Sociopolitical effects of this political system?
Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:42 am
What sociopolitical effects would the following political system produce within a nation?
1. There are 867 seats in the unicameral legislature (Parliament); 680 proportional seats and 187 direct seats.
2. During elections, citizens cast 2 votes;
- For the proportional seats: The nation consists of 17 provinces, and each Province of the nation forms a single constituency with equal representation (there are 17 constituencies which each elect 40 MPs). Each citizen casts two sequential votes. They first cast a vote for the political party of their choice (party preference vote), then cast a vote for the party member of their choice (member preference vote). Within each Province, each party's members are ranked by the number of "member preference votes" they receive in order to rank them in order of popularity. Parliamentary proportional seats are then allocated to each party proportionally to the percentage of "party preference votes" each party has received (i.e. a party which has received 26% of votes in a Province will receive 10 seats from that Province), with members being given seats by order of their popularity (i.e. if a party wins 10 seats, it's 10 most popular members will each receive a seat). Seats which cannot be allocated will be left empty (thus blank vote = vote to remove seats). The party with the most votes (plurality of party preference votes) within a Province appoints the Governor of the Province in question. Only legally-recognized parties may participate in proportional seat elections.
- For the direct seats: The nation consists of 17 provinces, and each Province of the nation forms a single constituency with equal representation (there are 17 constituencies which each elect 11 direct seat MPs). Each citizen casts a single vote. Each province is divided into 11 districts, with each district electing a single MP by plurality. Only independents and legally-recognized political parties may participate in direct seat elections.
- The Parliament appoints the President.
- The Parliament (and, de facto, the government) is elected for a term of 10 years.
3. The President has the power to appoint and remove Ministers. He may not appoint individuals with whom he has a personal connection (i.e. family members, friends, etc...) to the Office of Minister. Ministers assist the President in determining and conducting the policy of the Nation. There is no obligation for the President to appoint Ministers.
4. There are 10 Judges of the Supreme Court. Judges of the Supreme Court are elected every 10 years. They are elected at random by a public ballot, from amongst all the Nation's Judges aged 45 and over.
5. Only the President, his Ministers and the Parliament can propose Laws. Only the Parliament can propose Constitutional Amendments. The Parliament debates and votes on all legislation. Laws can only be passed with the approval of at least half of the Parliament and a quorum of at least three-quarters, whilst Constitutional Amendments can only be passed with the approval of at least three-quarters of the Parliament and a quorum of at least nine-tenths. Legislation comes into effect once passed by the Parliament and promulgated by the President. The Supreme Court can declare a piece of legislation to be unconstitutional, effectively instantly repealing it.
6. Ideologies based on the following are illegal;
- Religion.
- Cultural Marxism.
- Pseudoscience.
- Discrimination on grounds of natural factors (race, gender, handicap, etc...).
- Violation of constitutional rights and liberties.
No legally recognized party may base all or part of it's platform upon the aforementioned ideologies, and individuals may be expelled from the Parliament for supporting them.
Example of a government this system could produce:
Top = Direct Seats
Middle = Ministers + President
Bottom = Proportional Seats