Majoritarian and proportional political systems. Electoral systems

Elections, as well as the quality of the provision of the electoral process to government bodies all over the world, are considered a test of a country for the level of democracy in society and government. The election process is not the same. The most popular are majoritarian and proportional electoral systems.

History of the electoral process

The need for the election of elders in a tribe or city arose already in antiquity. It is clear that the majority and proportional system at that time had not yet been invented by people. The selection process used to take place at general meetings of people. Some candidate was put forward for general discussion, and they voted for it by a show of hands. A special accountant counted the votes. When the votes for each candidate were counted separately, the results of the candidates were compared, and the winner was announced.

In some tribes, such as the Indians, the voting was different. The members of the tribe were given small pebbles. If a person votes for a certain person, then he puts a stone in a certain place. Then the "counting of votes" also takes place.

The main electoral systems of modern times

In the process of development of legal thought and the experience of holding the first elections, three main electoral types arose: majoritarian, proportional, and also proportional-majoritarian electoral system. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so no one can definitely say which is better and which is worse.

Criteria for characteristics of electoral systems

The system according to which the elections of deputies to councils of different levels take place is not a "holy dogma", but only one of the ways to choose the most worthy people to protect the interests of the society of a certain territory. In the process of conducting the first electoral processes, criteria were developed by which electoral systems differ from each other. So:

• in different systems the possibility of a different number of winners;
• constituencies are formed differently;
• the process of forming the list of candidates for deputies differs.

The majoritarian and proportional electoral systems are arranged in such a way that they can be used in parallel. In many countries, this is how elections are held.

General characteristics of the majoritarian electoral system

The majoritarian system of elections implies the ability to vote for candidates - individuals. This type of electoral system can be used in parliamentary, local and presidential elections. Depending on how many votes the winner must get, there are the following types of system:

• qualified majority system;
• majority system of relative majority;
• absolute majority system.

The features of each type of the majority system will be considered in the article.

What is relative majority?

So, parliamentary elections are held according to the majoritarian system. The law on the election of deputies determines that the candidate who receives a greater percentage of votes than other candidates wins. Elections of mayors in Ukraine are held in a similar way. The number of candidates who can take part in the elections is not limited. For example, 21 candidates take part in the mayoral elections in Kyiv. A candidate with 10% of the votes can even win under such a system. The most important thing is that the other candidates get fewer votes than the winner.

The majoritarian election system (a subspecies - the relative system) has both advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages are the following:

• no need to hold a second round of elections;
• budgetary savings;
• the winner is not required to collect a large number of votes.

The majority relative system has disadvantages:

• in some cases, the results of elections do not reflect the will of the majority of the people, because the winner may have many more opponents than supporters;
• election results are easy to challenge in court.

It should be noted that in the countries of Britain, with any number of voters who voted, the elections are recognized as valid. In most other European countries elections may be declared invalid if the number of voters who participated in the voting is less than a certain threshold (for example, 25%, 30%).

Absolute majority system

Such a system is used today in most countries in the election of the President. Its essence is very simple, because the winner for an official victory in the electoral race must gain 50% plus one vote. The absolute majority system implies the possibility of holding a second round of voting, because in the first round the candidate who takes first place rarely gains the required number of votes. The exception to the rule was the last presidential elections in Russia and Ukraine. Recall that Vladimir Putin won more than 80% of the votes of Russians in the first round of elections. In the presidential elections in Ukraine, which took place on May 25, 2014, Petro Poroshenko won 54% of the vote. The absolute majority system is very popular in the world today.

When the first round fails to determine the winner, a second vote is scheduled. The second round is usually held 2-3 weeks after the first. The candidates who took the first and second places according to the results of the first voting take part in the voting. The second round usually ends with one of the candidates gaining more than 50% of the votes.

Advantages of the absolute majority system:

• the result of voting reflects the will of the majority of voters;
• people come to power who enjoy great prestige in society.

The only drawback of such a system is that holding the second round doubles the cost of elections and, accordingly, the costs of the state budget of the country.

Qualified majority system: how is it different from an absolute system?

Some countries use a supermajority system. What is its essence? The electoral law establishes a certain percentage of votes upon receipt of which the candidate is considered elected. Such a system in last years used in Italy, Costa Rica, Azerbaijan. The characteristic feature of the system is that different countries qualified barrier is different. In order to become the head of state of Costa Rica, one must gain 40% of the vote in the first round. In Italy, senatorial candidates had to win 65% of the vote until 1993. Azerbaijani laws set the barrier at 2/3 of the number of voters who voted.

This is a very difficult system to understand. Lawyers note that the advantage of such a system is the absolute confidence of voters in the winner. There are a lot of shortcomings. For example, voting may not even be limited to the second round, so the budget must spend a lot of money. In conditions of financial crises, huge spending on elections, even in the conditions of European democracies, is unacceptable.

