Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Electoral proposals.doc

8/10/2019 Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Electoral proposals.doc

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Jamaat -e- Islami Pakistans Proposals

for free, fair and transparent electoral system, submitted to the

Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms

Jamaat-e Islami Pakistan has always been struggling for a fair, free and transparent

elections, and, in this connection, it has been engaged in communication, written

proposals and with personal presence in the Elections Commission of Pakistan.

Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms has asked for proposals from all the

Political Parties and general public as well, so that the electoral process be made more

transparent and acceptable to all political parties.

1. Empowerment of Election commission of Pakistan

efore submitting proposals, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan belie!es that without independent,

autonomous and financial independence of ECP, a transparent electoral system and dream of fair

representation of people cannot come true. ECP should not be dependant to any other

organi"ation for its finances. It is the duty of ECP to take steps for easy understanding, unify and

simplify all the election laws.ECP is responsible and should check the matters day by day in

whole electoral process from announcement of schedule till announcement of results. it is the

duty of ECP to implement the election laws including code of conduct in letter and spirit.

#onorable $upreme Court of Pakistan in constitution petition %&'()** in detailed +udgment ha!e

obser!ed, declared and directed the election commission as under

In pursuance of the abo!e, we hold and direct as under -

a /ll the election laws be strictly implemented by the Election Commission in the discharge

of its constitutional mandate under /rticle (*%0 of the Constitution, Representation of the

People /ct and other laws'rules1

b 2he Election Commission is empowered to check not +ust illegal actions relating to the

election !iolating the limits set for campaign finance, etc. or corrupt practices bribery,

etc., but is also empowered to re!iew all election acti!ities33..

2he Election Commission is also empowered to take pre-empti!e measures to ensure that

the spirit of democracy and 4fairness, +ustness and honesty5 of elections is fully obser!ed.

2he Election Commission is, therefore, directed to take all necessary steps to ensure the

same1

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It was obser!ed by the honorable $upreme court that 2he Representation of the People /ct,

*6&7 !ests the Election Commission with the responsibilities and powers to, inter alia,

regulate election e8penses, pro!ide for 9ffences, penalties and procedures in case of breach

of Conditions relating thereto, resol!e all election disputes, declare the election !oid, etc.

2he constitutional re:uirement to hold elections fairly, freely, honestly, +ustly and in

accordance with law obligates the Election Commission to e8ercise all powers !ested in it

to the best of standards and norms const. petition %&'()**.

In the end of +udgment the honorable $upreme Court has directed

n 2he Election Commission is empowered to frame rules to ensure that the elections are

conducted +ustly, fairly, honestly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are

guarded against. 2here is unanimity of !iews on !arious suggested courses of action.

2herefore, we direct the Election Commission to frame rules and issue instructions to

pro!ide legal sanction to these measures and implement the same to achie!e the ultimateob+ecti!e of fair, free, +ust and honest election.

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan demands ECP to implement the supreme court of Pakistan +udgment of

)% June ()*( in letter and spirit.

2 Proposed !teps for Error-free Electoral Rolls

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan demands that a comprehensi!e fair and error free list of all eligible

!oters be prepared before ne8t election ()*%.In line of achie!ing abo!e goal following steps

must be taken by the ECP.

*. last census was held in *66% and during past years many changes ha!e come into e8istence

and it is duty of the go!ernment to held census after *) years.ECP should make

arrangements immediately for house census and population census to make re!ision of

electoral rolls annually to fulfill the constitutional re:uirement of the annual !erification of

electoral rolls and this be done strictly without any delay and must be complete before

coming elections. RECs should be make responsible for their areas regarding update of

electoral rolls.

(. /ll who ha!e ;/


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dishonestly during the process of registration'!erification and in case of any irregularity,

negligence and malpractice, the official must be punished.

>. %0)) $?$ ser!ice launched by the ECP should be continued and not be stopped. 2his

ser!ice helped the !oters a lot.It is proposed that online !oter registration system be

introduced and it be linked with ;/


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be selected on permanent basis according to their track record during the pre!ious

elections. =ederal and Pro!incial departments should be asked to gi!e the list of employees

who are competent, honest, hard-worker, a!ailable on polling day and those who ha!e past

e8perience they should be preferred and new entries should be trained. Employees who

ha!e any type of political affiliation should be ignored at this stage for this national

importance duty.

