GS Paper II
News Excerpt:
The results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared last week. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won 293 seats with a 43.3% vote share while the Opposition bloc INDIA (including Trinamool Congress) has secured 234 seats with a 41.6% vote share.
What is First Past the Post System (FPTP)?
- We follow the FPTP system for elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies in India.
- Under FPTP, the candidate who polls more votes than any other in a constituency is declared elected.
- This system is followed in democracies like the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
- Advantages of FPTP system:
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- The primary advantage of FPTP is that it is simple and the most feasible method in a large country like India.
- Secondly, FPTP provides greater stability to the executive in our parliamentary democracy because the ruling party/coalition can enjoy a majority in the Lok Sabha/Legislative assembly without obtaining a majority of the votes (more than 50%) across constituencies.
- Issues with FPTP system:
- The issue with FPTP is that it may result in over or under representation of political parties when compared to their vote share.
- In the first three elections after independence, the Congress party won close to 75% of seats in the then Lok Sabha with a 45-47% vote share.
What is proportional representation?
- The Proportional Representation (PR) system ensures that all parties are represented based on their share of votes received.
- The most commonly used form of PR is the party list system, where voters cast their vote for a party rather than an individual candidate, and parties are allocated seats in proportion to their overall vote share.
- There is usually a minimum threshold of 3-5% of the total votes for a party to be eligible to secure a seat under the PR system.
- The PR system could have resulted in better representation of parties according to their vote share, as demonstrated by examples from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu.
- Criticism of Proportional Representation
- The main criticism against the PR system is that it could potentially result in instability as no party/coalition may obtain a majority to form the government in our parliamentary democracy.
- PR System may result in the proliferation of political parties based on regional, caste, religious and linguistic considerations that may promote casteist or communal voting patterns.
- However, the second criticism is not well founded since the present FPTP system has also not inhibited the formation of parties based on caste or communal considerations.
- Solution for the Criticism:
- To address the issue of potential proliferation of caste or communal-based parties under the Proportional Representation (PR) system, a minimum threshold for votes polled can be specified to make a party eligible for seats in legislative houses.
- By setting a minimum vote share requirement, such as 3-5% of the total votes, parties with narrow caste or communal agendas that fail to garner substantial support from the broader electorate would not be able to secure representation in the legislative bodies.
- To address the issue of potential instability while maintaining proportional representation, the system of Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) can be considered.
- Under the MMPR system, one candidate is elected through the FPTP system from each territorial constituency, while additional seats are allocated to parties based on their overall percentage of votes received.
What are international practices?
- Presidential democracies like Brazil and Argentina have the party list PR system.
- Parliamentary democracies like South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain follow the party list PR system.
- New Zealand and Germany's Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) System.
- This system is likely to provide the required stability in a parliamentary democracy like India while also ensuring representation for all parties based on their vote share.
Way forward
- The Law Commission in its 170th report (1999) recommended introducing the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system on an experimental basis.
- It suggested filling 25% of seats through a PR system by increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha.
- While it recommended considering the entire nation as one unit for PR based on vote share, the appropriate approach would be to consider it at every State/UT level given India's federal polity.
- The delimitation exercise for increasing the number of seats is due based on the first Census after 2026.
- The population explosion has been uneven among various regions, and determining Lok Sabha seats solely based on population may go against federal principles and lead to disenchantment in certain states.
- In the event of increasing seats during the delimitation exercise, the MMPR system may be considered for incremental seats or at least 25% of the total seats to be filled from each State/UT.
- This could assuage the apprehension of southern, northeastern, and smaller northern states by limiting the domination of larger states with increased seats solely through the FPTP system.