Non-transferring voice system

If we understand legal science in great detail, then we will find two types of majority system that are used extremely rarely. These are the non-transferable vote system and the cumulative vote system. Let's take a look at the features of these systems.

When using the non-rolling vote system, multi-member constituencies are created, which is typical for proportional systems s, which will be discussed next. Candidates for deputies are nominated by parties in the form of open party lists. Voters vote for a specific candidate from one list. You cannot vote for people who are included in other party lists. In fact, we see an element of connection between the relative majority system and the party list voting system.

What is a cumulative vote?

The cumulative vote system is the ability of a voter to cast multiple votes. The voter has the following options:

• votes are given for representatives of one party list (you can vote for one candidate for deputy);
• the voter distributes several votes without taking into account the party principle, that is, he votes based on personal qualities candidates.

Proportional voting system

Majoritarian and proportional systems differ significantly from each other. If in the majoritarian system voting goes for people, that is, individuals, then in the proportional system, people vote for party lists.

How are party lists formed? A party wishing to take part in the election of deputies holds a general congress or a congress of an organization lower level(Depending on which level of council elections are held). At the congress, a list of deputies is formed with the assignment of serial numbers to them. For approval, the party organization submits the list to the district or central election commission. After agreeing on the list, the commission assigns a number to the party on the ballot by drawing lots.

What is the difference between open and closed lists?

There are two types of proportional voting: open and closed lists. We will analyze each type separately. So, a proportional system with closed lists provides an opportunity for the voter to vote for the list of the party that he supports on ideological principles. At the same time, candidates whom the voter does not want to see in the composition of the council may be in the passage part of the list. The voter cannot influence the decrease or increase in the order number of candidates in the party list. Often, when voting on closed lists, a person votes in support of party leaders.

Open lists are a more progressive kind of proportional system. Used in most European Union countries. Parties also draw up lists and approve them, but, unlike the previous version, voters have the opportunity to influence the position of candidates on the list. The fact is that when voting, the voter gets the opportunity not only to vote for the party, but also for a specific person from the list. The candidate who gets the most support from the citizens will rise the most in the list of his party.

How are seats distributed in parliament after elections under the proportional system? Suppose there are 100 seats in parliament. The threshold for parties is 3% of the votes. The winner got 21% of the votes, the 2nd place - 16% of the votes, then the parties got 8%, 6% and 4%. 100 mandates are proportionally divided among the representatives of these parties.

Clearly, party-list elections are a more democratic method of voting. People have a direct opportunity to influence the outcome of elections. An important difference between the proportional system and the majority system is that people vote for an ideology, a system of views on the development of the state. An important disadvantage of the proportional system is considered to be that deputies elected on party lists are not tied to a specific constituency. They do not communicate with ordinary people living locally are unaware of their problems.

Mixed majority-proportional electoral system

We talked about two absolutely opposite electoral systems. But it turns out that they can be used in parallel. The proportional-majority system is used in many states in the post-Soviet space.

How does the system work? Let us illustrate by the example of elections to the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, 450 people's deputies are elected to the parliament. Half pass through the majority system, and half through the proportional system.

In countries with a heterogeneous population or a large gap between the rich and the poor, this is the most optimal electoral system. Firstly, parties are represented in parliament, there is an ideological basis for further development states. Secondly, the majoritarians keep in touch with the region that elected them to the Supreme Council. In their activities, the deputies will protect the interests of the region that has delegated them to the legislature.

The mixed system is currently used in countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, some countries in Asia, Africa and America.

Conclusion

During elections, world practice knows the use of three main systems: majoritarian and proportional electoral systems, as well as a mixed system. Each of the systems has its pros and cons, and the amount of negative and positive is approximately the same. There is no perfect electoral process.

An election campaign is a process unfolded over time, consisting of successive stages. Each of the stages, in turn, includes a set of specific electoral procedures and actions. The main stages of the election campaign:

• - appointment of elections;
• - nomination of candidates;
• - pre-election struggle;
• - voting;
• - determination of election results.

The appointment of elections must be held within a time frame that allows candidates and political parties to launch a full-fledged election campaign.

The meaning of the procedure for calling elections is to set the voting day. This day can be strictly fixed. But in most countries there is no such pre-determined date for elections, and therefore a special act is required to establish such a date.

The Constitution outlines the constitutional and legal formula for the relationship between democracy as a political form of organization state power and elections as an institution that provides one of the areas of direct participation of citizens in the management of state affairs: these are provisions related to the foundations of the constitutional system and relating to the political rights and freedoms of citizens, the state legal personality of society, according to which the only source of power in Russian Federation is a multinational people exercising its power directly, as well as through state authorities and local self-government bodies. Fundamental is the constitutional characterization of the institutions of referendum and elections as the highest and direct expression of the power of the people.

Election results, which determine winners and losers, largely depend on the type of electoral system.

There are two main types: majority and proportional.

