Proportional Representation

11.06.2024

Proportional Representation

 Why in the news?   

The ruling NDA has won 293 seats with a 43.3% vote share while the Opposition bloc INDIA has secured 234 seats with a 41.6% vote share. Other regional parties and independents polled around 15% but ended up with only 16 seats in total.

About Proportional Representation (PR) system

• It ensures representation of all parties based on their vote share.
• The most commonly used PR system is the ‘party list PR’ where voters vote for the party (and not individual candidates) and then the parties get seats in proportion to their vote share.

First Past the Post System

• India currently uses the First Past the Post (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins.
• The FPTP system is simple and provides stability to the executive, but it can lead to non representative governments.
• This is the system that is followed for elections in democracies like the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.
• The primary advantage of the FPTP system is that it is simple and the most feasible method in a large country like India.
• Secondly, FPTP provides greater stability to the executive in our parliamentary democracy because the ruling party/coalition can enjoy a majority in the Lok Sabha/Legislative assembly without obtaining a majority of the votes (more than 50%) across constituencies.

Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR)

• To balance stability and proportionate representation, the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system can be considered.
• Under MMPR, there is one candidate elected through FPTP from each territorial constituency, and additional seats are allocated to parties proportionally based on their vote share.

What are international practices?

• Presidential Democracies like Brazil and Argentina: Party list Proportional Representation (PR) system.
• Parliamentary democracies like South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain: Also use the party list PR system.
• Germany: Bundestag Structure

○Out of 598 seats, 299 seats (50%) are filled from constituencies under the First Past the Post (FPTP) system.

○The remaining 299 seats (50%) are allocated to parties that secure at least 5% of the votes, based on their vote share.

New Zealand: House of Representatives Structure

• Out of 120 seats, 60% are filled through the FPTP system from territorial constituencies.
• The remaining 40% are distributed among parties that secure at least 5% of the votes, based on their vote share.

                                                                        Source: The Hindu

Ques :- Consider the following statements:

Statement-I

The Proportional Representation (PR) system ensures representation of all parties based on their vote share.

Statement-II

First Past the Post (FPTP) refers to the system where the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.
3. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.
4. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer A