ELECTORAL PROCESSES

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this topic, you will be able to:

 Describe the electoral processes and systems used to elect a government in the
Commonwealth Caribbean.

Countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean are democracies, where the government is

chosen by the citizens in a general election that should be free and fair.

ELECTORAL PROCESSES

In a general election, all eligible people get the chance to cast a vote. This happens on a
set day and at regular intervals of, usually, no more than five years. The votes cast
determine the next government.

Elections are contested between two groups known as political parties. Members of a
political party share similar political views, beliefs and ideas.

A right to vote is known as a franchise or suffrage. When all people who reach 18 years
of age are eligible to vote, this is known as universal adult suffrage. To exercise the right
to vote, a person must register. The electorates of a country are all the eligible, registered
voters.

ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

There are two types of electoral system used in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

First-past-the-post

In this system, a country is divided up into constituencies. A constituency is a group of

voters in a specific geographic area.

Each party will nominate a candidate for election in each constituency. The candidate
gaining the most votes in a constituency wins the constituency election and becomes the
constituency’s representative in the lower house of parliament. He or she is said to have
won a seat in parliament. This system is used in all Commonwealth Caribbean countries
except Guyana. Constituency boundaries can be altered to favour one party or candidate.
This is called gerrymandering.

The party that wins the most constituencies wins the overall (or general) election and
forms the government. The prime minister is chosen from the winning party and the
leader of the opposition is chosen from the party with the second-highest number of seats.
 If no party wins an outright majority seats, the situation is described as a hung
parliament. The two parties with the most votes may seek to form a coalition government,
sometimes with lesser third parties.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

In this system, the whole country is treated as a single constituency. Political parties
prepare a list of candidates based on the number of seats in parliament. The list is put in
order of preference by the party leader and made public. People vote for a party and not
a candidate. Each party is awarded seats in parliament based on the proportion of votes it
gains in the election. A party winning 20 percent of the votes is awarded 20 percent of the
seats, which will go to the first 20 percent of candidates on the list.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of both electoral systems are summarized in the table
below:
Electoral Advantages Disadvantages
System
First-past-the-post Guarantees that the election is Constituencies that elect members in
won by the candidate with the opposition may be neglected or victimized by
highest number of votes the government
Promotes accountability within a It is possible for a party with an minority of
constituency from an individual votes overall to form a government. For
parliamentarian since he or she example, one party may win more than half
are responsible to his or her the seats in parliament (and therefore form
constituency the government) with less than half the total
votes
Constituencies can choose their It allows for gerrymandering
own representatives
Constituencies can appeal directly Independent candidates who are from a
to their representative regarding political party can struggle to gain votes
services in the constituency
Proportional Provides for representation of Too wide a range or too great a number of
representation minority political parties parties is formed, spreading votes too thinly
and running the risk of no party gaining an
absolute majority
Eliminates gerrymandering May necessitate more frequent coalition
governments where no one party wins an
overall majority.
Each party is allocated seats in Weakens the relationship between voters and
proportion to the votes it receives parliamentarians- the parliamentarian is
representing the country not a local
constituency
The party leader has a lot of power when
compiling the list of preferred candidates
MANAGING AN ELECTION

A country’s election system is managed by a government department known as the

electoral office or the electoral and boundaries commission. The responsibilities of this
department include:

 The division of the country into constituencies

 Voter registration
 Preparation and amendment of voter’s lists and voter’s ID cards
 Preparation and distribution of election notices, ballot papers and ballot boxes
 Registration of candidates on polling day
 Supervision of the balloting process on election day
 Declaration of results
 Auditing candidates’ election expenses
HOW POLITICAL PARTIES PREPARE FOR ELECTIONS

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this topic, you will be able to:

 Describe how political parties prepare for elections.

An election is the event in which the government of the country is decided. Within the
Commonwealth Caribbean, elections are due every five years.

A prime minister may call an election at any time in that period. Whenever it is called,
preparing for an election is an extremely important activity for political parties since it is
during this stage that voters are convinced of which party to vote for.

Important issues

Political parties need to be aware of the important issues in the country. Since individuals
and organizations often have conflicting views regarding the priority they would give
these issues, the political parties have to gauge the feelings of the people and convince
them that their policies will be in the best interests of the country.

Party manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles or intentions. A political party manifesto

sets out the party’s beliefs and principles, the changes it believes need to be brought
about and the strategies, policies and legislation it would introduce to achieve these
changes. It provides the party’s assessment of the current situation and sets out the
promises it is making to bring about the changes it sees as necessary for improvement.

Candidate selection

Any eligible person may stand as a candidate in an election, either as an independent

candidate or as a member of a political party. Anyone wishing to stand must be
nominated on an official form and be registered in the nominations office by a given date.
All candidates put down a deposit which is lost if they do not gain a specified number of
votes.

Local party candidates can be chosen by their local party group or by the hierarchy of the
party. The candidate must be approved by the party at a national level.

