BPS-3-2 Compilation of Annotated Bibliographies for Journal

7/24/2019 BPS-3-2 Compilation of Annotated Bibliographies for Journal

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Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Political Science and Public Administration

Department of Political Science

Compilation of Annotated Bibliographies

On

Electoral Reform

Submitted by:

Bermudez, Benedict onathan !

Bona, "a! oy #!

$ernandez, %y&a Aira C!

Solatorio, 'achelle B!

Bachelor in Political Science III-2

Submitted to:

Professor (ric&son Calata

Professor

$ebruary )*+


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Banerjee, Saikat. (2010) Why Electoral Reforms A Must For India? 'etrieved from:http://udaipurtimes.com/why-electoral-reforms-must-for-india/

-he focal point of this article by Sai&at Baner.ee (dai!ur "imes# stresses that

(lectoral reforms are forseen as a game changer for /ndia and to introduce these reforms,the younger generation and the middle0class need to be more sensitized hence ma&ing

them more a1are! -o ma&e the younger generation more a1are about the electoral

reforms it is necessary that the universities in the country produces more people 1ho

&no1s the art of playing 1ith democracy!

A multitude of things have changed, thus, the old system posts an obsolete solution to

the problems that should be addressed! -here are 23) members in parliament since the

+)th %o& Sabha elections, 1hereas during this period the population of the country has

increased drastically and to add to that the voting age has been brought do1n to +4 years!

-o loo& at it in another 1ay 1e 1ill find that one "ember of Parliament 5"P6 represents

+!) million people 1hich is something very unfortunate and needs to be changed

immediately! Because as the population is increasing, more representation is needed in

order to properly address the needs of the people! In order to eectively implement

the electoral reforms and make it functional there are certain changes that

have to be implemented by the Election Commission. he !rst thing is the

amount of money and muscle powerthat is involved in elections has to be

very closely monitored and stern steps should be taken against people

involving in the malicious use of money and muscle power. "econdly the

people of a constituency should be accorded the power to recall. In order to

avoid illegal use of money in promoting one#s candidature and party for

election$ annual audit of the representatives from various parties should be

regularly conducted. hird and most importantly$ there should be a close

monitoring on peoples participation. In this age of technological

advancement eective use and role of technology is very important.

he beginning of electoral reforms should be !rst of all implemented at

thestudent#s union level because it is the nursery of political parties where

various students# unions follow various political parties and is also supported

by the political parties in various ways. %ike strong roots is the ma&or reasonbehind a huge tree standing tall and facing all the natural atrocities$ in that

same way electoral reforms should be implemented !rst from the roots i.e.

the student#s union.

7ntology 0 $oundationalist

(pistemology 0 Positivist Perspective

"ethodology 0 8uantitative
http://udaipurtimes.com/why-electoral-reforms-must-for-india/http://udaipurtimes.com/why-electoral-reforms-must-for-india/


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Campion0Smith, Bruce!Electoral reform back in the spotlight! September +* )*+2!

'etrieved from:

http:99111!thestar!com9ne1s9canada9)*+29*9+*9electoral0reform0bac&0in0the0

spotlight!html

Bruce Campion0Smith is the 7tta1a bureau chief for the -oronto Star! ;e reports

from Parliament ;ill on federal politics and policy! Smith has 1on a Canadian

Association of ournalists A1ard 1ith the Star 1hich he .oined in +44! ;e has been to

different types of positions in the ne1sroom such as transportation beat reporter, assistant

city editor and editorial 1riter! ;e .oined the 7tta1a bureau in )**< and has covered four

federal elections! Also, he t1ice travelled to Afghanistan for the coverage Canada=s

military mission!

>ears of study, debates have passed and no1 Canada may be placing a voting

system that ensures Parliament to prioritize fresh ne1 ideas and opinions! -he electoralreform 1as believed to initiate stagy variations to the fundamentals of democracy!

ustin -rudeau, %iberal %eader, declared in une to ta&e in electoral reforms! Also,

the ?e1 Democrats have supported changes to the electoral system and have vo1ed to

introduce a mi@ed member proportional system! %iberals and ?DP have agreed on some

changes to ho1 Canadians elect their "Ps! Since fresh ideas are e@pected, Parliament

thin&s that it=s a good avenue for a passion0driven government and policy change for the

betterment to the Canadian people! 7n the other hand, some thin& that it 1ould

overburden the people because as greater multiplicity standpoints, the greater range of

policies that need to undergo unanimity! -he reform includes the replacement of Canada=ssingle0member plurality system or the first0past0the0post in 1hich the candidate 1ith

the most votes 1ins a seat in the Commons! -his system became problematic as

minorities 1ho don=t have the vast numbers of votes are automatically diminished from

politics!

(lectoral reform for them is the ans1er in upholding the democracy in Canada!

(lectoral reforms of the 1orld include proportional representation, a voting

system that grants seats based on a party=s share of the popular vote! /t has been

introduced in some countries li&e #ermany 1hich allo1 #ermans to cast t1o votes 1hen

electing candidates to the #erman Bundestag or %o1er Parliament and 7ntario 1ith

mi@ed member proportional representation!