7. Bomen should be pro!ided safe and secure en!ironment for casting their !ote and Persons

in!ol!ed in restraining the woman from !oting must be punished.

&. Polling stations of women should be established at nearest place and with ade:uate

conditions1 facilities and female staff should be deployed.

%. ECP should ensure the security of women staff, women !oters and woman polling agents

and should make laws and strict punishment for any !iolation for the safety of women

during the election process.

6. Election commission should place the booth wise result of e!ery polling station on website

of ECP.

10. Presiding officer should be bound to announce each polling booth result to the public

present there and should deli!er result to polling agent after duly signed by him and polling

agent should also sign the result.

**. Political parties and candidates should be barred from pro!iding transport, making

payments or arranging free meals.

*(. ECP should make codes of conduct for political parties and contesting candidates, election

obser!ers, polling staff, security personnel and others, based on the e8periences learnt from

the Aeneral Elections ()*0. /ll abo!e steps be made part of election laws with strict and

defined penalties.

*0. Postal balloting system be e8amined and impro!ements should be made to a!oid the past

bad e8periences in counting of !otes, there were some e8amples of opening of postal

ballots after the unofficial announcement of results.

*>. ECP should take steps to introduce geographical information system AI$ and de!elop

capacity to conduct ne8t delimitation of constituencies using AI$ technology beforeconducting national census as per the constitutional re:uirements.

*@. $eparate Returning 9fficer should be appointed for each constituency for better

obser!ation, super!ision, scrutiny and in-time announcement of the elections results.

*7. Persons in!ol!ed in the selling and purchasing of !otes should be duly punished.

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$-%omination of candidates and scrutiny

*. Political parties should bring forward in elections persons ha!ing good character,

ade:uate knowledge of Islamic teachings and ha!e no pre!ious criminal record againstthem.

(. Persons ha!ing dual nationality should not be allowed to contest in any election as a

candidate, they should be strictly barred to engage themsel!es in any political acti!ity,

including speeches, analysis and other nature of whatsoe!er acti!ity on print or

electronic media.

0. . Returning officers should deal with the scrutiny process while keeping in mind the

tribunals, high courts and $upreme Court +udgments relating to articles 7( and 70 of the

constitution and constitutional and legal pro!isions relating to the :ualification and

dis:ualification for the candidates.

5. 2he scrutiny of candidates be conducted by Returning 9fficers must be not 9nly done

but seen practically. /n attempt to ensure impartiality be made in future elections by

following the constitutional and legal pro!isions during the entire process of scrutiny.

&- '(erseas (otin#

* It is long time demand of Jamaat-e- Islami Pakistan to gi!e the right of !ote to o!erseas

Pakistanis.ECP should make arrangements for the !oting for o!erseas Pakistani and it is

necessary either in Pakistan or abroad that free and fair election e8ercise should be done at

the earliest possible time.

( ECP should make proper mechanism for the right of !ote for o!erseas Pakistanis according

to the directions made by the honorable supreme court of Pakistan.

)- Election e*penses, monitorin#

* 2he Election Commission must undertake monitoring of the election e8penses from the day

the holding of election is notified. / candidate must account for all the e8penses

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immediately after the election is o!er. E8penses made by the supporters of the candidate

must be included in e8penses limit for the candidate.

( Election commission should de!elop and implement a mechanism through legislation and

by detailed directi!es to monitor and regulate spending by the political parties during

election campaigns. Bhile fi8ing the e8penses limit for the parties and candidates the ECPshould e8press in details the number and si"e of banners, posters, handbill and other

election campaign related material.

0 Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan5s first preferences is that no party or candidate should e8ceed the

limit of e8penses already fi8ed by the ECP for national and pro!incial assemblies. It is

further proposed that in case ECP fi8es separate imit of e8penses for the parties for the

co!erage on electronic and print media be fi8ed and Cost incurred against time and place

purchased by the parties on electronic and print media must be included in the fi8ed

e8penses limit of ECP for the parties and candidates separately, and monitored strictly by

the ECP.

