of initiating the electoral process for each type of election are usually determined by the authorities of the appropriate level (although in some cases the right to call elections and determine the date of voting is assigned to higher authorities, which manifests the features of regional lawmaking), but the latter are sometimes simply are absent or do not make the right decision in a timely manner. Therefore, the latest legislation provides for special rules for this case. So, in some settlements where there are no representative bodies obliged to call elections, elections must be called by the relevant territorial election commissions. If the authorized body of state or local power does not call elections within the period established by law, then they can be held by decision of the relevant governing territorial election commission, which must be stipulated in the law. 3. Organizers of the electoral process - electoral commissions, public associations and groups of citizens, bodies and officials of state and local authorities, creating the proper conditions and providing the necessary funds for the implementation of the electoral legislation. A special place among the organizers of the electoral process is occupied by electoral commissions (election management bodies), which bear the brunt of preparing and conducting electoral events, since it is they who perform the largest amount of organizational, managerial and organizational and technical work to implement the requirements of the electoral legislation and are responsible for documenting legal actions taken by the participants of the elections. Serious duties are imposed by the law on other organizers of the electoral process. Thus, the head of the local executive power decides on the formation of polling stations, and federal and regional government bodies allocate funds to finance the election campaign. 4. Citizens of the Russian Federation voting in elections are active voters exercising the right of a rule-making vote in making legally binding decisions at meetings (gatherings) of citizens and in referendums or the right of a constituent vote in elections of state and local authorities, as well as in the recall of elected representatives. 5. Citizens of the Russian Federation running for elections - candidates for deputies of representative bodies of state and local authorities or candidates for people's representatives of other elected bodies (passive holders of the electoral right). 6. Observers, including foreign and international ones, are persons who, in accordance with the current legislation, exercise control over compliance with the requirements of the electoral legislation at all stages of the electoral process. The Russian Federation is one of the few countries in the world where foreign (international) observers are legally allowed to attend elections and referenda, including at the regional level. 7. Courts considering complaints and disputes in connection with violations of electoral legislation during elections and voting, including the Judicial Chamber for Information Disputes under the President of the Russian Federation. 8. Bodies of the prosecutor's office, supervising the observance of the legislation on elections in accordance with the rules that determine the competence and procedure for the work of these bodies. 9. Other participants in the electoral process (for example, political parties, public associations, groups of voters) who have the right to nominate and support candidates; organizations and institutions, individuals involved in the formation of election funds; early recalled deputies and other elected officials. The composition of the participants (subjects) of the electoral process is not constant, it may change due to changes in the electoral legislation, and largely depend on a particular type of electoral system, the level of its democratic content. The legal status of participants in the electoral process is determined by an extensive array of legislative acts. The totality of normative legal acts that determine the status of subjects of the electoral process forms an integral part of an independent institution of electoral rights - electoral law. Among them, the following legislative acts are of paramount importance: 1) the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Art. 3, 32, 81); 2) the constitutions of the republics that are part of the Russian Federation, the charters of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation (chapters on the electoral system); 3) federal laws on elections; 4) regional laws on elections; 5) decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, presidents of the constituent republics of the Federation, and heads of other subjects of the Federation; 6) decisions of election commissions; 7) decisions of local self-government bodies on the organization of elections. The study of the main problems of the preparation and conduct of elections, an in-depth analysis of the electoral process allow us to re-evaluate the possibilities of constructing the structure of legislative acts on elections. Already now it is expedient to recognize as useful the allocation in the structure of electoral laws, and above all electoral codes, a number of independent institutions, such as regular elections, repeat elections, by-elections, with fixing their specific legal content. Regular elections are general or main elections held to elect public authorities and local self-government bodies within the time limits established by the current legislation for the legislature of this type of government. The period of time between the previous and upcoming regular elections constitutes the legislature of this elected representative body of power. A repeat election is a new election held in a territory where the previous election was declared void or invalid, or where no more than two candidates ran in the election of an official and none of them was elected. By-elections are extraordinary elections held in the event of early termination of the powers of a deputy elected in a single-seat (multi-seat) constituency to a collegiate representative body of power, or early termination of the powers of an elected official in the system of state or local power. The systematic development of topical issues about the concept and structure of the electoral process leads to new conclusions about the content of the institution of electoral rights. The earlier electoral legislation was characterized by the allocation and consolidation in separate acts, sections or articles of the electoral rights of citizens in the status of voters, candidates for deputies and election commissions, meanwhile, other participants in the electoral process appeared in the latest electoral laws, endowed with the legislative scope of electoral rights. These are, in particular, public associations, including political parties, observers, authorities, a wider layer of proxies, private and legal entities sponsoring elections within the framework of the law. Among the electoral rights of these new subjects of the electoral process are the following: 1) the right to exercise legal powers to participate in elections; 2) the right to information about the course of electoral events throughout the entire election campaign; 3) the right to be present during the counting of votes; 4) the right to get acquainted with documents containing information about the results of elections; 5) the right to represent their own interests or the interests of “parent” organizations in election management bodies; 6) the right to apply to the court in case of violation of the status of election participants. In our opinion, it would be useful in the development of the Electoral Code of the Russian Federation and the electoral laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to fix the electoral rights of each subject of the electoral process in an independent chapter or article. Obviously, in the context of the formation of a legal democratic state in the Russian Federation, a comprehensive study of the problems of the electoral process opens up new prospects for improving the election mechanism, democratizing the electoral system, and more active participation of citizens in the socio-political life of the country.