Majoritarian system is a method of determining the results of voting, in which, in order to obtain a mandate, it is necessary to collect statutory majority vote. The main rule of this system is the "winner takes all" rule. Varieties of this system are the majority system of the relative majority and the majority system of the absolute majority. Under an absolute majority system, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast in the constituency (more than half or 50% of the votes) in order to be elected. However, its shortcomings are also significant: high non-representation (as a result, up to 49% of the votes can be lost) and the likelihood of holding several rounds of voting (if in the first round none of the candidates won an absolute majority of votes).

Under the majority system of relative majority, the candidate who received more votes than each of his opponents separately is considered elected. This system makes it possible to determine the winner already in the first round of voting, but often the candidate who receives a very small percentage of the vote and represents the interests of a clear minority of the electorate is elected. The majority system was established in England, the USA, France, and Japan.

A proportional electoral system is a way of determining the results of voting, which is based on the principle of distribution of seats in proportion to the number of votes received by each party. Under such a system, large constituencies are created, from each of which several deputies are elected. Often the entire country becomes the constituency. Elections are held only on a party basis: each party nominates its own list of candidates for vacant positions, and the voter does not vote for a separate person, but for this or that party list as a whole. Within the list, mandates are distributed according to the order in which the candidates are placed on the list. Under such a system, it is impossible to nominate a so-called independent candidate, ie. in order to be elected, you need to be on the list.

Majoritarian and proportional systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

Among the advantages of the majoritarian electoral system is that it contains the possibility of forming an effective and stable government. This is achieved by distributing mandates among large, well-organized parties, which, on the basis of the majority, form one-party governments. This system also encourages smaller parties to form blocs or coalitions before elections even begin. Practice shows that the authorities created on this basis are stable and capable of pursuing a firm state policy. Under a majoritarian electoral system, the population votes for specific deputies. As a result, there are strong stable ties between deputies and voters.

At the same time, the majoritarian electoral system also contains a number of significant shortcomings. This system largely distorts the real picture of preferences and thus does not reflect the will of the voters. Under this system, for the distribution of parliamentary mandates, most often only the fact that a candidate receives a relative majority of votes matters. The votes given to all other candidates are not taken into account in the distribution of mandates and in this sense disappear. There is a fairly large opportunity to manipulate the will of voters through "slicing constituencies." Knowing the preferences of voters, it is possible to manipulate the geography of constituencies

Thus, the majoritarian electoral system creates the possibility of forming a government based on the majority in parliament, but not supported by the majority of the population. It severely restricts access to parliament for minority representatives, including small parties. As a result, the majoritarian electoral system can weaken the legitimacy of power, cause citizens to distrust the political system, and passivity in elections.

The proportional electoral system largely eliminates the apparent discrepancy between the number of votes cast for a party and the number of seats it receives. Thus, the proportional electoral system most adequately reflects the political will of the population. The advantages of the proportional electoral system include the fact that in the bodies of power formed with its help a real picture of the alignment of political forces is presented. It creates an opportunity for national, religious minorities and other social strata that form small parties to be represented in government. Thus, the proportional electoral system provides feedback between the state and civil society organizations, contributes to the legitimization of power, activates the participation of the population in elections.

The disadvantages of the proportional electoral system include the relatively less stable government. The broad representation of various political forces in parliament, which is characteristic of this system, very often does not allow any party to form a one-party government and encourages the formation of coalitions.

Since under a proportional electoral system voting is carried out not for specific candidates, but for lists of parties and associations, the direct connection between deputies and voters is very weak. This circumstance also contributes to greater dependence of deputies on their parties than on voters. Such lack of freedom can adversely affect the process of passing important laws, the deputy more often votes in the interests of the party and its leaders than for his constituents.

In different countries using the proportional system, this “threshold” varies. So in Israel it is 1%, in Denmark - 2%, in Ukraine - 3%, in Italy, Hungary - 4%, in Germany, Russia - 5%, in Georgia - 7%, in Turkey - 10%.

In a number of countries, in order to combine the positive aspects of various systems and minimize their shortcomings, electoral systems are being created. mixed type. In which, in one way or another, elements of the majority and proportional systems are combined. The practical implementation of the mixed electoral system in the voting process is that each voter receives two ballots. Accordingly, he has two votes: with one he votes for a specific candidate running in this constituency, with the other - for a political party, an association.

The essence of the mixed electoral system lies in the fact that some of the deputies to the same representative body of power are elected by the majority system, and the other part - by the proportional system. At the same time, the creation of majoritarian electoral districts (most often single-member, less often multi-member) and electoral districts (with a proportional system with multi-member districts) or a single nationwide multi-member electoral district for voting on party lists of candidates is expected. Accordingly, the voter acquires the right to simultaneously vote for a candidate (candidates) running in the majoritarian district on a personal basis and for a political party (list of candidates from a political party). In reality, during the voting procedure, the voter receives at least two ballots: one for voting for a specific candidate in the majoritarian district, the other for voting for a party.

