Our electoral system spawns small parties that hold us to ransom by way of coalitions
10 November 2022 - 14:25
The constitution stipulates that whatever electoral system SA adopts it must result in proportional representation . It does not say why. But one can easily guess. The drafters must have concluded that PR is superior to any other conceivable system because — well, because it ensures that votes are represented proportionally. So if 5% of those who vote choose party X, then party X should get 5% of the legislature’s seats. Any other arrangement would leave that 5% either under- or overrepresented.
And so, extremist parties representing very few people potentially become enormously powerful, making the country impossible to govern. It is hard to argue that this is what the electorate wants. As unfashionable as it may sound, the design that does that best is the two-party system. Locked in competition with one another, both big parties are forced to aggregate as broad a coalition of interests as they can. If they fail, they will lose the next election.
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