Registration or compilation of voter lists is carried out local election commissions. The legislator of a number of countries provides that voters themselves must take care of their inclusion in the voting lists (USA, Great Britain, Latin American countries). In many European countries, the inclusion of voters in the lists is the responsibility of local governments. In both cases, the electoral list may be temporary (compiled anew before each election) or permanent (only partially updated before the next election).

Voter registration and listing are usually completed according to a certain deadline before the election date (several months in some countries). This means that persons who are not officially registered on the electoral lists cannot participate in voting, since the provisions of the electoral laws prohibit adding new voters to the lists after the end of official registration. In practice, this means another limitation of the principle of universal suffrage of citizens.

Main tasks precinct election commission - compiling a complete list of voters, conducting voting, counting votes.

Lists of voters. As a general rule, only persons included in the list of voters can vote. Persons who have temporary certificates for the right to vote (for example, in connection with a business trip) are entered in an additional list of voters and only after that receive a ballot. Only in some countries, for example in Syria, there is no list of voters, it is enough to present an identity card, which indicates that the voter has voted.

In most countries, the maintenance of voter lists is the responsibility of municipal authorities (the Netherlands, Poland), in Latin American countries there is a special service for this - the national or civil register, in Israel the lists are in charge of the Ministry of the Interior, in Sweden - the tax department. Only persons who meet electoral qualifications (qualifications) may be included in the list of voters. In the UK, voter lists are compiled by registrar officials, in some Latin American countries - by specially appointed commissions (where there is no civil register service). These lists are then passed on to the voting bodies, in most countries to the precinct commission. She checks the lists, for which it is necessary to present the relevant documents (in many Anglo-Saxon countries, where there are no passports for domestic use, but only international passports, a variety of documents are used).

When compiling lists, verifying and updating them, precinct election commissions, registrar officials and other bodies use two methods: compulsory registration and optional. Duty or the absence of the obligation to register does not apply to the voter, but to the commission or registrar official. With the system optional registration The official does not automatically include the voter in the list, he does this only at the initiative of the latter. The voter himself must apply with the appropriate application if he wants to be included in the list of voters (Spain, Mexico, USA). With the system compulsory registration(Great Britain, India, Italy) the voter is automatically included in the list, the registrar (commission) is obliged to find all persons with voting rights and include them in this list. Individuals included in the list are issued a special voter card (often with fingerprints and a photograph, sometimes with the possibility of electronic voting). Voter lists are either permanent, and then from are reviewed every 10-12 years, or periodically, re-compiled for each election.

GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL IN REGISTRATION OF A CANDIDATE (LIST OF CANDIDATES)- circumstances exhaustively listed in the federal law, the presence of which excludes the possibility of registration of a candidate (list of candidates). The electoral legislation refers to the grounds for refusal: a) a significant violation of the procedure for collecting signatures established by law; b) an insufficient number of submitted authentic signatures of voters in support of a candidate (list of candidates), as well as an excess of the legally established limit on the proportion of invalid signatures among signatures subjected to verification, provided that the candidate, electoral association did not pay an electoral deposit; c) unreliability of information (biographical nature, position held, criminal record, citizenship of a foreign state, etc.), if the unreliability of this information is of a significant nature; d) significant violation of the procedure for creating an electoral fund and spending its funds; e) other grounds provided for by federal law.

In the event that the unreliability of biographical information, data on a criminal record, citizenship, etc., listed in paragraph 2 of Art. 28 of the Federal Law of September 19, 1997 "On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" (as amended and supplemented), established after the registration of a candidate (list of candidates) and is of a significant nature, the election commission does not later than 16 days before the voting day has the right to make a decision to cancel the registration; if less than 16 days are left before voting day, she has the right to apply to the court with a motion to cancel the registration of this candidate (exclusion from the list of candidates). Along with the denial of registration, the current electoral legislation introduces the concept of "cancellation of registration", which means the annulment of the decision on the registration of a candidate previously taken by the election commission. The law provides that in case of refusal to register a candidate (list of candidates), the relevant election commission is obliged, within 24 hours from the date of the decision to refuse, to issue to the candidate or an authorized representative of an electoral association, electoral bloc, group of voters, the voter who nominated the candidate, a copy of the decision of the election commission with a statement of the grounds for refusal.

The proportional electoral system operates in polynomial (multi-member) constituencies, and voting is conducted according to party lists. Each party participating in elections receives a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes received by it.

The proportional distribution of seats can be carried out in various ways, and above all on the basis of electoral quota, which is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast in the constituency by the number of seats to be allocated.

In other words, the minimum number of votes that a party needs to win in order to receive one mandate (i.e., the share of the mandate) is determined.

Suppose, in a multi-mandate constituency, 5 parties competed for 6 seats, and the votes of voters were distributed among them as follows:

A-20.000; B-16.000; B-34.000; G-43.000; D-37.000.

In accordance with the received quota, we distribute mandates between the parties. To do this, the number of votes received by each party is divided by the electoral quota:

A 20.000: 25.000 = 0 (20.000 left)

B 16.000: 25.000 = 0 (16.000 left)

At 34.000: 25.000 = 1 (9.000 left)

D 43.000: 25.000 = 1 (18.000 left)

D 37.000: 25.000 = 1 (12.000 left)

Of the 6 mandates, only 3 were immediately distributed. The distribution of the remaining mandates can be carried out in one of two ways: according to the rule of the largest remainder or the largest average.

By method largest balance undistributed mandates are given to parties with the largest remaining votes. In the example under consideration, parties A, D and B will receive 1 mandate each. The final results will be as follows:

A-1; B-1; IN 1; G-2; D-1.

The distribution of mandates according to the method is somewhat more complicated. highest average when the remaining mandates are distributed among the parties with the highest average. To calculate the average of each list, it is necessary to divide the number of votes cast for a party by the number of mandates received by it plus 1. In our example, this will look like this:

A 20.000: 1 (0 mandates + 1) = 20.000

B 16.000: 1 (0 mandates + 1) = 16.000

At 34.000: 2 (1 mandate + 1) = 17.000

D 43.000: 2 (1 mandate + 1) = 21.500

D 37.000: 2 (1 mandate + 1) = 18.500

Parties D, A and D, which have the highest average, will receive one mandate each. The final results will be different than when using the largest remainder rule:

A-1; B-0; IN 1; G-2; D 2.

Consequently, with the same distribution of votes between political parties, the final picture of the elections will be different depending on the method of distribution of mandates used, the choice of which is determined, in particular, by which parties - large or small - the electoral system in a given country is oriented.

The proportional system also has other ways of determining the proportionality of deputy seats to the number of votes received. So, the d "0ndta method has become quite widespread (Belgium, Austria, Portugal, France - elections to the National Assembly in 1986, etc.). Its essence lies in the fact that the number of votes received by each party is divided sequentially by a series of natural numbers (1,2,3,4...) The quotas are arranged in descending order: 43.000; 37.000; 34.000; 21.500; 20.000; 18.500; 17.000; 16.000... The electoral quota (selective private) will be a number, a serial number which corresponds to the number of mandates distributed in the district (in our example, 6 seats).In this case, such an electoral quotient will be 18.500. Dividing the votes received by the parties by the electoral quotient, we obtain the following distribution of mandates:

A-1; B-0; IN 1; G-2; D 2.

