Social:Majoritarian representation
A majoritarian electoral system is an electoral system where the candidate with the most votes takes the seat using the winner-takes-all principle and in this way provides majoritarian representation. However, there are many electoral systems considered majoritarian based on different definitions, including types of at-large majoritarian representation such as block voting or party block voting (general ticket), but district-based majoritarian systems such as first-past-the-post voting (FPTP/SMP). Where two candidates are in the running, the one with the most votes will have a majority, but where there are three or more candidates, it often happens that no candidate takes a majority of the votes (see Plurality (voting)).
Majoritarian representation is applied here to mean district contests, not overall representation. It does not mean the party with the most votes will receive a majority of seats, but under First past the post the party with the most votes does usually take a majority of the seats. Common arguments for or against such systems usually take this into account. One example of a non-plurality (true-majoritarian) winner-takes-all system is Instant-runoff voting.[1] Many consider majoritarian systems to be undemocratic due to their disproportional results, as opposed to systems of proportional representation or justified representation, which aim to provide equal power to votes.
Definition and types
A common, loose definition of modern majoritarian systems is that such electoral systems which aims to provide the winning party (the party with a majority of plurality of votes) with enough seats to have a governing majority in an assembly, or at least one which generally favours strong parties disproportionally (as opposed to proportional representation, which generally aims to provide equal representation for every vote). This definition is more often used in non-scientific discussions about electoral systems.
The stricter definition of majoritarian representation is the winners of the election according to the voting system get (may force) all seats up for election in their district, denying representation to all minorities. By definition all single-winner voting systems provide majoritarian representation (but not all use a plurality/majority rule). For multi-winner elections, like electing an assembly of representatives, either the whole assembly can be elected with the whole electorate constituting a single electoral district (at-large majoritarian representation) or the electorate can be divided into majoritarian districts, most often single-member districts (SMDs). Today, the term majoritarian representation on its own refers to systems where the majoritarian principle used in local districts, as these are widely used worldwide.
Majoritarian representation does not mean the party with a plurality or majority always receive a majority of seats, as this is not guaranteed (see Hung parliament) and sometimes the party receiving the most votes get fewer seats than the party with the second most votes (see electoral inversion/majority reversal). This is because modern majoritarian systems use districts, but also because most majoritarian systems focus on individual candidates, instead of political parties. For the systems under which the (relative or absolute) majority wins the election see plurality or majority rule.
| Popular vote and proportional representation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Party name | A | B | C | D | 
|
If the assembly were elected using an at-large (nationwide) party-list proportional representation, the number of seats won by each party would correspond to their share of the popular vote. |
| Popular vote | Vote (%) | 44 | 40 | 10 | 6 | ||
| At-large proportional representation | Seats under party-list PR | 44 | 40 | 10 | 6 | ||
| Majoritarian systems | |||||||
| Type of electoral system | Electoral system | Party | Seat distribution | Explanation of example | |||
| A | B | C | D | ||||
| At-large majoritarian | party block voting (PBV) | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 
|
If the whole assembly is elected in a single (nationwide) constituency under party block voting using the plurality rule, the party with the highest number of votes always wins all seats. |
| Multi-member district majoritarian | party block voting (PBV) | 40 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 
|
If the assembly is elected in multi-member districts (e.g. five districts with 20 seats each) using party block voting single (nationwide) constituency under party block voting using the plurality rule, the party with the highest number of votes wins all seats in a district. However, the party with the highest number of votes nationwide might not win the most seats nationwide, as shown here (electoral inversion). A real-world example is the US Electoral College. |
| Single-member districts | first-past-the-post voting (FPTP/SMP) | 64 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 
|
If the assembly is elected in single-member districts using the first-past-the-post (single-member plurality) method, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins (the only) seat in their district. Often, the party with the highest number of votes wins in a landslide as shown here, but electoral inversion is still possible, as well as the case where no party receives an outright majority of seats (called a hung parliament in the UK). |
The principle of majoritarian democracy does not necessarily imply that a majoritarian electoral system needs to be used, in fact, using proportional systems to elect legislature usually better serve this principle as such aims to ensures that the legislature accurately reflects the whole population, not just the winners of the election and the majority rule is then used within the legislature. The most widely accepted modern views of representative democracy no longer consider majoritarian-at-large representation to be democratic. For this reason, nowadays majoritarian representation is most often used in single-winner districts, which allows nationwide minorities to gain representation if they make up a plurality or majority in at least one district, but some also consider this anti-democratic because of the possibility of an electoral inversion (like in the case of some US presidential elections: 2000, 2016).
