Chapter - 3
ELECTION AND REPRESENTATION
Proportional Representation: - Each party issues a priority list of its candidates first in the
elections and selects as many candidates from the priority list as the seats quota is assigned to
it. This system of elections is called a proportional representation system.
In this system, the voter gets the same percentage as the percentage he gets the votes, in this
system, the voters vote to party not the candidate.
There are two types of proportional representation systems – In Israel and the Netherlands, the
whole country is considered a constituency and each party is given seats in proportion to the
votes received in national elections.
Secondly in Argentina and Portugal the whole country is multi- Are divided into member
constituencies.
Why was the ‘First Past the Post System’ accepted in India?
1. The system is simple
2. Voters have clear choice at the time of election.
3. This system is suitable for a country with a large population like India.
4. Voters know the candidate personally, this opportunity is not available in other system.
Reservation of Constituencies :- In an effort to give equal representation to all classes in the
Parliament or State Legislative Assembly by the Constitution of India, reservation has been
made in the constituencies. In this system, voters of all classes will vote but the candidate will
belong only to the social class whose reservation was arranged. Initially this arrangement was
only for 10 years but now it has been extended to 2030. Out of 543 Lok Sabha seats, 84 are
reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes.
Reservation of constituencies is based on the recommendations of the Delimitation
Commission which is formed by president.
Election Reform:-
No system of election can ever be an ideal system. Every system has some shortcomings. The
democratic society has to constantly make efforts to make its elections more fair and
independent. This is called election reform such as – In India Ban people with criminal roles
from contesting elections.
