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We wish to open this "Anglo-Saxon dossier" with a brief introduction on the different electoral systems and with some considerations which highlight the strong points of the Anglo-Saxon or one-round majority system. Jacques Velu is a lawyer of the Court of Cassation and a professor at the Open University of Brussels. The following article is an excerpt from his book "Public Law", volume I, published by "Bruylant", Brussels in 1986.

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The electoral system

1. Electoral systems generally

From a technical point of view, we can distinguish three major types of electoral systems: the ones based on a majority ballot, those based on proportional representation and those that combine majority ballot and proportional representation, or mixed systems.

a) Majority systems

In systems based on a majority ballot, only the candidate or the list of candidates that has received the highest number of votes is elected. A double distinction may be established within these systems.

A distinction is made between majority, uninominal ballot on the one hand and majority list ballot on the other.

In the uninominal ballot, there is only one candidate to be elected: each elector votes for a single candidate, and thus the voting paper bears one name only. This system implies that the national territory be divided into a number of electoral constituencies corresponding to the number of seats to be given. Because electoral constituencies are small in size, this tends to establish more personal relationships between electors and elected.

In a list ballot, several candidates must be elected: each elector must vote for a list of candidates. This system calls for the territory to be divided into a smaller number of

constituencies compared to the previous system. Because constituencies are larger with this system, relations between the elector and the elected are weaker, while the role of the parties assumes greater importance. In such conditions, the electoral operation expresses more the choice of a political orientation than the choice of a single person.

A distinction must be made between one-round majority ballot and two-round majority ballot.

In a one-round majority ballot, the candidate(s) who arrive(s) first is elected: it is sufficient to obtain simple or relative majority. The seat(s) to be given are attributed immediately to the candidate or to the list which obtains more votes than any rival candidate or list. It makes no difference if this candidate or this list has less votes than the whole of the other candidates or lists.

To be elected at the first round, in a two-round majority ballot, the candidate or the list of candidates must obtain the absolute majority of votes (that is, more than half the votes cast). In the case that such majority is not achieved, there is a second ballot; a second round of voting is organized. At that point, the candidate or the list who has obtained the relative majority is elected.

The notion of second ballot, which implies a voting in several rounds, refers to the last round of voting which is organized when the requested conditions of majority have not been fulfilled by any candidate in the previous rounds.

b) Proportional systems

Proportional representation is a system of voting which tends to ensure a representation to each list in relation to the quantity of votes it has obtained: the seats to be given are attributed in proportion to the number of votes which the lists present at the elections have obtained. This system involves both list ballot and one-round ballot.

Proportional representation is elementary in its principle: it consists of attributing seats according to the proportion of votes. However, from a technical point of view, this system raises a mathematical problem, because whole numbers are seldom encountered in practice: it is the problem of "remainders", which are liable to be gathered on a national scale or be used in the different constituencies for the attribution of seats that remain to be assigned (d'Hondt system). To represent the different trends expressed in the voting in the most accurate way, there are different systems of proportional representation which aim at combining simplicity of electoral operations and sincerity of the picture obtained.

c) Mixed systems

Mixed systems represent a compromising solution between majority system and proportional representation.

Three major trends can be pointed out: mixed systems with a majority prevalence, proportional prevalence and balanced systems. The system in force in Germany is a mixed, balanced system.

2. Effects on political institutions

The effects on political institutions can be judged from different points of view.

a) The expression of the electorate's will

From the point of view of the expression of the electorate's will, it is clear that the majority system translates opinion trends only imperfectly. It may even be said that a one-round majority ballot gives a deformed picture of such trends.

The two-round majority ballot also has deforming effects on the representation of opinions, but generally to a lesser extent compared to a one-round majority ballot. Of all electoral systems, the ballot methods based on proportional representation is the one that gives a more faithful picture of opinion trends.

b) The regime of parties

From the point of view of the regime of parties, the effects of the ballot vary according to whether it is a one-round majority ballot or a two-round majority ballot or a proportional ballot. The one-round majority ballot tends to create a two-party system (e.g. Great Britain), whereas the two-round majority system is a factor that leads to a multi-party regime, which takes on extremely different forms according to the countries. As to the systems based on the proportional system, they favour the formation of various and independent parties.

c) Democratic participation

From the point of view of democratic participation, it is also important to distinguish between one-round majority ballot, two-round majority ballot and proportional ballot. To the extent in which it favours the concentration of parties, the one-round majority ballot tends to make the electorate's choice more effective. In the case of a two-party system, the majority is in the conditions of implementing the political program approved by the electors: the governmental action thus corresponds directly to the will of the majority of citizens, and is not a consequence of underground manoeuvres. If this ballot gives only an imperfect representation of opinions, it tends, on the other hand, to guarantee the electors of the implementation of the political program they have chosen. A two-round majority ballot favours the existence of a variety of parties and does not, on the other hand, offer this advantage. Systems based on proportional representation which do not allow to effectively carry out the electorate's wil

l if not with great difficulty are also factors that lead to a multi-party system. With their vote, electors intend to choose a political programme which the Government will then have to implement. But as no party will obtain the majority, the governments will necessarily be coalition governments, and the governmental action will be more the result of compromises reached among the political parties than the enactment of such opinions.