Single Member Plurality Electoral System Essay Example for Free

Single Member Plurality Electoral musical arrangement EssayThe Fallacy of the Single Member Plurality Electoral System Government efficiency is dependent on the capacity of the governing to make decisions that mirror the views of the absolute majority. This would require municipal representatives to be elected by at to the lowest degree half of the pick outrs. This has not been the case in Canada. Electoral reform has been a highly debated issue throughout Canadian politics. Currently, Canadas electoral organization is cosmos questioned for its unfitness to reflect the political views of its citizens. The oneness member plurality system (SMP), which Canada employs to fabricate a democratic election, can cause representatives to be elected without the majority of the popular balloting. In contrast, the system of proportional representation eliminates an inequity in parliament composition by ensuring representation from every party that received votes. Although this system would inevitably result in minority governments, it would appropriately cater to the views of the constituents.To produce a more effective government, Canadas single member plurality electoral system should be replaced by a system of proportional representation (PR). Another attempt to negate the effectiveness of the PR system is by charging that it would ace to the decline of responsible government. The reasoning behind this lies with the theory that PR disenfranchises a parties capability to formulate policies, administer programs, make laws, submit budgets(Barker, 287). Opponents contend that beneath PR, the government would be unable to garner enough confidence from the legislative branch.However, by looking at the opposite side of the spectrum, one would agree that this disadvantage is marginal compared to the policy making developd through single member plurality. SMP encourages parties to form lowest common denominator policies in order to achieve a plurality of votes. Co nsequently, parties willing create platforms that advocate policies that are indistinguishable to those of other party platforms. By providing ambiguous party principles, a constituents local MP can suspend being held accountable.In essence, the plurality system encourages MPs and political parties to reflect some limited concerns of their geographic districts while ignoring the deeply held principles of the voters(Heimstra and Jansen, 300). The only thing differentiating Canadian parties is their promise of social benefits beyond what the economy could tolerate(Irvine, 45). Since parties under PR do not have to compete for the median voter, governing parties have slight incentive to manipulate policy for short run ends(Irvine, 50).As mentioned earlier, minority governments are likely to be assembled over a majority government under a PR system. This will entice legislature to form a coalition, thereby facilitating the demands of all the different regions comprising Canada. Event ually, long term policy making will be executed with less hesitation, as governments will soon realize that regardless the outcome of the following election, support for their proposed policy will still exist. The inability of the House of Commons to finalize long-term policy-making has stunted economic growth in Canada because of ineffective governments elected through SMP.The greatest disadvantage of single member plurality is its inhibiting effect on voter turnout. Voter turnout has been decreasing steadily as more people have come to the identification that their votes will not necessarily be accounted for. In Jeffrey Simpsons book, The Friendly Dictatorship, the author reveals that only 61 per cent of eligible Canadians bothered to vote in 2000, the lowest turnout by distant since the Second World War(Simpson, 144). It is important to note that Canada counts voter turnout by the number of people who vote in relation to the number of people on the electoral list.Since not ever yone eligible to vote gets on the electoral list, the numbers are actually far lower than they appear. With a large number of eligible voters staying home, elected MPs do not have a real mandate to represent their constituents. This divergence has the potential to produce an ineffective government and a discontent amid the members of society. It has become increasingly important to determine the cause of this decreased interest in voting. electoral system is often described as a first past the post system.The way in which this system functions is that each voter is allowed one vote and the candidate with the most votes (or a plurality) becomes elected. Proportional representation, on the other hand, can be accomplished through a multitude of electoral methods. But for the saki of convenience, we will focus primarily on the two most notable systems party list system, and mixed member proportional. The party list system employ to achieve PR relies on the voter to choose the party t hey wish to support as opposed to the actual candidate.