Consequently, a mixed electoral system is a system for the formation of representative bodies of power, in which part of the deputies is elected on a personal basis in majoritarian districts, and the other part is elected on a party basis according to the proportional principle of representation.

Mixed electoral systems are usually distinguished by the nature of the relationship between the elements of the majoritarian and proportional systems used in them. On this basis, two types of mixed systems are distinguished:

• * a mixed unbound electoral system, in which the distribution of mandates by the majoritarian system does not depend in any way on the results of elections by the proportional system (the above examples are just examples of a mixed unbound electoral system);
• * mixed tie-in electoral system, in which the distribution of seats by majoritarian system depends on the results of elections by proportional system. In this case, the candidates in the majoritarian districts are nominated by the political parties participating in the elections under the proportional system. The mandates received by the parties in the majoritarian districts are distributed depending on the results of the elections according to the proportional system.

1.5.3. Electoral systems: majoritarian, proportional, mixed.

The electoral system is the procedure for organizing and holding elections to representative institutions or an individual leading representative (for example, the president of the country), enshrined in legal norms, as well as in the established practice of state and public organizations.

There are parliamentary, presidential, regional (in the subjects of the federation), municipal elections, elections of judges, some officials (coroners in the USA). In modern democracies, elections are usually universal, equal, direct with secret ballot. Only in the United States are elections indirect (multi-stage), since voters vote for electors - representatives of a political party, and the latter directly elect the president. Specific shape electoral activity is a referendum - a special type of popular vote, the object of which is an important state issue or a bill (constitution). In rare cases, a specific person becomes the object of a referendum - a candidate for the presidency (Arab Republic of Egypt).

There are two main types of electoral systems: majoritarian (alternative) and proportional (representative).

Under a majoritarian system, in order to be elected, a candidate or party must receive a majority of the votes cast in the constituency or the entire country. Parties that collect a minority of votes do not receive any mandates. The majority system of absolute majority is more often used in presidential elections, where the winner must receive more than half of the votes (minimum 50% plus one vote). If no candidate receives more than half of the votes, a second round of elections is held, in which only two candidates who receive largest number votes (sometimes all candidates who received more votes in the first round than the established minimum are admitted to the second round). With a relative majority system (USA, Great Britain, Canada, France, Japan, etc.), it is enough to win at least a little ahead of other contenders.

The advantage of the majoritarian system is the relative ease of forming a government and its stability, since parliamentary mandates are distributed mainly among the major winning parties. Small parties are eliminated. As a rule, stable ties are formed between voters and deputies who are counting on their re-election in specific constituencies. At the same time, the majoritarian electoral system significantly distorts the picture of preferences and the will of voters. The party with the weakest voter support sometimes wins over the party that wins the majority of the vote nationwide by winning in constituencies with fewer voters. Much depends on the division of electoral districts. By restricting access to the deputy corps of small parties, the majoritarian system can weaken the legitimacy of power.

The proportional electoral system consists in the distribution of mandates in proportion to the votes received by parties or electoral coalitions, which allows the interests of all groups of society to be represented. Diverse parties are often forced to enter into temporary coalitions, which break up when contradictions aggravate and create government crises. The policy of the government, formed on the basis of an inter-party coalition, is characterized by uncertainty and inconsistency. For greater stability of party coalitions, a number of electoral systems use protective barriers that establish the minimum number of votes necessary to obtain deputy mandates. It usually makes up three to five percent of all votes cast. In Russia since 2007 - 7 percent. Parties that do not overcome the barrier lose the right to be represented in parliament. The voter votes for the party list. There are three main types of voting lists: hard lists, when they vote for the party as a whole and candidates receive mandates in the order in which they are presented in the party lists; semi-rigid - in this case, the candidate heading the party list necessarily receives a mandate, while the distribution of the remaining mandates received by the party is carried out depending on the votes (preferences) received by the candidate; free - the distribution of all deputy seats takes place in accordance with the preferences of voters.

There are various modifications of both majoritarian and especially proportional systems. Many countries, seeking to maximize the advantages of each of them and mitigate their shortcomings, apply mixed systems, combining elements of the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. Thus, in Germany, one half of the deputies of the Bundestag is elected according to the majoritarian system of relative majority, the second half - according to the proportional system. A similar electoral system was used in Russia in the elections to State Duma in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003 In recent decades, some organizations (UN, Green parties, etc.) have been using a consensus system of elections. It has a positive orientation, i.e. is focused not on criticizing the enemy, but on finding the most acceptable candidate or electoral platform for all. In practice, this 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. So, for example, if there are 5 candidates for the presidency, then the voter determines the place of each of them. For the 1st place 5 points are given, for the 2nd - 4, for the 3rd - 3, for the 4th - 2, for the 5th - 1 point. After voting, the points received are summed up and the winner is determined by their number.

