Political ramifications of electoral legislation

Abstract

The author analyses electoral systems as a rule of decision-making and representation and points to the problems in classifying different kinds of majority and proportional electoral systems. The author emphasizes the electoral unit, the threshold, the manner of voting and the formula for transposing votes into mandates as the elements of the electoral system which have the greatest political influence on the political consequences of the electoral system, party system, parliament, government, etc. Interpreting Duverger’s, Rea’s, Lijphart’s, Sartori’s and Nohlen’s electoral determinism, the author points to the theoretical and empirical argumentation of the consequences of different electoral systems, their advantages and shortcomings. Simplicity, participation, aggregation effectiveness and legitimacy - are the criteria in evaluating the expected and real consequences of the electoral system that the author uses to compare different electoral models, emphasizing that electoral reforms are partial, party-motivated, lacking clear aims, all of which results in a combination of contradictory elements that produce effects opposite to those desired.

Autor analizira izborne sisteme kao pravilo odlučivanja i pravilo predstavljanja, ukazujući na probleme klasifikacije različitih varijanti većinskog i proporcionalnog izbornog sistema. Izbornu jedinicu, izborni prag, način glasanja i formula transponovanja glasova u mandate - autor potencira kao elemente izbornog sistema koji imaju najveći uticaj na političke posledice izbornog sistema, na stranački sistem, parlament, vladu itd. Interpretacijom izbornog determinizma Diveržea, Rea, Lijpharta Sartorija i Nolena ukazuje se na teorijsku i empirijsku argumentaciju konsekvenci različitih izbornih sistema, njihovih prednosti i nedostataka. Jednostavnost, participacija, agregacija i efektivnost reprezentacija i legitimitet - kriterijumi su vrednovanja očekivanih i realnih konsekvenci izbornog sistema kojima autor poredi različite vrste izbornih modela, ukazujući da su izborne reforme parcijalne, stranački motivisane, bez jasnih ciljeva, što često rezultira kombinovanjem protivrečnih elemenata koji proizvode suprotne efekte od željenih.