7ntology $oundationalist

(pistemology Positivist Perspective

"ethodology 8uantitative
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/10/electoral-reform-back-in-the-spotlight.htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/10/electoral-reform-back-in-the-spotlight.htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/10/electoral-reform-back-in-the-spotlight.htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/10/electoral-reform-back-in-the-spotlight.html


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Coyne, Andrew (January 11, 2016). What !ro$lem is

electoral reform su!!osed to sol%e? &ere

are a cou!le' to start 'etrieved from:http:99ne1s!nationalpost!com9full0

comment9andre10coyne01hat0problem0is0

electoral0reform0supposed0to0solve0here0

are0a0couple0to0start

he article talks about the people that are most aected andconcerned about electoral reforms in Canada. he writer talks about howelectoral reforms seem to bring the irrational part of Canadians. he status'uo is described in terms that bear only the faintest resemblance to its actualworkings$ while any proposed reform$ where it is not e(travagantlycaricatured$ is treated as if it were the !rst time it had ever been triedanywhere. If there are ha)ards lurking in$ say$ proportional representation$ letthem be identi!ed in the actual e(perience of the many places that use it$from "weden to the *etherlands to *ew +ealand$ not in vague &eremiadsabout what ,could happen or the absurdly unrepresentative e(amples ofIsrael or Italy. In discussing potential reforms$ stick to models that have any

practical likelihood of being adopted. In particular$ those who are concernedto preserve the principle of local representation should be assured here andnow: there is e(actly )ero possibility of any system that did not do so evenbeing proposed$ in a country as vast as this$ let alone passed into law. It is thevery de!nition of a red herring.

"till greater problem$ if the early debates are any indication$ is thetendency of both sides to talk past each other$ without common terms ofreference. It is not possible to disagree with someone$ in any intelligiblesense$ until you have agreed on some benchmark against which to measurethe truth or falsehood of your respective positions.

%eave aside the vast and unconscionable discrepancies in size that persist bet1een

different ridings: bet1een the )*,*** or fe1er electors in some ridings in Atlantic Canadaor the ?orth, and the nearly +**,*** in some ridings in 7ntario, Alberta and British

Columbia! But notice 1hat that means: effectively, residents of the former ridings have

five times the voting po1er as those of the latter! -heir votes are 1orth five times as

much!

-he point to note here is that that same discrepancy is observed in other respects: not

.ust bet1een voters in different ridings, but bet1een voters for different parties! $or
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-starthttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-what-problem-is-electoral-reform-supposed-to-solve-here-are-a-couple-to-start


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e@ample, it too& roughly


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him in to a preparation of constitutional amendment. It was a success for

5ssad since he was able to put new members in the 1arliament. est sees this as preposterous

move.

-here are different reasons behind these negative insights: 5+6 ;olding a

referendum in Syria is unbearable since violence did not decline during the voting period

and there are a lots of reports that have declared that the circumstances nearby voting

stations 1ere not safe and secured! 5)6 Baath Party has the right to challenge the ne1

constitution and disapprove of the amendments and the results of the referendum on the

grounds that the amendments 1ere not put for1ard for public discussion or even

discussed by the party leaders and representatives of the of the Parliament! 5


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$igueroa, Dante! Italy: Legislatie Electoral Reform !Italic"m#! une 3 )*+2!

'etrieved from: http:99111!loc!gov9la19foreign0ne1s9article9italy0legislative0electoral0reform0italicum9

Dante $igueroa is a practitioner in the areas of arbitration, international trade,

corporate la1, competition la1, mergers and acGuisitions, finance and insurance la1 and

infrastructure pro.ects! ;e teaches %atin American %a1 at the #eorgeto1n %a1 Center,

1here he serves as Academic Advisor to the %atin American %a1 Students Association,

and has given numerous academic presentations at the Center since )*+*! s;e teaches

Business -ransactions in %atin America at the Iashington College of %a1 5IC%6 since

)**3! ;e has taught trade and investment and U!S! Contracts %a1 at IC%=s summer

programs! $igueroa has authored boo&s on topics such as international commercial

arbitration, comparative corporate liability, and environmental la1!

-here is a ne1 legislation governing the election of members of the Chamber of

Deputies %a1 that 1ill apply to the national legislative elections to be held from uly +,

)*+, on1ards! -he ac&no1ledged purpose of the electoral reform is to replace the

decades0old system of proportional representation and to assure strong ma.orities and

stable governance to the /talian government!

/talicum is the colloGuial name given to the electoral reform introduced by the%a1! -he ne1 legislation states that the national territory is subdivided into )* electoral

circumscriptions, agreeing to the e@isting regions!

Candidates must be registered in each political party=s list in alternating order

according to genderE candidates of the same gender may not ma&e up more than *J of

all the candidates in each .urisdiction! ?o one may be a candidate in more than one
http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/italy-legislative-electoral-reform-italicum/http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/italy-legislative-electoral-reform-italicum/http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/italy-legislative-electoral-reform-italicum/http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/italy-legislative-electoral-reform-italicum/


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district or circumscription, 1ith the e@ception of the candidate at the head of the list

5candidato capolista6, 1ho may be a candidate in a ma@imum of ten districts!

/talian residents 1ho temporarily live overseas are given the chance to vote by mail!

7ntology $oundationalist (pistemology Positivist Perspective


George, Friedman5"A'C; +*, )*+26! "he Parado) of America*s Electoral Reform

'etrieved from: https://www.stratfor.com/weekly/parado(-americas-electoral-

reform

-his election process matters to the 1orld for t1o reasons! $irst, the world?s only

global power1ill be increasinglyself-absorbed, and the sitting president K already

1ea&ened by the opposition party controlling both houses of Congress K is increasingly

limited in 1hat he can do! -his is disturbing in some 1ays, since all presidential electionscontain visions of the apocalypse that 1ill follo1 the election of an opponent! During the

U!S! election season, the 1orld hears a litany of self0denigration and self0loathing that

can be frightening emanating from a country that produces nearly a Guarter of the 1orldLs

1ealth each year and commands the 1orldLs oceans! /f ;onduras 1ere to engage in thisbehavior, the 1orld 1ould hardly notice! Ihen the United States does it, the public

discourse can convince others that the United States is on the verge of collapse, and thatperspective has the potential to shape at least some actions on the global stage!