Orienting the subjects of politics to a certain order of struggle for power, various electoral systems directly determine the type of party systems and election campaigns. Laws can also influence the nature of party systems, for example, by restricting the activity of a few parties, by preventing the admission of opposition parties of a certain orientation to elections, by allowing violent actions against illegal party associations. Where electoral systems operate majority type(determining one winner from the majority of the votes received), as a rule, two-party systems or systems with one dominant party are formed. Proportional electoral systems, on the other hand, give chances for representation in government more political forces, initiate the creation of multi-party systems and party coalitions, facilitate the emergence of new parties.

Leader, etc. unacceptable, it will only push away from the politician most of people. 2. PR and election campaigns Election campaign - a system of promotional events held by political parties and independent candidates in order to ensure the maximum support of voters in the upcoming elections. An election campaign is a complex and multifaceted concept that can be...

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The concept of the electoral system and its components

The electoral system is an indispensable element modern civilization, an element of any democracy, which cannot exist at all without authorized representation, which ensures the real participation of the population in managing the affairs of society and the state. Such representation, in turn, can be democratic only if it is formed by society itself, by the people themselves. Representative democracy alone does not solve all the problems of democracy. Only in combination with direct democracy does it ensure the civilized development of society, creates the necessary conditions self-realization of the people. I.s. is the most important form of direct democracy, the main function of which is the formation of authorized people's representation. The nature of the electoral system directly determines the main characteristics of the representative system. Elections are not only important form direct participation of the population in the exercise of state power, not only the act of electing representatives of the people to the organs of state power. It is also a means of his education and self-organization. Finally, this is a practical implementation suffrage citizens, effective remedy restructuring of modern society. Historical experience strongly suggests that major changes public life in general and in its individual areas (and first of all - political) certainly concerned the electoral system, and in some cases its radical changes were brought to the fore. The current system meets the needs of the formation of Ukrainian statehood and, as such, needs radical changes and renewal. I.s. - a set of legal, organizational and other means of forming representative bodies of state power and exercising citizens of their electoral rights. Institute I.S. found its legislative expression in the Constitution of Ukraine, laws on elections to the Councils of People's Deputies of different Lanes, on the procedure for recalling deputies people's councils. I.s. is based on such constitutional principles as general, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, nomination of candidates by public organizations, labor collectives, meetings of military personnel; free and comprehensive discussion of the qualities of a candidate for deputy; election campaigning; holding elections at the expense of the state; ensuring elections by districts by election commissions; voters' orders; liability for violating election laws and the like. There are several types of I.S.: majoritarian system (majority system), proportional system of representation of political parties and mixed.

Electoral power - in some countries an officially recognized form of public power - along with the legislative, executive and judicial. It is carried out by the electoral corps of the country, that is, in special judicial or quasi-judicial bodies such as electoral tribunals that consider disputes related to the organization and conduct of elections. There is no such institution in Ukraine: their role is played by election commissions - from the precinct to the Central Election Commission and courts - from district to Supreme Court Ukraine.

Polling station - a territorial unit created for conducting voting and counting votes in elections to all districts of councils of people's deputies. Organization and work I. at. determined by the electoral law. So, for example, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine" dated November 17, 1993, for voting and counting votes in the elections of people's deputies of Ukraine, the territory of districts, cities, districts in cities that are part of electoral districts is divided into .at. I.u. are formed with the number of 20 to 3,000 voters, and in necessary cases with fewer or more voters.

Electoral deposit - sum of money, which, according to the legislation of a number of countries, including Ukraine, must be paid by a candidate for deputy during registration and which is returned to him only if the candidate receives at least five percent of the votes of the voters who took part in the voting in the elections. A non-refundable deposit will count toward the state budget. In Ukraine, I. z. is paid by a candidate for deputies in the amount of five minimum wages.

The Election Commission is a body formed to organize and conduct elections to the Councils of People's Deputies. In Ukraine, the system of election commissions includes the Central Election Commission for the election of people's deputies of Ukraine, district election commissions, precinct election commissions - for holding elections of people's deputies of Ukraine; regional, district, city, district in cities, settlement, rural election commissions; district and precinct election commissions - for holding elections of deputies of local councils. The Central Election Commission is formed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine upon the provision of the relevant bodies no later than 4 months before the elections, consisting of the chairman, secretary, and 11 members of the commission. Her term of office is 4 years. Regional, district, rural V.K. are formed by the relevant Council for a period of 4 years.

Constituency - a spatial (national-territorial) unit was formed for holding elections to the Councils of People's Deputies. Quantity depends on the composition of the respective Councils. Norms of representation and number determined by the electoral law. Yes, the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine interprets that 450 single-mandate constituencies are formed for the election of people's deputies of Ukraine. They are formed by the Central Electoral Commission on the provision of the respective Councils. From each V. about. one people's deputy is elected. But districts are formed with an approximately equal number of voters for all territories of Ukraine.