> 2here is dire need to gi!e complete legal co!er to the codes of conduct so non-compliance

will become a punishable offence.

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Correcti!e measures are re:uired to be taken by the Election Commission to ensure that the

election disputes are resol!ed at the earliest. 2he Election Commission may also consider

establishing a panel of lawyers well con!ersant with election laws at the $tate e8pense to pro!ide

free legal ser!ices to marginali"ed segments of society as $C has obser!ed In the +udgment in

const. petition %&'()** it is further proposed that ECP should determine the time for the

decision of election cases and it be followed by the +udicial authorities strictly.

-Computeri.ed system

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan strictly demands in principle with the computeri"ed system but system

must be fool-proofed and it should be made gradually on e8perimental basis, and all the stack-

holders must be taken into confidence in finali"ing this system.

* ECP should step forward with the passage of time for use of new technologies for free, fair

and transparent elections.

(- ED?s e8perience in the elections can be de!eloped, procured and tested in a few months.

0- $mart national identity cards should be pro!ided free of cost to the public or at nominal

cost and specification should be added In the card regarding !ote.

>- iometric identification must be made a compulsory re:uirement, eliminating the need for

wooden bo8es, ballot papers and the infamous magnetic ink with the passage of time and

with perfect system

/ll other modern means should be tested first and then piloted before use in ne8t election.

/ Penal steps

* ECP should specify'describe the punishment and fines for different kinds of !iolations of

elections laws, rules and conduct before, during and after the polling.

( /ll the punishments and fines already prescribed should be enhanced accordingly and be acted

upon in letter and spirit.

esides the abo!e-cited proposals, Jamaat-e Islami Pakistan would also like to submit before the

Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms detail of different types of Proportional $ystems

in !arious countries of the world, so that a better system based on the opinion of e!ery single

!oter may be introduced.

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01- lternate (otin# system by type3

0-4i*ed !ystems

/dditional ?ember $ystem

i5 dditional 4ember !ystem 64!5, also known as 4i*ed 4ember Proportional

7here is 4! used8

2he $cottish Parliament

2he Belsh /ssembly

2he Areater ondon /ssembly

2he Aerman undestag

;ew ealandFs #ouse of Representati!es?e8icoFs CGmara de


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2he case for 2he arguments against

Each !oter has a directly

accountable single

constituency representati!e.

#a!ing two different types of representati!e creates

animosity between them. In Bales and $cotland, for

e8ample, /?s and ?$Ps elected !ia the regionallists ha!e been seen as ha!ing Fgot in !ia the

backdoorF or as Fassisted placeF or Fsecond classF

members.

E!ery !oter has at least one

effecti!e !ote.

/?$ sometimes gi!es rise to Fo!erhangF seats, where

a party wins more seats !ia the constituency !ote

than it is entitled to according to their proportional

!ote. In Aermany and ;ew ealand, but not in the

M, e8tra seats are allocated to the other parties to

redress the balance. 2his can get complicated andlead to further bickering and animosity.

It allows a !oter to e8press

personal support for a

candidate, without ha!ing to

worry about going against

their party.

It can be complicated, with people getting confused

o!er e8actly what theyFre supposed to do with their

two !otes.

ii5 he lternati(e :ote Plus 6:;53

It uses the /lternati!e Dote in which !oters rank candidates in order of preference to elect a

candidate in each constituency, and then uses a small top-up list to make the o!erall result more

proportional.

Doters can either select their fa!orite party or choose their fa!orite candidate from the top-up list

and the !otes are then allocated to represent each party5s share of the !otes proportionally

Pros and cons of the lternati(e :ote Plus

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2-

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nder =irst Past 2he Post =P2P !oting takes place in single-member constituencies. Doters put

a cross in a bo8 ne8t to their fa!oured candidate and the candidate with the most !otes in the

constituency wins. /ll other !otes count for nothing. Be belie!e =P2P is the !ery worst system

for electing a representati!e go!ernment.