Fundraising

To run a campaign, a candidate needs funds. Funds can be raised in a number of ways,
from simply asking individuals or corporations to donate, through to holding fundraising
events.
Election campaign finance laws can be applied to restrict the types of funding a candidate
can spend on a campaign. In some Caribbean countries, there is a requirement for
candidates to file for a report stating their campaign expenditure. These rules exist to
avoid the success of election campaigns being determined by the amount of money
available.

Campaigning

Campaigning in an election is about convincing eligible voters to cast their vote for a
particular candidate or party. When candidates hold meetings, visit homes or speak to
people in the streets, this is known as canvassing. Political parties run advertising
campaigns, which may include broadcasts on television. There is increasing use of
communications technology, with candidates having direct access to people through wen
logs (blogs), social networking sites, emails and text messages to cell phones.

Whichever method is used, all campaigning has to be done in an open and honest way.
There should not be any attempt to bribe or threaten individuals into casting their votes
for a particular candidate.

Other rules require that officials do not used state-owned resources of media outlets to
promote their cause during the run-up to an election. Similarly, all candidates and parties
should be free to campaign whenever they choose, without the threat to intimidation by a
political opponent.

Monitoring performance

As part of their preparation for an election, political parties monito their own past
performance and that of their opponents. A party in government will want to show how
successful they have been while in government. The opposition parties will attempt to
prove the opposite.

All parties also monitor their performance during a campaign. They will often use their
results of opinion polls to determine how successful or otherwise their campaign efforts
are.

Monitoring electoral processes

Elections must be carried out in accordance with regulations, and it is in the interest of
political parties to see that the regulations are followed. If an election is not free, open
and ‘transparent’, it can affect how the population views the results, and as a consequence
what the attitude is to the party that forms the government.
Monitoring the electoral process should ensure that candidates adhere to rules about
campaigning, fundraising and expenditure; anyone who wishes to vote is able to do so;
each eligible person votes only once; voters are not subjected to any violence, bribery or
intimidation; and an open forum for vote counting is provided.
WHAT INFLUENCES THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the topic, you will be able to:

 Outline the factors that influence the outcomes of elections.

Political parties do all they can to influence voters in the run up to an election, especially
floating voters who are those not aligned with a particular party. They will also focus
attention on marginal seats, where the current Member of Parliament (MPS) has only a
small majority and may therefore be unseated. A safe seat is one where one political
party is considered certain to win.

Campaign strategy

The prime minister of a country calls an election and must give between three and six
weeks’ notice.

Each political party decides which issues it will campaign on. The party in government
will seek to prove that its policies have worked well while the opposition parties will hop
to convince voters that it is time for a change of government.

Campaign spending

Campaign expenditure is limited and monitored by a body such as an electoral and

boundaries commission. Even with regulation, it is plain that a party with plenty of
money to spend on its campaign will have a greater impact and therefore possibly a
greater influence.

Media coverage

Political parties and individual candidates use many forms of media to communicate their
message. Mass media also act as a form of oversight since they could reveal any
wrongdoing or failure to follow rules.

The media have a responsibility to be unbiased, providing balanced and accurate

coverage and allowing all parties equal access to advertising opportunities.

Campaign advertising

Paid campaign advertising involves the use of media to communicate with and influence
the electorate.

In most countries, there are guidelines concerning the content and used of paid political
advertising.
Opinion polls

An opinion poll is a survey of responses to certain questions, given by a sample of the

population. The sample group’s opinions are then used as an indication of the opinions of
the population as a whole. This will inform the messages political parties then give out to
the electorate.

Voter turnout

Voter turnout is the percentage of the electorate who actually cast a vote. An election
result based on a high turnout is generally accepted to be a better reflection of the ‘will of
the people’.

A low voter turnout causes concern because of the fear that this means that a particular
section of the population may be under-represented.

Voter attitude to government

Some people will vote for a ruling government because it reflects their own political
ideologies and because they feel it has been performing well. People who feel that the
current government is not doing a good job or whose political ideologies are different
will vote for an opposition party in the hope that a new government will be elected.
WHAT INFLUENCES VOTER PARTICIPATION

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the topic, you will be able to:

 Describe the factors that influence voter participation in an election.

What makes a person decide whether or not to vote?

Potential voters need to have faith in the political system, must trust the electoral process
and must believe that their vote will make a difference. They must think they will be well
represented by their constituency candidate and that the party they vote for will govern
well.

Campaign issues

Most parties campaign on a range of policies that refkect a concern for the widest cross-
section of the population. Some individuals want to see some personal benefit from the
party that receives their vote, while others want to see policies that benefit society as a
whole.

Candidates

The candidates in an election have to appeal to potential voters. In a first-past-the-post

system, the candidates have to convince potential constituency voters that they will speak
on their behalf in the parliament and that benefits will be seen at a local as well as
national level.