Suffrage has two meanings: 1) a set of legal norms that regulate the participation of citizens of Ukraine in the elections of representative bodies of power, the organization and conduct of elections, the relationship between voters, deputies and representative institutions; 2) the right of citizens to elect (active suffrage) and the right to be elected (passive non-suffrage). In other words, this subjective right citizens. V.p. - one of the most important institutions of the constitutional law of Ukraine. This is a set of constitutional and legal norms that regulate the procedure for organizing and holding elections, the conditions for the participation of citizens in the elections of representative bodies of power, the relationship between deputies and voters, the procedure for recalling a deputy by voters.

The electoral process in Ukraine is carried out on the following principles:

1) free and equal nomination of applicants and candidates;

2) publicity;

3) dispassion for candidates on the part of state bodies, institutions, organizations, bodies of local and regional self-government;

4) equality of opportunity for all candidates;

5) freedom of campaigning;

6) control over the sources of funding and expenses for the election campaign.

Electoral process - the procedure, procedure for organizing and conducting elections is established by law, one of the elements of the electoral system provides for certain stages, stages, non-observance of which can lead to undesirable consequences, up to the cassation of the election results. Components I.p. there are: 1) the appointment of elections, which can be on duty, extraordinary (early), repeated, and also instead of deputies who have left. 2) Formations of electoral districts and polling stations, the system of electoral commissions - the Central Election Commission, district and precinct electoral commissions. 3) Compilation of voter lists, which is carried out by precinct election commissions. 4) Nomination and registration of candidates for deputies, the right to which belongs to the subject directly defined by law. 5) Procedural actions related to ensuring guarantees for the activities of candidates for deputies and other participants in the electoral process. 6) Conducting voting. 7) Counting of votes and determining the results of elections (voting), moreover, during the counting of votes, the election commission must adhere to the sequence of actions specified by law, duly draw up the relevant documents. 8) However, the described procedure can be continued when there is a need to conduct a repeat voting of repeat elections and elections of deputies instead of those who have left.

Types of elections

Elections are an extremely multifaceted social phenomenon. As the German statesman G. Mayer noted, on a national scale, elections are the most massive process that knows the law.

Depending on the grounds, several classifications of types of elections can be distinguished.

On a territorial basis, elections are:

1) nationwide (national), which are carried out throughout the country: elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, elections of the President of Ukraine;

2) local (sometimes they are called local, communal, administrative): elections to representative bodies of local self-government (rural, township, city, district in cities, district, regional councils and village, township, city chairmen).

Beyond the object that provides for the bodies or offices to which the representatives of the people enter or are elected, elections can be classified as:

1) parliamentary elections - elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;

2) elections for the office of the President of Ukraine;

3) elections of a representative body of a territorial autonomy - elections of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

4) elections of representative bodies of self-government of city, rural, settlement, city, district in cities, district, regional councils;

5) elections for the positions of village, settlement, city chairmen.

By time, the elections are divided into:

1) attendants. Elections held during the expiration of the term of office (legislature) provided for by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine for the functioning a certain kind elected body or position;

2) extraordinary or early. Elections held in case of early termination of the term of office provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine for the functioning of a certain type of electoral body or position;

3) repeated. Elections that are held in cases where the elections in the constituency are declared invalid or have not taken place;

4) elections instead of deputies, chairmen (village, settlement, city councils) who dropped out. Elections held in single-mandate electoral districts in the event of the loss of a deputy mandate or early termination of the powers of a deputy or a village, settlement, city chairman on the grounds and in the manner prescribed by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine;

5) elections that are held in the event of the formation of a new administrative-territorial unit.

By quantitative attribute Voter participation elections are:

1) general, basic, when all voters of the state have the right to take part in them according to the law;

2) partial (additional), when the composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, local councils is replenished, in case of early departure of some deputies, or recognition of the elections as invalid.

Given the legal consequences, elections are divided into:

1) valid - these are elections held in accordance with the procedure determined by the Constitution of Ukraine and the relevant electoral law;

2) invalid - elections during which there were violations of the electoral legislation that affected the results of the elections.

Types of electoral systems

Electoral technology is a mechanism, a system of means and methods for organizing and conducting elections, the basis of the electoral system of any country.

Following the procedure for determining the results of elections, the following electoral systems are distinguished:

1) majoritarian;

2) proportional;

3) mixed.

Majoritarian system

The majoritarian system is the oldest among electoral systems. Its name comes from the French majorite, which means "majority". A majoritarian system is considered to be a system for determining the results of elections, thanks to which only those candidates who receive the majority of votes established by law receive deputy mandates (one or more) from the district, and all other candidates are considered unelected. 83 countries of the world apply the majority system, including the USA, France, Great Britain, Canada. Depending on how the majority of votes required to elect a candidate is determined, there are:

1) the majority system of an absolute majority; 2) majoritarian system of relative majority; 3) the majority system of a qualified majority.