Majoritarian and proportional systems are the most commonly used voting system worldwide, followed by mixed electoral systems. which usually combine majoritarian and proportional representation, although there are mixed system that combine two majoritarian systems as well. Majoritarian representation is also contrasted with proportional representation, which provides for representation of political minorities according to their share of the popular vote and semi-proportional representation, which inherently provides for some representation of minorities (at least above a certain threshold). Within mixed systems, mixed-member majoritarian representation (also known as parallel voting) provides semi-proportional representation, as opposed to mixed-member proportional systems.
At-large majoritarian representation
Historically the first multi-winner electoral systems were majoritarian at-large, namely block voting, or more generally the multiple non-transferable vote.[citation needed]
Theory
The majoritarian right was upheld by a large and important group of scholars. Aristotle launched a theory which was later assumed by many Roman thinkers who said that quod maior pars curiae efficit, pro eo habetur ac si omnes egerint (the decision taken by the majority of the senators is valid as it would be approved by all). Jean-Jacques Rousseau, consequently to his concept of general will, said that la voix du plus grand nombre oblige toujours tous les autres (the voice of the greater number ever forces all people). Adhémar Esmein said that if the entire country was a single constituency, the electoral majority would have the right to appoint all the deputies, as it appoints the head of the executive power; even in its extreme consequencies, this system does not cause an injustice to the minority, because the majority obtains no more than its right.
Decline
Quite undisputed until the first half of the 19th century, the classic majoritarian system, sometimes referred as block voting, began to be more and more criticized when great ideological differences arose. Corrections were worldwide progressively introduced in two senses:
- a first possibility was to reduce the size of the constituencies, so to divide the election in many local contests, and consequently increase the possibility for the minority to win in some areas. At-large elections were substituted by many multi-member constituencies and, finally, by single-winner electoral districts;
- a second possibility was to introduce corrections even still voting at-large or, at least, in multi-member constituencies:
- the limited voting system allowed the electors to vote a number of candidates which was lower than the contesting seats (limiting the multiple vote);
- the cumulative voting system allowed the electors to concentrate their full share of votes on fewer candidates (keeping the multiple vote, but making it possible to rearrange them);
- the single non-transferable vote was the extreme of the limited vote, the elector having a single choice in a multi-member race (abandoning the multiple vote but keeping the non-transferable property);
- the preferential block voting system allowed the electors to rank the candidates, imposing a quota to be elected (keeping the multiple vote, but abandoning the non-transferable property);
- the single transferable vote limits every voters value to one vote and also imposes a quota (abandoning both the multiple vote and non-transferable property with classical block voting, establishing proportional representation)
The version of block voting using electoral lists instead of individual candidates (general ticket or party block voting) was almost completely replaced by party-list proportional voting systems, which fully abandon the majoritarian criterion in favour of equal representation. However, with the majority bonus or majority jackpot types of mixed system, this type of majoritarianism at-large has partially reappeared in certain electoral systems.
Majoritarian districts
Majoritarian representation using single-winner districts is the most common form of pure majoritarian systems today, of which single-member plurality (SMP), which the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system used to elect members of an assembly is single-winner districts, is most widely used to elect legislatures.
However, due to high disproportionalities, it is also considered undemocratic by many. In Europe only Belarus and the United Kingdom use FPTP/SMP to elect the primary (lower) chamber of their legislature and France uses a two-round system (TRS). All other European countries either use proportional representation or use majoritarian representation as part of a mixed-member majoritarian system (Andorra, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine) or a mixed-member proportional system (Germany). However, other European countries also occasionally use majoritarian systems (apart from single-winner elections, like presidential or mayoral elections) for elections to the secondary chamber (upper house) of their legislature (Poland) and sub-national (local and regional) elections.