7here is =PP used8

M to elect members of the #ouse of Commons

$/ to elect the $ Congress

2o elect members of the lower houses in India and Canada

=P2P is the second most widely used !oting system in the world, after Party ist-PR.

In crude terms, it is used in places that are, or once were, ritish colonies. 9f the many countries

that use =irst Past 2he Post , the most commonly cited are the M to elect members of the #ouseof Commons, both chambers of the $ Congress, and the lower houses in India and Canada.

=irst Past 2he Post used to be e!en more widespread, but many countries that used to use it ha!e

adopted other systems.

Pros and cons of =irst past he Post


ItFs simple to understand and

thus doesnFt cost much to

administer and doesnFt

alienate people who canFt

count.

Representati!es can get elected on tiny amounts of public

support as it does not matter by how much they win, only that

they get more !otes than other candidates.

It doesnFt take !ery long to

count all the !otes and work

out whoFs won, meaning

results can be declared a

handful of hours after pollsclose.

It encourages tactical !oting, as !oters !ote not for the candidate

they most prefer, but against the candidate they most dislike.

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2he !oter can clearly e8press

a !iew on which party they

think should form the ne8tgo!ernment.

=P2P in effect wastes huge numbers of !otes, as !otes cast in a

constituency for losing candidates, or for the winning candidate

abo!e the le!el they need to win that seat, count for nothing.

It tends to produce a two-

party system which in turn

tends to produce single-party

go!ernments, which donFt

ha!e to rely on support from

other parties to pass

legislation.

=P2P se!erely restricts !oter choice. Parties are coalitions of

many different !iewpoints. If the preferred-party candidate in

your constituency has !iews with which you donFt agree, you

donFt ha!e a means of saying so at the ballot bo8.

It encourages Fbroad-churchF

centrist policies.

Rather than allocating seats in line with actual support, =P2P

rewards parties with FlumpyF support, i.e. with +ust enough !otes

to win in each particular area. 2hus, losing >,))) !otes in one

area can be a good idea if it means you pick up >)) !otes in

another. Bith smaller parties, this works in fa!our of those with

centralised support.

. Bith relati!ely small constituency si"es, the way boundaries are

drawn can ha!e important effects on the election result, whichencourages attempts at gerrymandering.

$mall constituencies also lead to a proliferation of safe seats,

where the same party is all but guaranteed re-election at each

election. 2his not only in effect disenfranchises a regionFs

!oters, but it leads to these areas being ignored when it comes to

framing policy.

If large areas of the country are electoral deserts for a particular

party, not only is the area ignored by that party, but also

ambitious politicians from the area ha!e to mo!e away from

their homeland if they want to ha!e influence within their party.

ecause =P2P restricts a constituencyFs choice of candidates,

representation of minorities and women suffers from Fmost

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broadly acceptable candidate syndromeF, where the FsafestF

looking candidate is the most likely to be offered a chance to

stand for election

Encouraging two-party politics can be an ad!antage, but in a

multi-party culture, third parties with significant support can be

greatly disad!antaged.

ii5 >lock :ote, also known as 4ultiple %on-ransferable :ote

7here is >lock :ote used8

O ondon borough elections.

O $ome county, Belsh unitary, English unitary and most English shire district authority elections.

O ocal elections in #ungary and $lo!enia.

O Polish local and senatorial elections

O $lo!akian local and regional elections.

O ;ational assembly elections in ebanon and ?auritius,

O $enatorial elections in the Philippines.

9ow does >lock :ote work8

2he lock Dote is a !oting system used in multi-member constituencies where !oters can elect

more than one representati!e in each constituency.

Doters can cast as many !otes as there are a!ailable seats and the candidates with the most !otes

win, e!en if they ha!e not managed to secure a ma+ority of the !otes.

Pros and Cons of the >lock :ote

2he arguments against

It is relati!ely simple for !oters It is !ery disproportional and enables the strongest party with

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2he arguments against

to understand. a comfortable or narrow ma+ority to take all the seats in the

constituency

It encourages strong party

organisation.