When using the majoritarian system, constituencies are most often single-mandate. Less common is the variant of multi-member constituencies. In single-member constituencies, as a rule, people vote in person, in multi-member constituencies - both for certain persons and according to party lists. There are multi-member constituencies in Japan, the USA, Russia, and at the moment already in Ukraine.

The majority system of relative majority (or simple majority, or "first elected to office") is the simplest version of the majority system. Under the conditions of its implementation, a candidate who has received the largest number the votes of the electorate. This system is quite efficient. Under the conditions of the same number of votes received by two or more candidates, which is very rare, the legislation traditionally uses a lottery procedure. Under this system, voting takes place in one round. As a rule, there is no mandatory minimum participation of voters in voting.

The disadvantage of the relative majority majoritarian system is that it does not make it possible to take into account the interests of all voters of the district, because a candidate can be elected by an absolute minority of voters, although by their relative majority at the time of voting, under such conditions of the vote of voters who voted against the elected candidate, disappear. This system also effectively annuls medium and small parties. With the adoption of a new array of electoral legislation, a majoritarian system of relative majority is being introduced in Ukraine, partly in parliamentary, and completely in local elections. In accordance with Part. 2 Article. 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine", 225 deputies of parliament are elected in single-member constituencies on the basis of a relative majority. In accordance with Art. 2 of the Law of Ukraine "On elections of deputies of local councils and rural, settlement, city chairmen" elections of deputies of a village, township, city, district council in the city are held according to the majoritarian system of a relative majority in single-member constituencies, into which the entire territory of the corresponding village, township, city, region, city. According to Art. From this Law, the elections of a village, township, city chairman are held according to the majoritarian electoral system of relative majority in a single single-member constituency, the limits of which coincide with the boundaries of the village, town, city. Also in accordance with Art. 4 of this Law, elections of deputies of the district council are held according to the majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority in multi-member constituencies, the limits of which correspond to the limits of the respective villages, towns, cities of district significance, which are administrative-territorial units that are included in this district. Elections of deputies of the regional council are held according to the majoritarian electoral system of a relative majority in multi-member constituencies, the limits of which are at the same time the limits of the districts and cities of regional significance that are included in this region.

On the contrary, the majority system of an absolute majority for the election of a candidate requires collecting more than half of the votes of the electorate, that is, the formula of 50% + 1 vote applies. The derivative of this number of votes may be different: 1) total number registered voters; 2) the total number of voters who took part in the elections (received ballot papers); 3) the total number of voters who took part in the voting. When applying this system, there is usually a mandatory lower threshold for voting participation. Also, sometimes a minimum number of votes is set, the recruitment of which is also a condition for the election of a candidate.

The advantage of the noted system is its potential democratism: it takes into account the interests of the majority of voters, although the votes of voters cast against are again lost. The disadvantage of the system is not its effectiveness. Voting under this system usually involves a re-vote or a re-election. Since voter turnout in the second round noticeably decreases, legislation often does not establish any of the barriers that exist in the first round of voting. In another way, which overcomes the inefficiency of the absolute majority system already in the first round of elections, there is an alternative vote (preferential or absolute voting), in which voters vote for one candidate, but indicate the order of their advantages for others. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first count, then the one with the fewest votes is removed from the list and the corresponding second positions in the system are counted. This operation is repeated until one candidate wins the absolute number as a result of these vote transformations. Such a system has been introduced in Australia for the elections of the House of Representatives.

In Ukraine, as is known, even recently, including in parliamentary and local elections, the majority system of absolute majority was used to count votes in elections. From now on, this system is preserved only in the presidential elections in Ukraine.

The majority system of a qualified majority provides that the candidate (or list of candidates) who receives a certain, qualified majority of votes is considered elected. The qualified majority is established by law and, as a rule, exceeds the absolute majority. This system is used very rarely in the practice of elections. The main reason for this is not its effectiveness. Until 1993, it operated in Italy during the elections of the Senate, and is also used in Chile.

proportional system

The second type of electoral system is the proportional system. It was first introduced in 1889 in Belgium, and now 57 countries use this system, including Israel, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal.

Under the proportional system, deputy mandates are distributed among the parties in proportion to the number of votes collected by each of them within the constituency. Under this system, constituencies are always multi-member.

There are two ways to create constituencies when using a proportional vote counting system. The most common way is when the boundaries of constituencies coincide with the boundaries of administrative-territorial units. Less commonly used is the method when the territory of the entire state constitutes a single constituency.

According to the influence of voters on the location of candidates in the voting list, there are the following types proportional system:

1) with rigid lists;

2) with preferences;

3) with semi-rigid lists. When applying hard lists, the voter votes for the list of the party that he elects, as a whole. The ballot contains only the names, emblems of the parties, sometimes a certain number of the first candidates in the party lists. The system of hard lists is practiced in Spain, Portugal, Israel, Russia, Ukraine.