Majoritarian system are much more common outside Europe, particularly in the countries of the former British Empire, like Australia (IRV), Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the United States (FPTP/SMP).
Nowadays, at-large majoritarian representation is used for national elections only in the Senate of the Philippines, while it is sometimes still used for local elections organised on non-partisan bases. Residual usage in several multi-member constituencies is reduced to the election of the Electoral college of the President of the United States. Block voting is also used to elect a part of the assemblies in the regional elections in Italy and France (in these cases, the majoritarian quota is one of two parts of an additional member system) and in municipal elections for settlements below a population of 10000 people in Hungary.
Countries using majoritarian representation
| Lower (or only) house of legislature chambers | Upper house of legislature chambers (where applicable) |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Single-member constituencies: | Other |
First past the post (FPTP/SMP) Two-round system (TRS) Instant-runoff voting (IRV)
|
Varies by federal states or constituencies No direct election No information
|
| Multi-member constituencies: | |
Block voting (BV) or mixed FPTP/SMP + BV
Party block voting / General ticket (PBV) or mixed (FPTP/SMP + PBV) or (FPTP/SMP + majority jackpot)
|
Below is a table of majoritarian systems currently used on a national level.[2][3] Single-winner elections (presidential elections) and mixed systems are not included, see List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.
Key:
- Legislative body
- Light blue background indicates upper houses of bicameral legislatures, in countries where such a chamber exists, the (usually more important) lower house might be elected with a majoritarian system as well (in which case it is also in the list) or in might be elected with a different system, in which case (the lower house) is not included in the list. See List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.
- Light turquoise background indicates an electoral college elected by a majoritarian system, instead of a chamber of legislature.
- Latest election (year), in most cases this election was held under the electoral system indicated, however if the next election is already scheduled to be held under a different system, the new system is indicated and the former system is listed under Notes.
- Type of majoritarian system may be
- block voting at-large
- block voting via multi-member districts or coexistence of multi-member districts and single-winner districts
- single-winner districts
- or varies by state if different states may set their own system in federal countries
- Constituencies indicates if the electoral districts are equivalent to or based on other administrative divisions of the country
Current use
| Country | Legislative body | Latest election (year) | Type of majoritarian system | (Seats per
constituency) |
Electoral system | Total seats | Constituencies | Governmental system | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Antigua and Barbuda
|
House of Representatives | 2023 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 Australia and its external territories
|
House of Representatives | 2022 | single-winner districts | Instant runoff voting (IRV) | 151 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
| Template:Country data Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 2021[citation needed] | single-winner districts | Instant runoff voting (IRV)[citation needed] | 7 | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Azerbaijan
|
National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 125 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Bahamas
|
House of Assembly | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||||
 Bahrain
|
Council of Representatives | 2018 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | 40 | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Bangladesh
|
House of the Nation (Jatiyo Sangshad) | 2018 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 350 (300 directly elected + 50 seats reserved for women) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Barbados
|
House of Assembly | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 30 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Belarus
|
House of Representatives | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 110 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | Belarus used a two-round system before the 2016 election. | ||
 Belize
|
National Assembly | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 Bhutan
|
National Assembly | 2018 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 47 | |||||
| National Council | 2018 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 25 (20 directly elected + 5 appointed)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Botswana
|
National Assembly | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 63 (57 directly elected + 4 members appointed by the governing party + 2 members ex officio: the President and the Attorney General) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Brazil
|
Senate | 2022 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1 or 2 (alternates each election) | Plurality block voting (BV) and First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 81 | States and the Federal district | Presidential system | ||
 Cameroon
|
National Assembly | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-7 | Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies, party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise highest party gets half, rest distributed by largest remainder (Hare quota) |
180 | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||
 Canada
|
House of Commons | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 338 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Central African Republic
|
National Assembly | 2020 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Chad
|
National Assembly | 2011 | block voting via multi-winner districts | Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise List PR (largest remainder, closed list)[4] |
188 | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Comoros
|
Assembly of the Union | 2020 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | 33 (24 directly elected + 9 elected by lsland assemblies) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Republic of the Congo
|
National Assembly | 2022 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
|
National Assembly | 2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and party block voting (PBV) in multi-member districts | 255 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Cuba
