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Proportional Representation: Some Say Yes, Some Say No
Are you happy with Antigua and Barbuda's two main political parties? Are you happy with a system where just two parties have any real chance at winning an election? The way we vote has much to do with how broad our political spectrum is. Our system of voting is called first-past-the-post. In this episode we ask whether it ought to change, and if proportional representation is a viable alternative.
This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on June 27th, 2021. The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:
In our first-past-the-post system, the country is divided into constituencies. We have 17. Voters in each constituency are able to elect a single representative to sit in Parliament. In a general election, 17 separate elections are held - one in each constituency. In each constituency election, whoever wins the most votes, wins the seat. If a party wins a majority of the seats, it can form a government.
In our first-past-the-post system, in any constituency, you don't need more than half the votes to win, but just more votes than any other candidate. So if you get 4 votes, Mary gets 3, John gets 3, and Luke gets 3, then you win, since you got more votes than anyone else. In that situation, while you got 4 votes, there were 9 people (3+3+3) who did not vote for you. And those 9 people will not get to see their preferred candidate take a seat in parliament.
In that way, the first-past-the-post system naturally supports the emergence of just two dominant parties. This is because many parties running in a single seat will divide up the vote, and for parties in opposition, this lessens the chance of unseating an incumbent representative. So naturally, two parties emerge as dominant, because there is always pressure on the opposition to unite. Our two dominant parties since the mid-1990s have been the ABLP and the UPP.
But what if you're unhappy with both? How easy is it for new parties to break into the system? Not very. We compromise when we vote. We know how the system works. So we vote for big party candidates because they have a better chance of winning, even if we don't wholeheartedly support them. But why should you have to vote for anyone you don't truly like, just to keep someone you like even less out of power? Why can't you have more electorally viable party choices?
Another criticism is that in a first-past-the-post system where there are few seats, there's a risk of having no opposition in parliament at all if one party wins all seats, if even by slim margins in each area. In 2018, one party won all 30 seats in Barbados' election even though 27% of those who voted, voted for other parties. The same year, in Grenada, one party won all 15 seats even though 26% of those who voted, voted for other parties. A Parliamentary democracy without a parliamentary opposition? In Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, opposition parties won just 2/17 seats despite gaining over 40% of all votes cast.
With proportional representation, parties wins a proportion of seats in parliament according to the proportion of the vote they won nationally altogether. So, 20% of the national vote, means you get roughly 20% of the seats in parliament. But as our panelists warn, this too, has its disadvantages.
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By The Big Issues Production TeamAre you happy with Antigua and Barbuda's two main political parties? Are you happy with a system where just two parties have any real chance at winning an election? The way we vote has much to do with how broad our political spectrum is. Our system of voting is called first-past-the-post. In this episode we ask whether it ought to change, and if proportional representation is a viable alternative.
This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on June 27th, 2021. The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:
In our first-past-the-post system, the country is divided into constituencies. We have 17. Voters in each constituency are able to elect a single representative to sit in Parliament. In a general election, 17 separate elections are held - one in each constituency. In each constituency election, whoever wins the most votes, wins the seat. If a party wins a majority of the seats, it can form a government.
In our first-past-the-post system, in any constituency, you don't need more than half the votes to win, but just more votes than any other candidate. So if you get 4 votes, Mary gets 3, John gets 3, and Luke gets 3, then you win, since you got more votes than anyone else. In that situation, while you got 4 votes, there were 9 people (3+3+3) who did not vote for you. And those 9 people will not get to see their preferred candidate take a seat in parliament.
In that way, the first-past-the-post system naturally supports the emergence of just two dominant parties. This is because many parties running in a single seat will divide up the vote, and for parties in opposition, this lessens the chance of unseating an incumbent representative. So naturally, two parties emerge as dominant, because there is always pressure on the opposition to unite. Our two dominant parties since the mid-1990s have been the ABLP and the UPP.
But what if you're unhappy with both? How easy is it for new parties to break into the system? Not very. We compromise when we vote. We know how the system works. So we vote for big party candidates because they have a better chance of winning, even if we don't wholeheartedly support them. But why should you have to vote for anyone you don't truly like, just to keep someone you like even less out of power? Why can't you have more electorally viable party choices?
Another criticism is that in a first-past-the-post system where there are few seats, there's a risk of having no opposition in parliament at all if one party wins all seats, if even by slim margins in each area. In 2018, one party won all 30 seats in Barbados' election even though 27% of those who voted, voted for other parties. The same year, in Grenada, one party won all 15 seats even though 26% of those who voted, voted for other parties. A Parliamentary democracy without a parliamentary opposition? In Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, opposition parties won just 2/17 seats despite gaining over 40% of all votes cast.
With proportional representation, parties wins a proportion of seats in parliament according to the proportion of the vote they won nationally altogether. So, 20% of the national vote, means you get roughly 20% of the seats in parliament. But as our panelists warn, this too, has its disadvantages.