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Full
Representation Around the World
Created August
2003
In the United States, where the
plurality system is still by far the most widely used, full
representation may seem like a somewhat abstract or theoretical idea. However,
on a global scale, full representation systems are actually more common
than the plurality system which we
use in the US.
Of the 211 states and
territories that have direct legislative elections, 68 use
plurality as their primary system, while 75 use full
representation. (66 use party list full representation,
7 use a mixed member system,
and 2 use choice
voting). Of the
remainder, 31 use a two round runoff
system, 2 use instant runoff
voting, 2 use single
non-transferable vote (also
known as the one vote system), and 20 use a parallel system which elects some seats using
full representation and other seats using plurality or two round runoff. (Source: International IDEA, ESD
Handbook. Also, for a handy map and table from the World Policy Institute,
click here).
While
all of these countries officially have elections, not all of them are
widely considered to be fully democratic in practice. When one focuses on the
nations that are considered to be most democratic, one sees that a
much higher percentage of them use full representation.
For example, there are only 45 countries which both
have a population of at least two million, and are given a high
average freedom score by the widely accepted Freedom House
study.
Of these 45
countries, 30 use full representation to elect their most powerful national
legislature, and 7 use a parallel system that includes full representation. Of the
remaining 8, Australia uses instant runoff voting, France uses
a two round runoff system, and only the United States, Mongolia, Canada,
and the United Kingdom use plurality as their primary
system for legislative elections. For details, see table of Lower/Single House Elections in the World's
Democracies.
Note on terminology: Different terms are often
used to indicate the same voting system. This can be a little
confusing at first, but usually it is not very hard to find out what
people are talking about. The main one to keep in mind is that full
representation is most commonly known as "proportional
representation" outside the US. Also, choice voting is traditionally
known as "single tranferable vote," or STV. Instant runoff voting is
known internationally as "the alternative vote" (AV), or sometimes
"preference voting." The plurality system is often referred to as
"first past the post" (FPTP), as it is called in Britain.
This page brings together a number of resources that
help show how full representation is actually working in the world
today.
Contents
News and
Opinion Articles:
This
is the centerpiece of the "Full Representation Around the
World" page. Over 85 recent articles, covering over 35
countries. The articles offer a wide range of
insights about the dynamics of full representation in practice,
and they are accompanied by links that provide further information
for each particular country. They are organized by country,
and by
category
.
Links:
A collection of excellent
web-based resources with up-to-date information on elections systems
and election results worldwide.
Reports: Featured articles, fact sheets, and
reports from members of CVD.
E-news
archives: CVD's own Fair Election Updates also contain a
great deal of information about
the global development of full representation since 1996.
Initially created by James
Green-Armytage, in August 2003.
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