-he founders understood the inherent immoderation of politicsand sought to solve

problems by limiting democracy and emphasizing representative democracy! Americans

select representatives through various comple@ courses! -hey do not directly electpresidents, but members of the (lectoral College!

%i&ely an archaic institution, the (lectoral College still represents the foundersL fear

of the passions of the people K both the intensity of some, and the indifference of others!-he founders also distrusted the state 1hile fully understanding its necessity! -hey hadt1o visions: that representatives 1ould ma&e the la1, and that these representatives

1ould not have politics as a profession! Since re0election 1as not their primary goal, they

1ere freed from democratic pressures to use their o1n 1isdom in crafting la1s!

he founders saw civil society @ business$ farms$ churches and so on @as ultimately more important than the state$ and they saw e(cessive political
https://www.stratfor.com/about/analysts/dr-george-friedmanhttps://www.stratfor.com/weekly/paradox-americas-electoral-reformhttps://www.stratfor.com/weekly/paradox-americas-electoral-reformhttps://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empirehttps://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empirehttps://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empirehttps://www.stratfor.com/forecast/decade-forecast-2015-2025https://www.stratfor.com/forecast/decade-forecast-2015-2025https://www.stratfor.com/weekly/us-presidential-elections-perspectivehttps://www.stratfor.com/about/analysts/dr-george-friedmanhttps://www.stratfor.com/weekly/paradox-americas-electoral-reformhttps://www.stratfor.com/weekly/paradox-americas-electoral-reformhttps://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empirehttps://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empirehttps://www.stratfor.com/forecast/decade-forecast-2015-2025https://www.stratfor.com/weekly/us-presidential-elections-perspective


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passion as misplaced. irst$ it took away from the private pursuits they sovalued$ and it tended to make political life more important than it should be."econd$ they feared that ordinary men 9women were e(cluded might beelected as representatives at various levels. hey set property re'uirementsto assure sobriety 9or so they thought in representatives and at least limitthe e(tent to which they were interested in politics. hey set age

re'uirements to assure a degree of maturity. hey tried to shaperepresentative democracy with standards they considered prudent @paralleling the values of their own social class$ where private pursuitspredominated and public aairs were a burdensome duty.

-his situation is not uniGue to the United States, but the pattern differs else1here!7ver the centuries, the U!S! public has been shaped by immigration, and the U!S!

government 1as consciously constructed out of the theoretical constructs of its founders!

/t 1as as if the country 1ere a blan& slate! /t 1as in this conte@t that 1aves of reform too&place, all changing the republic, all 1ith unintended conseGuences!

ntology - oundationalist Epistemology - 1ositivist 1erspective 2ethodology - 3uantitative


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Independent UK. (201) Electoral reform+ "he $attle for fairer %otes $e,ins here'etrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-the-battle-for-fairer-votes-begins-here-ABBD.html

/ndependent UH released a rather pressing issue about UH=s controversial electoral

reform! 7n )*+* elections, one of the parado@es of the election is that despite the %iberal

Democrats doing less 1ell than many e@pected, their influence on the politics of the

ensuing fe1 years seems li&ely to be greater than it has been for decades!

-he system still needs changing no matter 1hat side you loo& onto! "any of theuntenable properties of our election system remain as visible as ever, but some are less

so! $or a start, on -hursday night hundreds of people 1ere unable to vote because polling

station officials could not process the last0minute rush! /n a country 1hich used to call

itself the mother of parliaments, that 1as appalling! -he process of recording votes 1ould

have seemed out of date to the officers of the (ast /ndia Company in the IritersL

Building in Calcutta in +42! -he UH needs an (lectoral Commission that runs elections,

not one that issues unclear guidance to harassed local government officers! /t should

employ election staff directly, and its chief e@ecutive must be ans1erable for future foul0

ups! -he Australians do this 1ith model efficiency! -he Conservative manifesto addresses

this, promising to bring in a Bill to reduce the size of the Commons by +* per cent and toeGualise constituency sizes! /n opening the bidding on $riday afternoon, David Cameron

mentioned this as an electoral reform that Conservatives and %iberal Democrats could

agree on! (Gualising constituencies, at least, can and should be done!

/t is undeniable that proportional representation is incompatible 1ith single0member

districts! "Ps come in 1hole numbers! >et above all that the voices of the people are not
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-the-battle-for-fairer-votes-begins-here-1969388.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-the-battle-for-fairer-votes-begins-here-1969388.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-the-battle-for-fairer-votes-begins-here-1969388.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-the-battle-for-fairer-votes-begins-here-1969388.html


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1ell represented! %i&e the case of /ndia, 1herein populatio increase seems to be a

problem of underrepresentation, the UH also faces this pressing issue! Since they are the

one 1ho started the Parliament, it is .ust apt and fair if they are the one to straigthen the

system, not to mention, perfect it out! Since they are the promulgators, they should set an

e@ample for all governments to further up their game to levels that can be best felt by its

constituents!




