First past the post tends to deliver the winning party more seats in parliament than they’d get under a truly proportional voting system – but this year is off the charts.
New Zealand’s proportional electoral system makes coalition governments all but inevitable. Ahead of the October 14 election, the jockeying for power is all on the right.
A referendum on changing New Zealand’s parliamentary term to four years would be the third such exercise in under 60 years. Why would the outcome be any different this time?
Referenda may well have a place in the country’s democracy, but if the form of an electoral system can be referred to a referendum, why not capital punishment, abortion or LGBT rights?
The whole idea behind independent candidates is the hope that their inclusion might improve the accountability of parliamentarians to the voters. The bill doesn’t do that.
The wave of protests across Canada against vaccine mandates are signs of growing tensions that the federal government doesn’t represent the views of many people. It’s time for election reform.
The ANC’s choice of parliamentary Speaker reflects poorly on the party leadership and contrasts starkly with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to uncorrupt governance.
The March elections in the Netherlands, and the fact that a government still hasn’t been formed, illustrate both the benefits and problems with proportional representation.