- The results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared last week. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats with a 43.3% vote share, while the Opposition bloc INDIA, including the Trinamool Congress, secured 234 seats with a 41.6% vote share. Other regional parties and independents, polling around 15%, ended up with only 16 seats in total.
- First Past the Post System (FPTP):
- In the FPTP system, the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins.
- This system is used in India, the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.
- Proportional Representation (PR):
- Ensures representation based on vote share.
- The ‘party list PR’ system allows voters to vote for parties, which then receive seats in proportion to their vote share, often with a minimum threshold of 3-5% for eligibility.
- Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR):
- Combines FPTP and PR systems.
- One candidate is elected through FPTP from each constituency, with additional seats filled based on parties’ vote percentages.
- International Practices:
- Presidential democracies like Brazil and Argentina use party list PR.
- Parliamentary democracies like South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain also use PR.
- Germany and New Zealand use MMPR, balancing FPTP and PR to ensure stability and proportional representation.
- The Law Commission’s 170th report (1999) recommended experimenting with the MMPR system by filling 25% of seats through PR, ideally at the State/UT level.
- Upcoming delimitation exercises post-2026 census could consider MMPR for incremental seats, addressing concerns of smaller states and preventing domination by larger states.
Dig Deeper: Read about the origin of the First Past the Post system and Proportional Representation in Modern democracies.
