Parliamentary Election, September 2005
By David Moon
Published September 25th 2005
The results of Japan�s September 2005 parliamentary elections have been held up by the Japanese media as demonstrating a stunning mandate for Prime Minster Junichiro Koizumi, leader of the nation�s Liberal Democratic Party. FairVote�s analysis of the election results, however, indicates that this mandate was far from clear, with Koizumi�s party in fact winning just 38% of the popular vote. As our International Spotlight research series demonstrates, time and again, a nation�s choice of electoral system often has just as much impact on the election results, as candidate or party popularity and other factors.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.