It encourages tactical !oting. In order to a!oid wasting !otes

on candidates who are certain to either win or lose, electors

ha!e an incenti!e to !ote for candidates who ha!e a realistic

but not definite chance of winning.

iii5 >orda count

9ow does >orda Count work8

2he orda Count is a form of preferential !oting in single member constituencies where !oters

rank candidates in order of preference and the rankings are con!erted into points.

Candidates score one point for being ranked last, two for being ne8t-to-last and so on. 2he

candidate who recei!es the most points is declared the winner.

2he Pros and cons of orda Count


2he orda Count shares the ad!antages of

other preferential !oting systems such as

the /lternati!e Dote and the $ingle2ransferable Dote, in that all ?Ps would

ha!e the support of a ma+ority of their

!oters.

It encourages a strategic approach by parties to

nominations. /n e8tra candidate increases the

cardinal number of points in the system and alters therelati!ities between other candidates. / minority

faction, by standing more candidates, can increase its

chances of pre!ailing o!er a ma+ority.

It tends to elect broadly acceptablecandidates, rather than those supported by

the ma+ority.

It encourages tactical !oting to an e!en greater e8tentthan =irst Past the Postas in orda Counts your

e8pression of lower preferences can harm your first

choice.

i(5 he ?imited :ote

7here is the ?imted :ote used8

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O 2he $panish $enate.

O AibraltarFs #ouse of /ssembly, where electors ha!e eight !otes for the *@ seats.

O Darious local-le!el elections, such as those for municipal offices in some $ $tates.

9ow does the ?imited :ote work8

2he imited Dote is a !oting system used in multi-member constituencies.

Doters ha!e more than one !ote, but less !otes than the number of seats to be filled. 2he

candidates with the most !otes get elected.

nder a !ariant of imited Dote called the $ingle ;on-2ransferable Dote $;2D, !oters cast

+ust one !ote in multi-member constituencies and seats go to the candidates with the most !otes.

Pros and cons of the ?imted :ote


It is relati!ely simple for !oters to

understand.

2he imited Dote leads to disproportional

outcomes. 2he more !otes an elector has, the more

disproportional the result will be and the harder it is

for smaller parties or minority candidates to gain

representation.

It encourages strong party organi"ation.

(5 !upplementary :ote

9ow does the !upplementary :ote work8

2he $upplementary Dote $D is a shortened !ersion of the /lternati!e Dote /D. nder $D,

there are two columns on the ballot paper one for !oters to mark their first choice and one in

which to mark a second choice. Doters mark one FHF in each column, although !oters are not

re:uired to make a second choice if they do not wish to.

7here is !: used8

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/ll directly elected English mayors, most notably the ?ayor of ondon.

Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Bales

/ll the first choices are then counted, and if a candidate has a ma+ority, they are elected. If no

candidate recei!es a ma+ority, the top two candidates continue to a second round and all other

candidates are eliminated. 2he second-choice !otes of e!eryone whose first choice has beeneliminated are then counted.

/ny !otes for the remaining candidates are then added to their first-round totals. Bhiche!er

candidate has the most !otes after these second-preferences ha!e been allocated is declared the

winner.

Pros and cons of the !upplementary :ote


2o some e8tent, $D encourages

conciliatory campaigning, as gaining

second-preference !otes is important.

nlike the /lternati!e Dote, $D does not ensure that

the winning candidate has the support of at least @) of

the electorate.

It is a relati!ely simple system to

understand.

$D strongly promotes !oting for only candidates from

the main three parties.

If there are more than two strong candidates, !otersmust guess which two will make the final round, and if

they guess incorrectly, their second-preference !ote will

be wasted. In such circumstances it may e!en be

possible for !oters to defeat their preferred candidate

2he system can lead to a lot of wasted !otes as many of

the !otes cast in the first round end up not transferring

and being counted in the second round

$D does not eliminate the likelihood of tactical !oting.

(i5 wo-Round !ystem 6R!5, it also known as Run-off :otin#

7here is R! used8

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O =rench legislati!e, presidential and cantonal elections

O 2he #eads of $tate in a number of European countries.