The method of Henry Drup also allows you to immediately distribute all the mandates without resorting to other methods. Its essence lies in the fact that when determining the quota according to the formula: Q = X: Y (where X is the total number of votes, and Y is the number of mandates), the denominator sequentially increases by 1, 2, and 3, etc. until those until you get a private one that allows you to distribute all the mandates.

All of the above concerns general fundamental approaches in identifying the essence of the proportional system, namely, methods for determining the district electoral quota and distribution of mandates. A full proportional system assumes that the entire country should be a single multi-member constituency, or at least large multi-member constituencies are formed in which the primary allocation of seats is carried out, and the remaining seats are distributed without regard to district boundaries in accordance with the national electoral quota.

For example, in Indonesia, the distribution of mandates between organizations participating in elections is carried out in three stages. At the first stage, the district electoral quota is calculated and on its basis the distribution of mandates between organizations in each district is carried out (the number of mandates received by the organization should not exceed the number of candidates in the Submitted list). If an organization receives fewer votes than the electoral quota, it remains without mandates.

The most successful example of a complete proportional system is the procedure for elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. The distribution of mandates takes place in two stages: according to the constituency and according to the Unified National Constituency. After counting the votes received by each party list and the total number of votes in the district, the district electoral quota is derived using the formula: Q = X: (Y + 2) - (possible remainders when dividing are not taken into account). Each list is given as many mandates as the number of times the electoral quota falls within the electoral figure of this list. The mandates that have not been replaced are not redistributed in the district, but are transferred to the Unified National District and distributed according to the national quota.

But not all party members (the lists will be admitted to the second stage, but only those who got at least one deputy in a separate constituency (i.e., scored a number of votes equal to at least one quota) or scored at least 300,000 in the country as a whole The remaining unused votes in all constituencies received by the lists admitted to the secondary distribution of mandates are summed up and divided by the number of undistributed mandates - the result is the nationwide electoral quota. allocated to each list.

But the question arises: in which constituencies will the received mandates go? After all, a party that has received an additional 2-3 mandates in the Unified National District may have a "surplus" of votes in 5-6 districts. To do this, in each constituency, a table is drawn up of the remaining unused votes in it, which are expressed as a percentage of the district quota and are arranged in descending order. The mandates allotted to the list are distributed in the districts in accordance with the table. If in the constituency all the candidates of the list that received additional mandates have already been elected, these mandates are transferred to another constituency in accordance with the table.

The above example of Italy's electoral practice demonstrates the clearest mechanism for the functioning of a full proportional system, but at the same time shows the effect of one of the most common ways of distorting proportional systems - the "protective barrier" ("protective clause"). In countries where a "barrier" is in place, parties are not allowed to distribute mandates whose lists received fewer votes nationwide or in a district than prescribed by law. The requirement for a minimum number of votes can be expressed both as a percentage and as a number. The restriction can be applied both at the first stage and at the stage of the secondary distribution of mandates. So, in Germany there is a 5% barrier, in Egypt - 8%, in Turkey -10%. In Sweden, in order to participate in the distribution of mandates, a party must receive at least 4% of the national vote or 12% in an electoral district; only lists that have overcome the 12% barrier participate in the secondary distribution. In Italy, parties with less than 300,000 votes in the country are not allowed to distribute residual seats, in Austria - those that have not received a single direct mandate in the first stage.

In Russia, at the elections of deputies to the State Duma in the unified federal district, the operation of the protective barrier begins with the initial distribution of mandates - from the moment the electoral quota (electoral private) is calculated. When determining the electoral private, with the help of which the mandates will be distributed among the lists of candidates, the Central Election Commission calculates the sum of the votes of voters cast in the federal electoral district only for those lists of candidates of electoral associations, electoral blocs that received at least 5% of the votes of voters who took part in the voting, and divides the amount of votes received by 225 (the number of seats distributed over the given federal district). Then the number of votes received by each list is divided by the electoral quotient received, and the seats not distributed in this way (if any) are transferred one by one to those lists of candidates that have the largest remainder (i.e., according to the largest remainder method).