"ashal, "u.ib!Afghanistan$s Electoral Reform %lan Is &et 'ith (kepticism! August


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-he recommendations of the electoral reform commission include the allotting of

one0third of Parliament=s )2* seats to political partiesE the restructuring of the current

election commissionE the creation of a clear voter identification system ahead of future

pollingE and moving to an electoral system that divides provinces into smaller voting

districts that can be easily Guarantined in case of fraud!

"r! Ahmadzai, a former election official, believes that instead of changing the

reGuirements for the parliamentary elections balloting should be used as a catalyst to

create opportunities to verified voters 1hich can cast ballots and that could be achieved in

future elections!


(pistemology Positivist Perspective


!a"on, #owena (201$, %o&e'er 26)! Electoral Reform Society arns o%er fundin,cut for o!!osition !arties! 'etrieved from:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/FGAH/nov/F/electoral-reform-society-

state-funding-opposition-parties

he Electoral 4eform "ociety has given eorge sborne a warning

regarding his attempts to slash the funding of the state for opposition parties.

,;eeply damaging for accountability is Jatie hose#s 9chief e(ecutive of

the E4" statement after hearing about the government#s announcement of a

ABK funding cut for %abor and other opposition parties. he E4" believes that

removing the money from the mi( would only result parties to become more

reliant on bigger donors that could spark even more corruption issues. his

funding is named as L"hort 2oney# named after the former minister Edward

"hort$ who devised the system in ABMN to compensate opposition parties for

not having access to >hitehall resources.

sborne believes that opposition parties should lose money in line with

the ABK cuts to >hitehall spending. 5llocations will then be fro)en in cash

terms for the rest of the parliament. his is going to remove the automatic

increase in line with inOation.

he reen 1arty together with the %ib ;ems critici)ed the move and they

both believe that this is an attack on democracy. he spokesperson replied by

saying that "hort 2oney could actually help the parliamentarians to carry out

scrutiny of the government$ compared to the reen 1arty who does not

receive donations from multinational companies$ which makes them unable

to do so.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/26/electoral-reform-society-state-funding-opposition-partieshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/26/electoral-reform-society-state-funding-opposition-partieshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/26/electoral-reform-society-state-funding-opposition-partieshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/26/electoral-reform-society-state-funding-opposition-parties


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ntology - oundationalist Epistemology - 4ealist 1erspective 2ethodology - Combination of 3uantitative and 3ualitative

Mason, Rowena.(2014)Lords allow Cameron to bring forward reforms tovoting system. 4etrieved from:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/FGAH/oct/FM/house-of-lords-allows-cameron-to-bring-forward-reforms-to-voting-system

Published on -he #uardian, 'o1ena "ason emphasized that Cameron=s reforms to

the voting system have narro1ly survived an attempt to &ill them off in the ;ouse of

%ords, despite 1arnings from the (lectoral Commission that people could be

disenfranchised!

Clamor began as 1eers re&ected a fatal motion that would have stopped

the Conservatives bringing forward use of a new electoral register to

;ecember FGA$ even though it contains up to A.B million fewer names than

the old register. he new register re'uires everyone to be registered as an

individual$ which diers from the old system under which the head of a

household was able to register all occupants. he Electoral Commission said

it would now focus on trying to make sure ,as many as possible are

registered to vote before the important set of polls scheduled for 2ay FGA.

he Commission will also be running their own campaign to help anyone who

might be aected$ particularly students and people who have recently moved

house. he ability to register online will be a big help in this electoral reform.he controversy arose after the new Conservative government decided to

bring forward the transition to the new register by a year against the advice

of the Electoral Commission. %abour leader 8eremy Corbynhas argued this

amounts to an attempt to ,gerrymander the electoral system as it will

enable the ories to base the forthcoming boundary review on that new list.

%abour has strongly opposed the move$ which it estimates could lead to
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/27/house-of-lords-allows-cameron-to-bring-forward-reforms-to-voting-systemhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/27/house-of-lords-allows-cameron-to-bring-forward-reforms-to-voting-systemhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/lordshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/lordshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/conservativeshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/jeremy-corbynhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/26/gloria-de-piero-sets-out-to-help-people-about-to-fall-off-electoral-registerhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/27/house-of-lords-allows-cameron-to-bring-forward-reforms-to-voting-systemhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/27/house-of-lords-allows-cameron-to-bring-forward-reforms-to-voting-systemhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/lordshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/lordshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/conservativeshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/jeremy-corbynhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/26/gloria-de-piero-sets-out-to-help-people-about-to-fall-off-electoral-register


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about a million people dropping o the list$ and has launched a huge electoral

registration drive.

Again, efforts of achieving change is a t1o01ay process! /t is molded by both the

people and the government! -he electoral reform in the United Hingdom is something 1e

should be &een on! Both pro=s and con=s shoud be 1eighed in so that the .ust 1ill prevailover the interests of some favored parties!




!d. #ai*ui+5)* U%> )*+*6! Electoral process; reforms and challenges:

Bangladesh context ! 'etrieved from:

http://www.ra!'phd.org/component/content/article/HG-govern/AA-elec

-he People of Bangladesh having proclaimed independence on )th day of

"arch, ++ and through a historic 1ar for national 1ar for independence established the

independent, sovereign PeopleLs 'epublic of Bangladesh! 7ne of the fundamentalprinciples of state policy is democracy 5Article 4 ++ of the Constitution of the PeopleLs

'epublic of Bangladesh, #overnment0)**6! -he 'epublic is a democracy, in 1hicheffective participation by the people through their elected representatives in

administration at all level is ensured 5Article ++, ibid6! -o ensure regular, transparent, free

and fair election, amending the constitution provision for ?on0Party Careta&er#overnment is created by inserting Article 24B headed by a Chief Advisor after

Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved by reason of e@piration of its term till the date

on 1hich a ne1 Prime "inister enters upon his office after Constitution of the

Parliament!