9ow does the wo-Round !ystem work8

2he 2wo-Round $ystem is similar to the /lternati!e Dote /D. Doters mark their preferred

candidate with an KHL, if the candidate wins a certain le!el of support usually @) percent of the

!ote they are elected.

If no one wins @) percent of the !ote, all candidates e8cept the top two are e8cluded and !oters

are asked to !ote a second time, usually two or three weeks later. In the second round, the

candidate who wins the most !otes is elected.

Pros and Cons of the wo-Round !ystem


It is slightly more representati!e than =irst

Past the Post =P2P and can be of benefit

to smaller parties.

It has similar disad!antages to =irst Past the Post

=P2P and is less sophisticated than

the /lternati!e Dote /D.

It is often said that in the first-round you

!ote with your heart, and in the second

you !ote with your head. #ence there is

less need to !ote tactically in the first-

round.

It is highly disproportional and fa!ors large

parties.

$econd-round bartering encourages parties

to remain friendly with each other

although this tends to be true only within

broad party KblocsL.

2he !oting process is drawn out o!er a period of

two or three weeks and possibly longer.

It is easy for !oters to understand and is

simple to count.

nlike /D, the first-round encourages a certain

amount of tactical !oting because of risk of thecompromise choice not reaching second-round.

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If no compromise candidate reaches the second-

round, it can lead to surprising outcomes Jean-

?arie e Pen of the =rench ;ational =ront:ualified for the second-round in the =rench

Presidential election in ())( to the horror of

many obser!ers. 2his ultimately ga!e Jac:ues

Chirac one of the biggest electoral landslides in

=rench history.

(ii5 lternati(e :ote

lternati(e :ote, also known as Instant Runoff Doting or Ranked Choice Doting

7here is the lternati(e :ote used8

abour leadership elections

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Candidates are elected outright if they gain more than half of the first preference !otes. If not, the

candidate who lost the one with least first preferences is eliminated and their !otes are

redistributed according to the second or ne8t a!ailable preference marked on the ballot paper.2his process continues until one candidate has half of the !otes and is elected.

In a M-wide referendum in ()** the ritish public was asked if they wanted to replace =irstPast the Post =P2P with the /lternati!e Doting system for electing members of parliament. 2he

referendum produced a definiti!e no !ote against /D.

Pros and cons of the lternati(e :ote

2he case for /D 2he arguments against

/ll ?Ps would ha!e the support of a

ma+ority of their !oters. =ollowing the ()*)

Aeneral Election, two thirds of the ?Ps

elected lacked ma+ority support, the highest

figure in ritish political history.

/D is not proportional representation and in

certain electoral conditions, such as landslides,

can produce a more disproportional result

than =irst Past the Post =P2P

It retains the same constituencies, meaning

no need to redraw boundaries, and no o!ert

erosion of the constituency-?P link.

In close three-way races the KcompromiseL

candidate could be defeated in the first round

e!en though they may be more broadlyacceptable to the electorate than the top two

candidates.

It penali"es e8tremist parties, who are

unlikely to gain many second-preference

!otes.

ower preferences can potentially throw up a

Klowest common denominatorL winner without

much positi!e support of their own.

It encourages candidates to chase second-and third-preferences, which lessens the

need for negati!e campaigning one doesnFt

want to alienate the supporters of anothercandidate whose second preferences one

wants and rewards broad-church policies.

/ !oting system that allows !oters to rankcandidates is prone to so-called F


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O /ll elections in the Republic of Ireland, e8cept elections for the presidency and by-elections

which are both conducted using the /lternati!e Dote.

O /ssembly, European and local go!ernment elections in ;orthern Ireland.

O ocal elections in $cotland, from ())&.

O 2he /ustralian $enate.

O 2he 2asmanian #ouse of /ssembly.

O 2he indirect elections to the Ra+ya $abha, the upper house of IndiaFs federal Parliament.

O /ll elections in ?alta.

O Darious local authorities in ;ew ealand.