A method of distorting the purity of proportionality can be considered as allowed in some countries blocking, or joining lists. At any stage of the elections, parties can combine their lists, then the votes cast for each of these lists are summed up and considered as given for one list. The combined list participates in the distribution of mandates, and the received mandates are redistributed within the block according to the maximum average rule. Such a system was widely practiced in the parliamentary elections in France in the 1950s.

Since the proportional electoral system operates in multi-member districts, and parties and other organizations nominate not individual candidates, but entire lists (as a rule, including as many candidates as there are seats allocated to the district), the issue of distribution of mandates within the lists is of no small importance.

There are various options here.

With the system "hard" lists problems with the distribution of mandates, as a rule, do not arise. Candidates on the list are not arranged in alphabetical order and not randomly, but depending on the "weight" of the candidate, his position in the party. When voting for the list as a whole, voters do not express their attitude towards individual candidates. The mandates won by the list are given to candidates in accordance with the order in which they appear on the list.

A different procedure for the distribution of mandates under the system "flexible" lists: voting for the list as a whole, the voter indicates the candidate he prefers. Accordingly, the candidate with the highest number of preference marks will receive the mandate.

The system of preferential voting is more complex: the voter does not just vote for the list, but puts preferences on the ballot for candidates 1, 2, 3 ..., thereby indicating in what sequence the election of candidates is most desirable for him. Such a system is used, in particular, in Italy in elections to the Chamber of Deputies: a voter can express preferences only to candidates of the list for which he votes; the number of preferences is three if up to 15 deputies are elected, and four if 16 or more deputies are elected. On the basis of the expressed preferences, an individual figure for each candidate is determined, and a table of candidates for each list is compiled in accordance with the individual figures. In case of equality of individual numbers, the order of the candidate in the electoral list is taken into account.

For each mandated list, the candidate with the highest individual number is considered elected.

From the point of view of the mechanism of distribution of mandates within the lists, the system of transferable votes is very complicated (it operates in Ireland, Australia, Malta). Not only the first, but also the second and third preferences are taken into account. In addition, under this system, as a rule, panache ballots are used, that is, candidates from different parties pass through one list. Thus, the voter is given the opportunity to simultaneously vote for the party and for a specific candidate. eight

It seems that all of the above gives a general idea of ​​the essence of the proportional electoral system and the various options for its application.

Undoubtedly, in a multi-party system, the proportional system is more democratic than the majority system, and therefore more appropriate, based on at least two points:

Firstly, the proportional system does not give such a number of unaccounted for votes of voters, it maximally equalizes the share of mandates;

Secondly, it gives a more adequate picture of the political situation in the country at the time of the elections, the real alignment of forces of political parties and other organizations. The proportional system makes it possible for all political organizations with the support of voters to place their deputies in representative institutions, thereby ensuring that the opinions of various segments of the population are taken into account in decision-making.

However, it should be borne in mind that the democracy inherent in the proportional system can be significantly reduced. Thus, the establishment of a large electoral quota in the district can ensure the victory of larger parties in advance, depriving, in fact, small parties of the chance to receive mandates. In this case, a large electoral quota acts as a "barrier".

The practice of forming small polynomial constituencies, from which a small number of deputies are elected, can also be directed against small parties. Thus, the number of parties actually fighting for mandates is limited to a small number of these mandates. And again, the big parties are in a winning position.

Therefore, the maximum use of the democratic potential of the proportional system is possible only with the maximum enlargement of constituencies and the choice of the optimal system for determining proportionality in the distribution of mandates.

Recognizing the advantages of proportional systems over majoritarian ones, one cannot but pay attention to one more important point. The most democratically proportional system operates under the conditions of the established, well-established multi-party system. The entire election procedure is oriented towards a multi-party system, in particular, the parties have a monopoly on the nomination of candidates. Therefore, in countries where only the formation of a multi-party system is taking place, it may be more appropriate to use mixed electoral systems.

proportional electoral system- one of the varieties of electoral systems used in elections to representative bodies. When elections are held under the proportional system, deputy mandates are distributed among the lists of candidates in proportion to the votes cast for the lists of candidates, if these candidates have overcome the percentage barrier.