When applying the system of preferences (in translation, it means "advantage"), the voter not only votes for the lists of the party that elects, but also makes a note in front of the number of the candidate in the candidate list from the party to which he casts his vote. Thus, the one who received the largest number of preferences is elected, in the event of an equality in the number of preferences for several candidates from the party, the advantage is given to the one who occupies the highest place in the party list. The system of preferences is practiced in Finland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The semi-hard list system provides for the voter to vote:

1) for the list as a whole;

2) determine preferences by noticing or entering the names of one or more candidates. In the first case, the votes of voters are counted according to the system of rigid lists, in the second - according to the system of preferences. This system is practiced in Switzerland, Austria, Italy.

A proportional system with rigid lists has its advantages: when voting, first of all, the political platform and the program of the party's future activities are elected; this system is the simplest in form of implementation and the cheapest. Its drawback is that the party list can "pull" unknown, incompetent, unpopular politicians into deputies, senators, and the like. In contrast, the system of preferences makes it possible to expand the scope of the will of the voters themselves, because both the lists and the staff vote. on the interests and tasks of the party as a whole.The introduction of the system with semi-hard lists is caused by the need to overcome the shortcomings of the system of hard lists and preferences.

A common, so to speak, "burdensome" circumstance when introducing a proportional system is quite a complex system vote counting. This more or less complex mathematical calculation requires a two-stage operation. On the initial stage each list receives as many seats as it meets the electoral coefficient. Since the number of seats reserved for an individual list is the total number of votes received on that list, there are always a few votes remaining. These votes are the remainder (or excess), which is taken into account until the logical completion of the distribution of votes. The electoral coefficient (electoral quota, electoral meter) is a divisor that is used to recognize the number of seats that each list will receive at the time of distribution. Most often, a simple coefficient is used, which is obtained after voting by dividing in each district separately the total number of votes cast by the number of seats to fill (fill). There are other types of coefficients: Hegenbach-Bischoff coefficient, standard coefficient, reduction coefficient, double coefficient, selective coefficient.

The distribution of surpluses (residuals) is carried out by two main methods:

1) The largest surplus method involves allocating seats to the list that has the largest number of unrepresented votes set aside from the first allocation, and so on, until all seats have been allocated.

2) the largest average method - a method by which the total number of votes received on the list is divided by the number of seats already received on this list, plus one fictitious seat. The list that thus receives the most average receives the next place, and so on, until all places have been allocated.

There are other methods for calculating excesses: the d "Hont method, the Saint-lapeau method, the modified Saint-lapeau method.

In order to prevent the rapid growth of the number of small, non-representative parties under proportional election systems, an electoral threshold is introduced, which means that only those party lists that have won a certain percentage of votes established by law are allowed to participate in the distribution of seats after voting. These thresholds are different, 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 legislation - 4%.

mixed system

There is enough wide range mixed systems, which are a combination of the majority and proportional systems. At least 20 countries around the world use them. Mixed system elections are used, as a rule, in those countries where there is a search and formation of electoral systems or it is necessary to reach a compromise between the principle of representation in parliament of different political forces and the stability of the government formed by them.

Sometimes mixed systems are implemented in a modified form with the advantage of one or another electoral system.

Electoral systems that give preference to the majority method of voting in the application and proportional voting are the following mixed systems:

1) a system with a single voice that does not allow transmission. Its content is that in a multi-member constituency, a voter votes for one candidate, and not for a list of candidates from a party. This is practiced in Japan, China;

3) cumulative voting provides that the voter has as many votes as there are seats in the constituency, and can distribute it among all candidates, or can give all their votes for only one of the candidates.

There is also a mixed system that mainly uses a modified proportional representation system.

The system with a single transferable vote provides that voters vote for one candidate regardless of the number of seats in the constituency, but at the same time they express an advantage over other candidates.

by the most simple option mixed electoral system is a parallel combination: a certain part of the representative body is elected for the majority, the other - according to the proportional principle. An example is the German Parliament, where the lower house - the Bundestag - is half elected by the majority system, and half by the proportional system. The same factors underlie the election of the parliaments of Lithuania, Georgia, Slovenia, Bulgaria.

In Ukraine, the parliament is also elected on the basis of general, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, following a mixed majority-proportional system. A total of 450 deputies are elected. Of these, 225 - in single-member constituencies on the basis of a relative majority, and 225 - behind the lists of candidates for deputies from political parties, electoral blocs of parties in a multi-mandate nationwide constituency on the basis of proportional representation.

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 broadly referred to as the system public 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. The right to vote is also understood as legal regulations governing the procedure for granting citizens the right to participate in elections and the method of formation of 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 - everything 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 in government 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 in which case 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 the two candidates who receive the largest number of votes are presented (sometimes all candidates who receive more than the 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 of this, small parties that do not have a wide 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 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 did not convene necessary minimum 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.