|
National Assembly of People's Power | 2018 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (Endorsement of selected candidates) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Czech Republic
|
Senate | 2022 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | 27[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Djibouti
|
National Assembly | 2023 | mixed-member majoritarian | 3-28 | Fusion / majority jackpot (MBS):
80% of seats (rounded to the nearest integer) in each constituency are awarded to the party receiving the most votes (party block voting), remaining seats are allocated proportionally to other parties receiving over 10% (closed list, D'Hondt method) |
65 | regions | Presidential system | ||
 Dominica
|
House of Assembly | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 32 (21 directly elected, 9 appointed + Speaker + 1 ex officio)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Dominican Republic
|
Senate | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] | 32 | 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional | Presidential system | |||
 Eritrea
|
National Assembly | never held (postponed since 2001) | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | ||||
 Eswatini
|
House of Assembly | 2018 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] | 70 (59 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Absolute monarchy | |||
 Ethiopia
|
House of People's Representatives | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 France and its overseas collectivities and territories
|
National Assembly
|
2022 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | 577 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Semi-presidential system | |||
 French Polynesia Assembly
|
2023 | mixed-member majoritarian | 4-17 | Two-round majority bonus system (MBS) in multi-member constituencies | 57 | electoral districts | ||||
 New Caledonia
|
2019 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] | 54 | ||||||
 Gabon
|
National Assembly | 2018 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | ||||
 Gambia
|
National Assembly | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 58 (53 directly elected)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Ghana
|
Parliament | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | ||||
 Grenada
|
House of Representatives | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 15 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Haiti
|
Chamber of Deputies | 2021 | single-winner districts | Modified two-round system (TRS), more than 50% result or more than 25% lead required to win in the first round | electoral districts[citation needed] | Semi-presidential system | ||||
| Senate | 2021 | single-winner districts | 10 seats up for electionin each general election | Two-round system (TRS) | 30 | Semi-presidential system | ||||
 India
|
House of the People (Lok Sabha) | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 545 (543 directly elected + the President appoints two members from the Anglo-Indian community if he believes that community is under-represented) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Islamic Republic of Iran
|
Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | Modified two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, modified two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (25% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) | 290 (285 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
| Assembly of Experts | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-16 | Plurality block voting (BV) | Presidential system | ||||||
 Jamaica
|
House of Representatives | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 Kenya
|
National Assembly | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 350 (337 directly elected + other seats appointed by parties proportional with seats already won or ex officio)[citation needed] | 290 electoral districts,[citation needed] 47 seats reserved for women, elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47 counties of Kenya | Presidential system | |||
 Kiribati
|
House of Assembly | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-3 | Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) | 46 (44 directly elected + 1 delegate from Banaba Island and 1 ex officio) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||
 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
|
Supreme People's Assembly | 2005 | Two-round system (TRS) [citation needed] | 687 | ||||||
 Laos
|
National Assembly | 2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 5-19 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 164 (149 directly elected)[citation needed] | provinces | |||
 Liberia
|
House of Representatives | 2017 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 73 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
| Senate | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Presidential system | |||||||
 Malawi
|
National Assembly | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | ||||
 Malaysia
|
House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) | 2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 222 | electoral districts within the states and federal territories of Malaysia | Parliamentary system | |||
 Maldives
|
People's Majlis | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | ||||
 Mali
|
National Assembly | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Marshall Islands
|
Legislature | 2019 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-5 | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies (19 seats) and Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member constituencies (14 seats) | 33 | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||
 Mauritius
|
National Assembly | 2019 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 2-3 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 70 (62 directly elected + 8 'best losers' appointed) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||
 Federated States of Micronesia
|
Congress | 2023 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 14 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Mongolia
|
State Great Assembly (Khural) | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-5 | Two round plurality block voting (BV) candidates have to get at least 28% of the votes in a district to get elected. If there are unfilled seat, a runoff is held with twice the number of candidates as there are unfilled seats[5] | 76 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Semi-presidential system | ||
 Myanmar
|