O ?any M student unions it is promoted by the ;ational nion of $tudents as the fairest

electoral system, the Church of England and many other pri!ate organisations.

9ow does the !in#le ransferable :ote work8

2he $ingle 2ransferable Dote $2D is a form of proportional representation which uses

preferential !oting in multi-member constituencies.

Candidates donFt need a ma+ority of !otes to be elected, +ust a known F:uotaF, or share of the

!otes, determined by the si"e of the electorate and the number of positions to be filled.

Each !oter gets one !ote, which can transfer from their first-preference to their second-

preference, so if your preferred candidate has no chance of being elected or has enough !otes

already, your !ote is transferred to another candidate in accordance with your instructions. $2D

thus ensures that !ery few !otes are wasted, unlike other systems, especially =irst Past the Post,

where only a small number of !otes actually contribute to the result.

Pros and cons of the !in#le ransferable :ote


$2D gi!es !oters more choice than any othersystem. 2his in turn puts most power in the hands

of the !oters, rather than the party heads, who

under other systems can more easily determine

who is elected. nder $2D ?PsF responsibilities

lie more with the electorate than those abo!e them

In sparsely populated areas, such as the$cottish #ighlands, $2D could lead to

massi!e constituencies. 2his was one of

the reasons cited by the /rbuthnott

Commission for not recommending $2D

for non-local $cottish elections.

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in their party.

=ewer !otes are FwastedF i.e. cast for losing

candidates or unnecessarily cast for the winner

under $2D. 2his means that most !oters canidentify a representati!e that they personally

helped to elect. $uch a link in turn increases a

representati!eFs accountability.

2he process of counting the results takes

longer under $2D, meaning that results

cannot usually be declared on the samenight as the !ote took place.

Bith $2D and multi-member constituencies,

parties ha!e a powerful electoral incenti!e to

present a balanced team of candidates in order to

ma8imise the number of higher preferences that

would go to their sponsored candidates. 2his

helps the ad!ancement of women and ethnic-

minority candidates, who are often o!erlooked in

fa!our of a FsaferF looking candidate.

/ !oting system that allows !oters to rank

candidates is prone to so-called F


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general election of ())@ were faced with a

dilemma, as they wanted to support a certain

party, but did not want to support the war in Ira:.

$2D would ha!e helped them e8press these !iews

much more clearly.

nder $2D, as opposed to hybrid systems such as

/?$, all ?Ps are elected on the same basis, thus

lessening the chances of there being animosity

between them.

2here are no safe seats under $2D, meaning

candidates cannot be complacent and parties must

campaign e!erywhere, and not +ust in marginal

seats.

Bhen !oters ha!e the ability to rank candidates,

the most disliked candidate cannot win, as they

are unlikely to pick up second-, third- and lower-

preference !otes.

y encouraging candidates to seek first-, as well

as lower-preference !otes, the efficacy of negati!e

campaigning is greatly diminished.

2here is no need for tactical !oting.

2here is a more sophisticated link between a

constituency and its representati!e. ;ot only is

there more incenti!e to campaign and work on a

more personal and local le!el, but also, the

constituencies are likely to be more sensible

reflections of where community feeling lies. =ore8ample, there is more of an attachment to the

City of eeds or the City of ?anchester, than

there is to, say, eeds ;orth East or ?anchester

Bithington, whose boundaries ha!e a habit of

changing fairly regularly anyway.

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ii5 Party ?ist Proportional Representation

2he Proportional Representation $ystem is a de!ice through which almost all the !otes cast in an

election become effecti!e in producing some political weight in the decision-making body.

Proportional system should be considered as a !iable alternati!e for the e8isting system ofelections, which is better suited to attaining electoral +ustice and national harmony a primary

goal of the society that the ma+ority system presently pre!alent in Pakistan is incapable ofattaining. It has been submitted that the proportional system has the following merits a Bider

Representation b Political Institutionali"ationc Political Education d =air Elections e

Crystalli"ation of Ideologyf Political E:uationsg $ense of Participation and Confidenceh

2olerance for

Documents

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Electoral proposals.doc