Electoral process for both local government institutions$ the 1arliamentand the 1resident are constitutionally guaranteed 9Chapter III P Chapter IQibid. 5 legal and constitutional provision seems to be ade'uate to ensurevoters to e(press their choices. hough legal provisions are enough but someacademic and civil service organi)ation some problems and barriers still e(istfor e(pressing free and fair choice of the people.

hree types of elections are conducted by the Election Commission:- 1residential
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/26/gloria-de-piero-sets-out-to-help-people-about-to-fall-off-electoral-registerhttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elechttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elechttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elechttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/26/gloria-de-piero-sets-out-to-help-people-about-to-fall-off-electoral-registerhttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elechttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elechttp://www.rafiqphd.org/component/content/article/50-govern/116-elec


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- 1arliament- %ocal


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%ationa+ e'o-rati- In"titute (201$, -toer 22)! Bosnian Election Monitors .ead

/e$ate on Electoral Reform! 'etrieved from: https://www.ndi.org/1od-%upom-leads-

electoral-reform-debates

Debate bet1een the Pod %upom and the politicians regarding electoral reform in

Bosnia and ;erzegovinia is the foscal point of the article!

Pod %upom is a coalition of civil society organizations in Bosnia and ;erzegovinia!

/t currently leads the initiative for electoral reforms upon the government in amending the

electoral la1 and addressing its shortcomings 1hich have led to fraud and manipulation

during the past elections! Pod %upom=s efforts to call for the attention of the government,

1ith the help of the funds provided by the ?ational Democratic /nstitute, has broughtBosnia and ;erzegovinia one step better than 1hat it 1as before! -he coalition 1as able

to ma&e the politicians and international community Guic& on pointing the needs of

electoral reformE 1as able to deploy almost


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time addressing long0standing problems 1ith corruption and socio0economic issues!

;o1ever, faulty electoral system, if not given proper attention and immediate response,

could also lead to corruption and 1ill eventually be an additive to the long0standing

problems in the society!




%orri", /ippa (eruary, 200)! Introduction+ "he Politics of Electoral Reform

'etrieved from: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/5rticles/5rticles

KFGpublishedKFGin

KFG&ournalsS!les/heS1oliticsSofSElectoralS4eformSABBH.pdf

Introduction+ "he Politics of Electoral Reform provides a comparative frame1or& of

the basic outline features of electoral systems of the five 526 chosen countries 00 /taly,

/srael, apan, ?e1 Qealand and Britain 00 to illustrate a 1ide range of electoral systems,

categorizing them into the e@emplars of proportional, semi0proportional, and ma.oritarian

models of election!

(lectoral systems, according to the article, are rarely designed! -hese actually resist a

compromise bet1een contending factions for survival, determined by politics! Usually,

electoral systems are treated independent but then, it 1as suddenly shifted into being a

dependent variable, putting it into the central concern in a number of countries! (lectoral

reforms are believed to become effectual depending on the country 1here they are being

implemented! -he most stri&ing phenomenon in recent years has been the simultaneous

shift in ?e1 Qealand 5?ovember +


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dominated by a strong e@ecutive in ?e1 Qealand and the ;ouse of Commons having 2+

single member constituencies in Britain! Semi0Proportional electoral systems include

apan, 1herein prior to reform, in the lo1er ;ouse of 'epresentatives 2+) members 1ere

elected from +


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#i3y, 4+i5aet (Ju+y 201$)! /o Election Reforms Promote E0ual Partici!ation?

'etrieved from: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/do-election-

reforms-promote-e'ual-participation

-his is a study of various types of (lectoral 'eforms used in the different states of

America! Some of these reforms, as a result of the study, promote eGuality bet1een the

rich and the poor, but others do not! A lesson for reformers in relation to the researchers=

findings is also provided!

/ncome vote bias is the indicator used by the researchers in order to measure the

ineGuality bet1een the rich and the poor in America! -hey believe that income is oneimportant factor in determining the capability of a person of a particular social status in

casting a vote since the electoral process also reGuires money i!e registration, fare, etc!

Iealthier Americans are 2J more li&ely to vote than those 1ho have lo1 incomes! /n

order to prove 1hether electoral reforms can promote eGual participation, they cited three

5


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absentee voting 1hich allo1s registered voters to reGuest for an absentee ballot 1ithout

any valid reason of 1hy they 1on=t be appearing on election day! -his is only convenient

for the rich people, since poor people or lo10income citizens are less li&ely to be

registered, giving them not much benefit than those of the rich people!

'eforms, no matter ho1 pure the intentions are put into them, 1ill al1ays havevarious effects because not everything is going to be applicable 1hen the most vital factor

in the society 00 the people 00 is placed into contradiction, the other side being rich, and

poor on the other! ;o1ever, the researchers believe that the reformers could actually

adopt the (lection Day registration reform that has demonstrated the greatest potential to

ma&e American electoral democracy more eGual and simplifying registration is an

especially important step to ta&e in con.unction 1ith ma&ing voting itself more

convenient!