The advantages of a proportional electoral system are considered to be approximately equal representation of political forces in a representative body, depending on popularity with voters and the ability of the minority to have their representatives in parliament, the disadvantages are the partial loss of communication between deputies and voters and with specific regions.

A proportional electoral system combined with a majoritarian electoral system forms a mixed electoral system.

The proportional electoral system was formed in the 19th century with the advent of the system of political parties. Probably, the system received its first scientific justification in the book of the follower of the utopian socialist Charles Fourier, a member of the First International Victor Consideran (fr. Victor Considérant), published in 1892. Practical implementation has become the business of mathematicians and therefore different versions of the system bear their names. Belgium became the first state to adopt a proportional electoral system in 1899.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ Electoral systems. What is an electoral district? Proportional, mixed, majoritarian.

✪ Social Studies USE 2017. Elections Types of electoral systems

✪ Electoral system. Preparation for the exam in social studies (Politics)

✪ #Electoral systems USE | Part 1| Preparation for the exam in society 2018...

✪ Electoral systems: everything you need to know in the exam

Subtitles

Various systems of proportional representation

There are various methods of implementing proportional representation that either achieve greater proportionality or give a greater degree of certainty to the election result.

Party lists in multi-member constituencies

Each of the parties participating in the elections places its candidates on the party list in order of preference.

With a "closed list" voters vote for a party list rather than an individual candidate. Each party receives a number of seats proportional to the votes received. These places are taken by party representatives in the order they appear on the party list. This system is used in elections to the European Parliament in all countries of the European Union. This system is also used in Israel, where the entire country is one constituency with one "closed list". An electoral system with proportional representation and "closed" party lists is used in South Africa.

Party-list election system with additional single-member constituencies

This electoral system combines two systems - proportional representation and single-member constituencies. Such a "hybrid" system has certain advantages in countries with large populations, as it allows for a balance between local or national interests. This "mixed system" is also used in countries where the population is heterogeneous and lives in a variety of geographical, social, cultural and economic conditions. This system is used in Bolivia, Germany, Lesotho, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK [ ] and in elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Legislative Assembly. Until 2007, this system was also used in the Russian Federation.

One "transferable" vote for multiple candidates in multi-member constituencies

This method of proportional representation uses a voter "preference" system. Each voter votes for two or more candidates. As a result, more candidates are elected than there are vacancies. To win under such a system, a successful candidate must reach a minimum quota of votes. This quota is determined by dividing the total number of votes cast by the number of vacant seats plus one seat. For example, if there are nine vacant seats, then all the votes cast are divided by ten (9+1), and the candidates with this minimum of votes fill the vacancies. In practice, only in a few cases the distribution of vacancies takes place after the first count of votes.

In the second vote count, votes cast for candidates in excess of the minimum quota are automatically "transferred" to other elected candidates, and they thus receive the necessary quota of votes to fill the vacancy. In another way of counting, the votes cast for the least voted candidates are "transferred" to the candidate who comes first in terms of the number of votes cast among the candidates who did not receive the quota, and thus he receives the necessary quota.

This counting process continues until all available vacancies have been filled. Although this process of counting the votes and determining the winners of an election is relatively complex, most voters find at least one of their candidates actually elected. This system is used in Australia for elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives of Tasmania and the Australian Capital District and elections to the Legislative Councils of the states of New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. It is also used in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Malta for local government elections, as well as in selected constituencies in New Zealand.