House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw) | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 440 (330 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
| House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw) | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 224 (168 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||||
 Realm of New Zealand (overseas territories)
|
 Cook Islands
|
2022 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 24 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Niue Assembly
|
2023 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1 (local districts), 6 (nationwide constituency) | Parallel voting / superposition:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 seats + Plurality block voting 6 seats |
20 | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Tokelau
|
2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 22 | electoral districts in the 3 villages | |||||
 Nigeria
|
House of Representatives | 2023 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 360 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
| Senate | 2023 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 109 | 3 electoral districts in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory | Presidential system | ||||
 Oman
|
Consultative Assembly | 2019 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-2 | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and Plurality block voting (BV) in two-seat districts | 86 | electoral districts[citation needed] | |||
 Pakistan
|
National Assembly | 2018 | mixed-member majoritarian | 1 (local districts), 60 (seats reserved for women), 10 (seats reserved for religious minorities) | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) for 272 seats + 70 members appointed by parties proportional with seats already won | 342 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||
 Palau
|
House of Delegates | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 16 | single-member constituencies based | Presidential system | |||
| Senate | single-winner districts | 13 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 13 | single nationwide constituency | Presidential system | ||||
 Papua New Guinea
|
National Parliament | 2022 | single-winner districts | Instant runoff voting (IRV) - modified (at most 3 preferences, two tiers) | 111 | 89 elected from "open" seats and 22 from provincial seats based on the twenty provinces | Parliamentary system | |||
| Senate | 2022 | block voting at-large | 12 (alternating elections) | Plurality block voting (BV) | 24 | single nationwide constituency | Presidential system | |||
 Poland
|
Senate | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 100 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 Qatar
|
Consultative Assembly | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 45 (30 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
|
National Assembly | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 15 (11 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Saint Lucia
|
House of Assembly | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 17 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
House of Assembly | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 23 (15 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Samoa
|
Legislative Assembly (Fono) | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 51 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 San Marino
|
Grand and General Council | 2019 | mixed-member majoritarian | 60 | Majority jackpot system (35 seat jackpot) | 60 | single nationwide constituency | Assembly-independent diarchic directorial republic | ||
 Sierra Leone
|
Parliament | 2018 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 146 (132 directly elected) | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Singapore
|
Parliament | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | ? | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single member constituencies + party block voting group representation constituencies (PBV) | 104 (93 directly elected) | single member constituencies (SMCs) and a group representation constituencies (GRCs) | Parliamentary system | ||
 Solomon Islands
|
National Parliament | 2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 50 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Switzerland
|
Council of States
All cantons, except:
|
2019 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-2 | One-round (plurality) or two-round (majority) block voting[citation needed] | 46 | Cantons | |||
 Syria
|
People's Council | 2020 | block voting via multi-winner districts | Party block voting (PBV) | 250 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Semi-presidential system | |||
 Tonga
|
Legislative Assembly | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 26 (17 directly elected) | electoral districts in 5 islands and nobility | Parliamentary system | |||
 Trinidad and Tobago
|
House of Representatives | 2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 41 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Turkmenistan
|
Assembly | 2018 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] | 125 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
 Tuvalu
|
Parliament | 2019 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 2 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 16 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||
 Uganda
|
Parliament | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 529 (499 directly elected) | electoral districts, 146 seats reserved for women | Presidential system | |||
 United Kingdom and its devolved assemblies, Crown Dependencies and British overseas territories
|
House of Commons
|
2019 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 650 | electoral districts | Parliamentary system | |||
 Anguilla House of Assembly
|
2020 | single-winner districts | 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) | Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in local constituencies+ Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide |
13 | electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 Bermuda House of Assembly
|
2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 36 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | ||||
 Cayman Islands Parliament
|
2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 19 [citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | Block voting was used before the 2017 election | |||
 Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly
|
2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 3-5 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 8 | Stanley constituency and Camp constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
| Guernsey States of Deliberation
|