(pistemology 0 'ealist Perspective

"ethodology 0 Combination of 8uantitative and 8ualitative


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Sin3, r. Bi'a+ /ra"ad (!ar- 2017)! Electoral Reforms in India 1 Issues and

hallen,es! 'etrieved from: http://www.i&hssi.org/papers/vF9D/version-

F/5FDGAGH.pdf

-he article tal&s about ho1 the ma.or issues and challenges of the system of

governance in /ndia are murdering its democracy, directly concerning the country=s

election 5failure6, 1hich is primarily the process of legitimizing politics, and ho1 is the

government acting upon the up0to0date e@isting situation!

-he issues challenging /ndia=s capability of proper governance and maintenance

of democracy are categorized into t1o: +6 I""ue" in 4+e-tora+ /o+iti-" o IndiaE and )6

/ro+e'" o te /o+iti-a+ In"tai+ity, 8un3 /ar+ia'ent and A""e'+ie" ! Under the

first category are money po1er, muscle po1er, misuse of government machinery,

criminalization of politics, and non0serious candidates in political parties! "oney, as

usual, is used to suffice campaign materials 1hich are scattered all over the place in order

for a particular candidate to ma&e the people be familiar of him! -his is problematic

because it is believed that the candidates, once elected to the post, 1ill ta&e the people=s

money in e@change for the costs they had during the campaign! -his also becomes an

issue for those people 1ho also 1ant to Tserve= the country but too unfortunate of not

being able to have enough money to campaign for themselves 00 railroading the notion

that election is not purely an avenue for the search for the right public servant, but

something more li&e a commodity 1hich is no1 being purchased! iolence, on the other

hand, is also prevalent in many parts of /ndia! -his is only one of the many products of

muscle po1er 1hich is used by criminals to achieve success at elections for their

benefactors! ust 1ith these t1o corruption is conspicuous 00 all the more 1hen misuse of

government machinery enters the scenario! /t is generally complained that the

government in po1er uses government machinery to further the election prospects of

party candidates and fund them! Criminalization of politics is basically about having rich

criminals to influence and force the people to vote for them! -he ?ational Party in /ndia

itself gives tic&ets to these criminals enabling them to run for public office! %astly, in

order to cut sizeable portion of votes or split the votes for a candidate a person disli&es,

he9she can run as independent! 'ise of non0serious candidates and their multiplicitycauses inconvenience to the process of election! /t 1orsens the already blurred vision of

voters in identifying of 1hich candidate to vote for!

Castism 5caste0ism6, communalism, and lac& of moral values in politics are the

three ma.or issues under the second category! Castism is believed to have caused political
http://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-2/A230105.pdfhttp://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-2/A230105.pdfhttp://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-2/A230105.pdfhttp://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v2(3)/version-2/A230105.pdf


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parties to struggle themselves because certain castes lend strong support to particular

parties! "utual interaction is the only thing needed in order for them to both benefit

themselves! Political parties can .ust easily offer these caste groups 1hat they 1ant 00 act

of bribery 00 in e@change of their votes! Additionally, communalism has posted a great

threat to /ndia=s secularism! 'eligious groups have risen to support different candidates

1hich have led to a number of movements pressurizing the government! $inally, the most

controversial issue for election failure is the lac& of moral values in politics! -he fall of

the moral standards in both public and among the leaders of the country has brought /ndia

into a critical level, ma&ing criminalization of politics and politicization of criminals

norms in the society and these norms become the most incurable disease in every country!

-hese issues alarmed some people in /ndia to call for electoral reforms! A lot of

administrations and leaders 1eren=t able to solve these problems, though the present /ndia

is 1or&ing on having variety of measures for strict compliance of the "odel Code of

Conduct, to provide a level playing field during elections!

7ntomology 0 $oundationalist

(pistemology 0 /nterpretivist Perspective

"ethodology 0 8ualitative


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-ieleman, Bill!)ot (o *ast+ ,r"dea": -e )eed a Referend"m on Electoral Reform!December +2 )*+2! 'etrieved from:

http:99thetyee!ca97pinion9)*+29+)9+29(lectoral0'eform0'eferendum9

Bill -ieleman, a political columnist and a left01ing political strategist in ancouver,

British Columbia, Canada is &no1n for his coverage of the BC %egislature 'aids and for

opposing referendum on electoral reform! -ieleman 1as a director of communications forthe British Columbia $ederation of %abour and also in the 7ffice of the ?e1 Democratic

Premier #len Clar&! ;e o1ns Iest Star Communications, a consulting firm that provides

Rstrategy and communication services for labour, business, non0profits and government,!-ieleman appears as a political commentator on radio and 1rites a politics column

1ee&ly in the )3 ;ours ne1spaper and -he -yee online magazine!

-he ne1 %iberal government of Canada has vo1ed to change the 1ay Canadians electcandidates through a national referendum 1hich they vie1ed as an undemocratic move

by the government! %iberals did not indicate 1hat &ind of electoral system they 1ould

introduce and ho1 it 1ould 1or& in the present scene or 1hat process they 1ould follo1to get there!

Canadian people as& for a change that lasts! oting is essential in democracy as yougive the Canadian voters their opportunity to ta&e effect every election! -here are ma.or

issues to be considered such as the vast ma.ority! Canadians are no1 demanding for a

clear and concrete proposal on electoral reforms to a national binding referendum 1hich

1ill ma&e a one vote substantial to decision0ma&ing!

Also, democracy comes first! People from Canada thin& that %iberals should consider

the very essence of upholding the country=s democracy!

