Participation in elections is the duty of every citizen. Only how many of them understand what, in fact, is happening at this moment? So you can really explain to your friends what a majoritarian district is? How does it differ from others and why is it so tricky called? Let's try to figure it out. This will come in handy for many when it is time to go to the polling station again. Still, you need to understand what process you are participating in, so as not to join the ranks of those who are being used "in the dark".
Electoral system
You can't figure it out without this concept. After all, the majority district is part of it. The electoral system is a legislatively fixed mechanism for the process of expressing the will of citizens. Everything is clearly marked and painted in it. Participants, processes, mechanisms are fixed by a special law (and sometimes several).
The electoral technology is also defined in the documents. It includes a system of means, a mechanism, methods of organizing, conducting an expression of will. There are three such technologies:proportional, mixed and majoritarian. In our case, the latter is used. At the same time, the constituency is a kind of territorial unit of the electoral system. The territory on which, in accordance with the legislation, elections are held is divided into them. For example, if a country's parliament is formed, then districts are created throughout its territory, and so on.
Majoritarian system
This type of electoral process is considered the oldest. The term itself, incomprehensible to many, comes from the French word majorite. It translates as "majority". From this, one can easily conclude what the majority constituency means. This is the territory in which those candidates who manage to get the most votes are elected. But that's not all. Such a "majority" is determined by law, in each case separately. For example, there are systems where the winner is the one who turned out to be “first” after counting. It is called the relative majority system. In this case, the voter included in the majoritarian district receives a ballot where only one tick is required. The candidate who inspires the confidence of the majority of voters is declared the winner.
Other majority systems
In many countries, voting is carried out according to this principle. You can name the USA and Great Britain, Canada and France, Russia and Ukraine. In the latter, the heads of village councils, for example, are elected by absolute majority. It differs significantly from the above. Legislatorthis state decided that it is more fair. That is why, when a majoritarian district is formed, it includes a certain number of voters.
Everyone naturally has their own opinion. If the calculation is carried out according to the relative system, then the one who has the arithmetically majority of the votes wins. But this is also considered unfair, in fact, a small part of voters can choose it. When the counting is carried out in accordance with the absolute system, then the winner is the one who has more than half of the votes cast. This is significant, since in fact a significant part of the voters voted for this candidacy. In addition, there is a majority system of a qualified majority.
Advantages and disadvantages
It should be noted that when a constituency is formed, many factors are taken into account. These, as a rule, are the geographical location of settlements, population, number of mandates, and some others. It is believed that the electoral majoritarian district is exactly the element that corresponds to democratic principles. Every citizen has the opportunity not only to take part in the expression of will, but also to “be heard”. His voice will definitely affect the outcome of the process. In addition, the legislator prescribes special conditions by a special act. These can be: turnout threshold or counting system. These nuances seem insignificant to the uninitiated. However, they significantly affect the results of the will of citizens,united in a majoritarian electoral district. Among the shortcomings indicate a decrease in the level of participation of people in the repeated voting. Let's take a closer look.
Re-vote
The result of the majority system is not always final after the first round. The law under which the declaration of will is carried out determines the criteria for declaring the winners. If it turns out after the counting of votes that none of the candidates satisfies them, then repeated elections are held. Majority constituencies remain the same. The list of candidates may be subject to change. Let's take the same example of elections of rural heads in Ukraine. If none of the candidates collected half of the votes, then those who came out in the "two" leaders compete with each other. In this case, another vote is held.
Australian system
Majority elections can be held in peculiar ways. In Australia, for example, the legislator found a way to get away from holding a repeat vote. There, the calculation is carried out on the principle of an absolute majority. But the voter has the right to indicate additional benefits for other candidates. It's comfortable. In the case when no one gets the absolute majority the first time, then the last one is thrown out of the list, then a re-count is carried out. This is how they act until they determine a candidate who fully meets the requirements prescribed by law. It turns out that even in a difficult situation there is no need to involve the voter again to resolve it. Everyone, so to speak, expresses in advance all his wishes about the winner (distributes priorities). Agree, this system is more democratic than the one where a simple absolute majority is counted.
List of candidates by majoritarian districts
The voter, of course, is not interested in the counting system itself, but in who to vote for. But in this case, it is still necessary to have an idea about the legislation that determines the essence of the will. In a simple system, you need to cast your vote for one candidate (check the box). In more complex ones, specify additional priorities. In addition, there are multi-member constituencies.
The list in them is not made up of personalized candidates, but of collegiate ones. They are represented by party lists. All these nuances must be learned ahead of time, before going to the site. And in the most general version, candidates are registered by the relevant commission. She also generates ballots, which indicate all those who passed the selection, provided documents, and so on. The process is not simple. But the voter receives a ballot list in his hands, having confidence in its full compliance with the current legislation.
Some nuances of counting
It should be noted that the legislation is constantly being improved in order to increase the level of democracy. The vote of every citizen must be taken into account. Therefore, all sorts of nuances are determined. For example, the count may take into account both the number of voters and the total number of voters. Turnout thresholds are also set. Suchthe rule is present in many countries in the legislative acts governing the election of the president of the country. Thus, a plebiscite is considered valid when more than fifty percent of registered voters (50% plus one vote) took part in it.
