Substack newsletterThe continuing crisis in Israel has thrown the country and its democratic institutions into chaos. Hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets regularly to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s heavy-handed judicial reforms, and he even earned himselffrom U.S. President Joe Biden. In recent days, Israelis have been shaken up by terror attacks and missile strikes from Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
In a PR system, the number of seats a party wins in the legislature is roughly proportional to the number of votes it has received in a given region or the country at large. PR systems tend to encourage co-operation and deliberation through power sharing either by way of coalitions or minority governments, though they can also result in the election of extremists and give oversized leverage to fringe parties. FPTP systems are winner-take-all.
In a mixed-member system, voters get two ballots, one with which they elect a local representative, typically as we do in Canada now, and another in which they vote for a party with a PR list. The latter part of the ballot is used to balance outcomes proportionally. Look at any given democracy ranking over the past several years and you’ll see Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Taiwan, Denmark, Australia and Germany near the top. Canada makes the list, too, but our electoral system is an outlier among the top-ranked. This doesn’t necessarily mean that PR makes a country a good democracy on its own, though I think it often contributes a great deal.
When evaluating how an electoral system affects a country, one ought to apply fair terms of analysis, including a reasonable account of the particular features of the current system or its proposed alternative. When you hear hooves, the old saying goes, you think horse and not zebra. If Canada were to adopt a PR system, it would not adopt an Israeli-style party-list system, with its low threshold for winning a seat and closed party list.
No, it is proof that apartheid doesn't work. Not even for the oppressor
Proportional Representation outputs what the people vote for. When there's strong divisions among the people that is reflected in the parliament In non proportional systems one of the sides in that division simply wins an outright majority despite having less than majority vote!
FairVoteCanada Israel is not a democracy: it's an apartheid state which denies votes to Palestinians who live under permanent Israeli military occupation.
FairVoteCanada It‘s proof, that electoral democracy doesn‘t work…
FairVoteCanada No. It's proof that apartheid is incompatible with democracy.
Apartheid state have a bigger problem but Globe and Mail dont want to talk abt it just like it didnt when aboriginals were murdered in boarding schools.
It proves apartheid doesn't work.
It’s exactly what it proves. The quest for power will draw on the lowest of the lows to form government.
Stupid question
Apartheid and racist supremacy doesn't work
An apartheid country. A failed country. No country lasts that has such discrimination policies. A disgrace
His answer is going to be, no. Not paying to read this article, but that’s the answer.