-he Canadian people are as&ing him -rudeau to lead and place the country and its

citizens before his party and build a representative democracy 1here all Canadians havethe opportunity to eGually participate in the governance and policy ma&ing of our

country! ;ence, if they 1ant a Rfair voteR in the ne@t election, they should allo1 the

participation of the Canadians to vote on any proposed changed to the electoral system!


(pistemology Positivist Perspective "ethodology 8uantitative
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/12/15/Electoral-Reform-Referendum/http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/12/15/Electoral-Reform-Referendum/


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9o'a", :under3. (2010)Electoral Reform in 3a!an?

4e .a May 4ot .i%e u! to E)!ectations 'etrieved

from:

http:99archive!fairvote!org9reports9+29chp9lundberg!h

tml

In ABBN 8apan replaced its old electoral system$ the singlenontransferable vote 9"*Q$ with a new$ mi(ed member system for the lowerhouse of the 8apanese ;iet that combines plurality voting in single-memberdistricts 9for DGG seats with regional$ closed-list proportional representation914 for the remaining FGG seats.

he previous "*Q system allowed voters one vote in elections for three to!ve representatives per constituency 9e(cept for a handful of smaller andlarger ones$ with the top vote-winning candidates taking those seats. >hilethis form of limited voting is not considered a true 14 system$ "*Q inpractice e(hibited a degree of proportionality 9comparing a party?s allocationof seats won to its percentage of national popular vote e'uivalent to someparty list proportional systems with small districts.


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5fter several scandals involving important %;1 o7cials$ publiccon!dence was shaken$ and a number of %;1 members left the party. he%;1 lost for the !rst time in the ABBD general election to a reformist coalition$composed mainly of former %;1 members. ne of the coalition?s mainpriorities was to change the electoral system. 5fter making proposals for a

mi(ed system combining !rst-past-the-post and proportional voting$ the %;1and the coalition agreed 9after an initial defeat in the ;iet?s upper house andan increase in single-member seats at the %;1?s re'uest on the DGG/FGGsplit.

his new system$ approved in ;ecember ABBN$ should not be confusedwith the erman and *ew +ealand electoral systems$ which also combineplurality and party list voting$ but are fully-Oedged 14. In these countries$ thetotal allocation of parliamentary seats for parties is determined e(clusively bythe party list vote$ meaning that single-member district candidates areincluded in that allotment. In the 8apanese plan -- like the mi(ed system

used in 4ussia -- the plurality and 14 list seats are completely separate andthere is no party list compensation for the results of the DGG single-memberdistrict races. his means that the new electoral system has a strong elementof ma&oritarianismR the largest$ best organi)ed parties are likely to gain themost seats at the e(pense of the smaller parties.

or this reason$ several small parties merged into a new conservativeparty called Shinshinto9*ew rontier in ;ecember$ ABBN. his party islargely the creation of e(-%;1 member Ichiro )awa$ a strong advocate ofplurality voting and the ma&oritarian politics he believes it will bring to 8apan9see his ABBN Blueprint for a ew !apan.

=owever$ it is possible that many of his fellow citi)ens do not share hisviews. he 8apanese press has a negative opinion of him$ based upon hisactions and the views of party members who know him. his coalition ofparties may have a di7cult time agreeing upon single candidates to standunder the "hinshinto banner in the single-member constituencies. >hile the%;1 is unpopular$ its support remained higher than that for "hinshinto 9FFKto K$ according to an 5pril ABBH survey by one of 8apan?s leadingnewspapers.

urthermore$ the same survey revealed a startling HMK of 8apanesevoter#s sampled do not supportanyparty$ thus undermining one of the goalsof the reform$ which was to make politics more party-oriented. In fact$ it islikely that the heavy dose of !rst-past-the-post voting will e(acerbatepersonali)ed politics$ as the %;1 and "hinshinto are both conservative partieswith few policy dierences.

he local elections in 5pril ABBH indicated a surge in support for


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independent candidates$ with the governorships for both okyo and sakawon by candidates who had no party a7liation and did not even campaign.

If party-centric politics is what the 8apanese truly want$ a betterapproach would likely have been to adopt a national closed party list 14

system for the entire =ouse of 4epresentatives. 5 national legal threshold9minimum vote re'uirement could be used to prevent e(cessive partyfragmentation. In this way$ the power of personalities and parochialism couldbe most eectively minimi)ed$ party cohesion ma(imi)ed and electoralfairness better ensured.




U%/. (2017) Analysis+ Electoral Reforms in Pa5istan - "ransformin, an idea into

reality 'etrieved from:

http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hivSaids/developme

nt-advocate-issue-N-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---

transforming-an-idea-i.html

-he aftermath of the )*+< general elections set the stage for a remar&able moment

in Pa&istanLs democratic process0unprecedented voter interest especially among 1omenand youth! Ihile previous periods of debate focused on fundamental issues of transitions

to elected government, todayLs discussion is no1 predominantly focused on the roles of

democratic actors in the process, 1hether that be the (lectoral Commission of Pa&istan5(CP6, the political parties, or the .udiciary! -his LnormalizationL of politics naturally

follo1s the first democratic transition of po1er from one elected government to another0it

represents a great potential for progress! -han&s in large part to the substantial progressmade in recent years, both in constitutional amendments01hich reconfigured the electoral

institutions, technical improvements such as the computerization of electoral rolls and a

note1orthy addition of the ne1 media environment! /n this ne1 media and political

environment, the public e@pectations in the area of elections have increased! Citizens andpolitical parties are interested in strengthening the 1ay in 1hich officials are elected and

for the first time a mature debate about fi@ing the nuts and bolts of the system has

emerged!