2020 | block voting at-large | 38 | Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 38 votes | 40 (38 directly elected) | single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 Isle of Man House of Keys
|
2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 2 | Plurality block voting (BV) | 24 | electoral districts[citation needed] | Parliamentary system | |||
 Jersey States Assembly
|
2018 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1-4 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) | Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts, Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member districts seats + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide |
49 | electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 Montserrat Legislative Assembly
|
2019 | block voting at-large | 9 | Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 9 votes | 11 (9 directly elected) | single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 Saint Helena Legislative Council
|
2021 | block voting at-large | 12 | Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 12 votes | 15 (12 directly elected) | single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly
|
2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | 1 (local districts), 5 (nationwide constituency) | Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide |
21 (15 directly elected + 4 appointed + 2 ex officio) | electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 British Virgin Islands House of Assembly
|
2019 | single-winner districts | 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) | Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:
First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide |
13 | electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency | Parliamentary system | |||
 United States and its territories
|
House of Representatives
|
2020 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states | 435 | electoral districts within states (congressional districts) | Presidential system | |||
| Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes) | ||||||||||
| Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine | ||||||||||
| Senate
|
2020 | single-winner districts | 1 (alternating elections) | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states | 100 | states | Presidential system | |||
| Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes) | ||||||||||
| Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine | ||||||||||
| Electoral College
|
2020 | varies by state | 1-55 | General ticket in 48 states based on the results of the first-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) and 2 states (Alaska and Maine) based on the results of the Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) election(s)
Maine and Nebraska use the same method for 2 statewide electors, the remaining electors are chosen in congressional districts |
538 | states and Washington D.C.(except Maine and Nebraska, where the congressional districts also work as constituencies) | Presidential system | Alaska has used FPTP in the 2020 election, RCV/IRV will be used first in the next (2024) presidential election. | ||
 American Samoa
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | ||||||||
 Guam
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | ||||||||
 Uzbekistan
|
Legislative Chamber | 2020 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | 150 | electoral districts[citation needed] | second round is also held if turnout is lower than 33% | |||
 Vietnam
|
National Assembly | 2021 | block voting via multi-winner districts | Two-round block voting system in multi-member constituencies (first round needs more than 50% to get elected, second round uses plurality) | 500 | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Yemen
|
House of Representatives | 2003 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 301 | electoral districts[citation needed] | ||||
 Zambia
|
National Assembly | 2021 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | 167 (156 directly elected + 8 appointed by the President + 3 ex officio)[citation needed] | electoral districts[citation needed] | Presidential system | |||
Former use
Countries that replaced majoritarian representation before 1990 are not (yet) included.
| Country | Legislative body | Last use | Type of majoritarian system | Majoritarian electoral system (old system) | Replaced by (new system) | Governmental system | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania
|
1991 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS) | |||||
 Algeria
|
1991 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | |||||
 Cyprus
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
 Denmark
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
 Fiji
|
2006 | single-winner districts | Instant runoff voting (IRV) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | Before 1999, plurality block voting and single member plurality were used | ||||
| Hong Kong | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | |||||||
 Lebanon
|
2012 | block voting | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
 Lesotho
|
1998 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS) | |||||
 Malta
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Single transferable vote (STV) | ||||||
 Moldova
|
1994 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | |||||
 Morocco
|
1993 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | |||||
 Netherlands
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
| New Zealand
|
1993 | single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) | |||||
 Portugal
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
 South Africa
|
single-winner districts | First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | ||||||
 Togo
|
2002 | single-winner districts | Two-round system (TRS) | Party-list proportional representation (List PR) | |||||
See also
References
- ↑ IRV
- ↑ "Advanced search | International IDEA". https://www.idea.int/advanced-search?th=Electoral%20System%20Design%20Database®ion=&question=.
- ↑ "Comparative Data —". https://aceproject.org/epic-en/CDTable?question=ES005&view=country.
- ↑ "Le système électoral au Tchad - Comité de Suivi de l'Appel à la Paix et à la Réconciliation" (in fr). 23 September 2015. http://www.csapr-initiative-paix.org/le-systeme-electoral-au-tchad/.
- ↑ Law on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia
Procedure for Observation and Reporting on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia. 2012. http://www.gec.gov.mn/uploads/page/41ebe18c30810d33b063cad8fac38c1c.pdf. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
External links
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