Electoral systems and electoral outcomes : a comparative study

Abstract

This is a thesis about electoral systems. It is a subject not so often tackled by students reading a law degree. Even rarer has been the study of electoral systems in terms of their political consequences and their ultimate outcome. Since the subject was only too briefly tackled in the first year of the course, many students, including myself, have been very interested in increasing their knowledge of the way elections work in different countries. In this regard I can only argue for further time to be dedicated to studying such an ultimate key to democracy in a state. Only then can students start to appreciate the complex mechanisms carried out in ensuring the fulfilment of democracy. However, the study of electoral systems goes beyond merely how they function. Indeed, I have seen fit to analyse what causes them not only to be successful but also to be perceived as such by the electorate. For what might be seen as being fair or even necessary for the country by the voters themselves might not be concurred with by voters in another country in which the same electoral system is used. In certain countries, particuiariy those which have a tradition of single-party governments, political parties have been formed and developed in such a way as to be the sole players which can manipulate the electoral system to their advantage. However I shall seek to prove that countries which have traditionally had two party systems, might not be susceptible to the so many disadvantages attributed by proponents of the proportional representation vision. Thus the · intricate relationship between how proportional a system really is, with how it is perceived to result in governmental stability and efficiency or weak leadership will be examined. Consequently it will be argued that in actual fact, coalition governments in certain countries have proven to be stronger and more stable than in single-party governments. I also try to move away from the normal confines of similar studies. I spend a lot of time analysing Arend Lijphart and Douglas Rae' s empirical research which examines the causes and distorting influences of certain elements in the electoral system itself and also in the society, on the eventual electoral outcome. In my examination of the different electoral systems I seek to identify the advantages and disadvantages of those most widely used. Most notably, while I do not express a preference for one particular system, the merit or otherwise of electoral reform is analysed within the ambit of the implementation and arguable success of the single transferable vote system in Malta. In this thesis, I seek to address representative democracy not merely as a process, but also as an outcome in the broader political and legal spectrum of a country. In order to achieve this aim, I attempt to blend two types of methods of enquiry: the practical and the theoretical. I have thus consulted economists as well as political scientists and legal analysts and used their works as points of reference for my study.