"uch in& has been spilt and numerous television hours have been devoted to the

issue of electoral reforms! -he political leadership of Pa&istan and the reports on thegeneral elections are e@tensive and detailed! 7bservers and civil society have been

diligent in their collection and publication of e@tensive electoral data! -he formation of
http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.htmlhttp://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.htmlhttp://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.htmlhttp://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.htmlhttp://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.htmlhttp://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/library/hiv_aids/development-advocate-issue-4-english/analysis--electoral-reforms-in-pakistan---transforming-an-idea-i.html


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the Parliamentary Committee on (lectoral reforms 5PC('6 represents a community by

the government and the parties in parliament to loo& seriously at reforms!

$or all of the supporters of the idea of reforms, there remains a significant Guestion:;o1M ;o1 can society secure the electoral process to 1hich they aspireM 'eform

processes neither end 1ith finding fault in the current system, nor 1ith putting for1ard

good ideas on ho1 to bring about change! Appointing a ne1 Chief (lectionCommissioner 5C(C6 and investigating the previous elections is not sufficient! 'ather,

there must be an accepted roadmap for achieving the status 1here every voter has full

confidence in a free and fair process, from the delimitation of constituencies to theannouncement of final results! (@perience from around the 1orld demonstrates that

substantive electoral reforms are fundamentally difficult to achieve! (ven a small t1ea&

may shift the political balance of po1er! /nstitutional and political forces 1ill normally be

timid to adopt changes 1hich could compromise their interests and so it is a uniGuesituation in 1hich large0scale electoral reforms occur!

-he classic case of this dynamic can be seen in the perennial Guestion of ho1proportional or ma.oritarian an electoral system should be: smaller parties 1ith a

diversified support base 1ill tend to push for a more proportional system, 1hile larger

parties or those 1ith a concentrated support t base 1ill tend to prefer a ma.oritariansystem because it is li&ely to give them more seats than their vote share! /f the reforms

1ill amend the constitution, then the bill must be passed by t1o0thirds ma.ority in both

houses! -he bill must first be passed in the ?ational Assembly 5?A6, then the Senate, and

finally sent for signature by the President! /f the Senate passes it 1ith amendments, then itshall return to the ?A for passage! /f the Senate fails to pass it in * days, then it 1ill be

included in the .oint session!

ntology - oundationalist Epistemology - 1ositivist 1erspective 2ethodology - 3uantitative


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#ente, Maragaret. (201$) rudeau#s electoral reform: Canada#s game

changer. 4etrieved from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/who-

wants-trudeaus-electoral-reform/articleFMBMDFHN/

he article by 2argaret >ente for the lobal 2ail stresses the promise of

%iberals during last year#s election campaign to introduce a series of

democratic reforms$ including changing the way that Canadians elect their

federal representatives.

he said electoral reform is said to Lmake every vote count#. 8ustin

rudeau and his party swept into power in ctober#s election on a series ofbig promises$ including a pledge FGAH would mark the last election under

!rst-past-the-post. "ince the %iberals have formed government$ enacting

some of those plans whether it#s a pledge to bring in FH$GGG "yrian refugees

or withdraw !ghter &ets from the battle against "yria is turning out to be

harder than e(pected. *ow$ the plan to create a more democratic democracy

is casting a shadow over those lofty ambitions. In the past$ rudeau has

e(pressed his support for a preferential ballot system$ where voters in a

particular riding rank the candidates in their order of preference. In that

system$ if nobody has an absolute ma&ority after the !rst count$ the candidate

with the least number of votes is eliminated. he second-place choices on theballots cast for that unsuccessful candidate are redistributed to the other

candidates. his process goes on until one person has a ma&ority. he

government has said that other forms of voting would be studied as well$

including proportional representation.

he most important thing you need to know is this: *o system is$ or can

be$ perfect. *o system can simultaneously be completely fair to smaller
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/who-wants-trudeaus-electoral-reform/article27973254/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/who-wants-trudeaus-electoral-reform/article27973254/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/who-wants-trudeaus-electoral-reform/article27973254/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/who-wants-trudeaus-electoral-reform/article27973254/


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parties$ allow a direct link between each 2ember of 1arliament and a

community of constituents$ and produce governments that directly reOect the

millions of votes cast.It#s been mathematically proven by something called

5rrow#s impossibility theorem.




;ri3t, +i&er.(201)(lectoral reform: %abour, S?P, U&ip and %ib Dems to campaignfor proportional representation! 'etrieved from:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/electoral-reform-labour-snp-ukip-and-lib-dems-to-campaign-for-proportional-representation-aHBMAA.html

Iritten for /ndependent UH, Iright recounts the efforts of Senior %abour

bac&benchers 1ho have begun tal&s 1ith %iberal Democrat, #reen and U&ip "Ps to set

up a ne1 cross party campaign to bring about proportional representation in general

elections!

5ccording to the article$ the former shadow


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proposed system would ,keep the best bits of what we have now$ such as the

constituency link for 21s$ but would better represent how people vote.

Both men are li&ely to face stiff resistance from others 1ithin the %abour Party

including the ne1 leader eremy Corbyn 1ho support first past the post because it

traditionally favoured the t1o main parties! But "r Umunna said %abour had to acceptreality and admit that t1o0party politics in the conventional sense is effectively over!




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