Advantages and disadvantages of the proportional system

Advantages

• The proportional representation system allows each political party to win a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes. That is why this system may seem fairer than the majority system.
• If the quota is low enough, then small parties also get seats.
• The most diverse groups of voters can provide seats for their representatives, and therefore the result of the elections is considered fair by the population.
• Under this system, voters are more likely to vote for candidates closer to their own position than for candidates who are more likely to be elected.
• The open-list proportional representation system allows voters to choose both a candidate and a political party, and thus reduces the influence of parties on the personal composition of their representatives in parliament.
• In this system, representatives of criminal structures or shadow businesses are less likely to get into parliament, which are able to ensure victory in elections in the regions by not quite legal methods.

disadvantages

• With closed lists, it is possible to use “locomotive technology”, when popular personalities are placed at the head of the electoral list, who then renounce their mandates, as a result of which unknown persons from the end of the list (“cars”) get into parliament.
• Under a parliamentary republic (and also, as a rule, under a constitutional monarchy), the government is formed by the party that prevails in parliament. With a proportional electoral system larger than a majoritarian one, it is likely that neither party will have an absolute majority and a coalition government will need to be formed. A coalition government, if it is made up of ideological opponents, will be unstable and will be unable to carry out any major reforms.
• In regions where there are many heterogeneous constituencies, a large number of small parties may emerge and thus make it difficult to build a workable coalition. However, the use of electoral quotas can reduce this problem.

The focus of political life in a democratic society will be elections.
On the one hand, they provide an opportunity for people with political ambitions and organizational skills to be elected to government bodies, and on the other hand, they involve the general public in political life and allow ordinary citizens to influence political decisions.

electoral system in a broad sense, they call the system of social relations associated with the formation of elected bodies of power.

The electoral system contains two main elements:

• theoretical (suffrage);
• practical (selective process)

Suffrage— ϶ᴛᴏ the right of citizens to directly participate in the formation of elected institutions of power, i.е. elect and be elected. Electoral law is also understood as the legal norms governing the procedure for granting citizens the right to participate in elections and the method of forming government bodies.
It should be noted that the foundations of modern Russian electoral law are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Electoral process- ϶ᴛᴏ a set of measures for the preparation and conduct of elections. It is worth noting that it contains, on the one hand, the election campaigns of candidates, and on the other hand, the work of election commissions to form an elected body of power.

The electoral process has the following components:

• appointment of elections;
• organization of electoral districts, districts, sections;
• formation of election commissions;
• voter registration;
• nomination and registration of candidates;
• preparation of ballots and absentee ballots;
• election campaign; about holding a vote;
• counting of votes and determination of voting results.

Principles of Democratic Elections

In order to ensure the fairness and effectiveness of the electoral system, the procedure for conducting elections must be democratic.

Democratic principles of organizing and conducting elections are as follows:

• universality - all adult citizens have the right to participate in elections, regardless of their gender, race, nationality, religion, property status, etc.;
• equality of votes of citizens: each voter has one vote;
• direct and secret ballot;
• availability of alternative candidates, competitiveness of elections;
• publicity of the elections;
• truthful information of voters;
• lack of administrative, economic and political pressure;
• equality of opportunity for political parties and candidates;
• voluntariness of participation in elections;
• legal response to any cases of violation of the electoral law;
• frequency and regularity of elections.

Features of the electoral system of the Russian Federation

In the Russian Federation, the established electoral system regulates the procedure for holding elections for the head of state, deputies of the State Duma and regional authorities.

Candidate for the post President of the Russian Federation may be a citizen of Russia at least 35 years old, living in Russia for at least 10 years. A candidate cannot be a person who has a foreign citizenship or has a visible residence, an unexpunged and outstanding conviction. It is important to note that the same person cannot hold the office of the President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms. The President is elected for six years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Presidential elections are held on a majoritarian basis. The President is considered elected if in the first round of voting for one of the candidates the majority of voters who took part in the voting voted. If this does not happen, a second round is appointed, in which the two candidates who received the largest number of votes in the first round participate, and the one who received more votes of the voters who took part in the voting than the other registered candidate wins.

Deputy of the State Duma a citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of 21 and has the right to participate in elections has been elected. 450 deputies are elected to the State Duma from party lists on a proportional basis. It is worth saying that in order to overcome the electoral threshold and receive mandates, a party must gain a certain percentage of votes. The term of office of the State Duma is five years.

Citizens of Russia also participate in elections to state bodies and elected positions in subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. the system of regional state authorities is established by the subjects of the Federation independently in accordance with the basics of the constitutional order and the current legislation. The law establishes special days for voting in elections to state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation and local governments - the second Sunday in March and the second Sunday in October.

Types of electoral systems

The electoral system in the narrow sense refers to the procedure for determining the results of voting, which depends mainly on the principle vote counting.

According to ϶ᴛᴏ, there are three main types of electoral systems:

• majoritarian;
• proportional;
• mixed.

Majoritarian electoral system

In conditions majoritarian system (from fr. majorite - majority) wins the candidate who received the majority of votes. It is important to know that the majority can be absolute (if the candidate received more than half of the votes) and relative (if one candidate received more votes than the other). The disadvantage of the majoritarian system is that it can reduce the chances of small parties to gain representation in government.

The majoritarian system means that in order to be elected, a candidate or party must receive a majority of the votes of the voters of the district or the whole country, while those who have collected a minority of votes do not receive mandates. Majority electoral systems are divided into absolute majority systems, which can be used more often in presidential elections and under which the winner must receive more than half of the votes (minimum 50% of the votes plus one vote), and relative majority systems (Great Britain, Canada, USA, France, Japan, etc.), when it is extremely important for victory to get ahead of other contenders. When applying the absolute majority principle, if no candidate receives more than half of the votes, a second round of elections is held, in which two candidates who receive the largest number of votes are presented (sometimes all candidates who receive more than the established minimum number of votes in the first round are admitted to the second round )

proportional electoral system

proportional The electoral system involves the voting of voters according to party lists. After the election, each of the parties receives a number of mandates proportional to the percentage of votes received (for example, a party that receives 25% of the votes gets 1/4 of the seats) In parliamentary elections, it is usually set percentage barrier(electoral threshold), which party needs to overcome in order to get ϲʙᴏ their candidates into parliament; as a result, small parties that do not have broad social support do not receive mandates. The votes for the parties that did not overcome the threshold are distributed among the parties that won the elections. A proportional system is possible only in multi-mandate constituencies, i.e. where several deputies are elected and the voter votes for each of them personally.

The essence of the proportional system is the distribution of mandates in proportion to the number of votes received by parties or electoral coalitions. The main advantage of the ϶ᴛᴏ system is the representation of parties in elected bodies in ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ and their real popularity among voters, which makes it possible to better express the interests of all groups of society, to intensify the participation of citizens in elections and politics in general. It is worth saying that in order to overcome the excessive party fragmentation of the composition of the parliament, to limit the possibility of representatives of radical or even extremist forces penetrating into it, many countries use protective barriers, or thresholds that establish the minimum number of votes necessary to obtain deputy mandates. Usually it ranges from 2 (Denmark) to 5% (Germany) of all votes cast. Parties that do not collect the required minimum of votes do not receive a single mandate.

Comparative analysis of proportional and electoral systems

Majority an electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes wins contributes to the formation of bipartism or a "bloc" party system, while proportional, with which the party, which has the support of only 2 - 3% of voters, can get ϲʙᴏ their candidates into parliament, reinforces the fragmentation and fragmentation of political forces, the preservation of many small parties, incl. extremist kind.

Bipartism assumes the presence of two large, approximately equal in influence political parties, which alternately replace each other in power by winning a majority of seats in parliament, elected by direct universal suffrage.

Mixed electoral system

Today, many countries use mixed systems that combine elements of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. Thus, in Germany, one half of the deputies of the Bundestag are elected according to the majoritarian system of relative majority, the second - according to the proportional system. A similar system was used in Russia in the elections to the State Duma in 1993 and 1995.

mixed the system involves a combination of majoritarian and proportional systems; for example, one part of the parliament is elected by the majority system, and the second - by the proportional system; with ϶ᴛᴏm, the voter receives two ballots and casts one vote for the party list, and the second for a specific candidate elected on a majoritarian basis.

In recent decades, some organizations (UN, Green parties, etc.) use consensual electoral system. It is worth noting that it has a positive orientation, that is, it is not focused on criticizing the enemy, but on finding the most acceptable candidate or electoral platform for everyone. In practice, ϶ᴛᴏ is expressed in the fact that the voter votes not for one, but for all (necessarily more than two) candidates and ranks their list in order of their own preferences. Five points are given for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth, and one for fifth. After voting, the points received are summed up, and the winner is determined by their number.