Submission LLOYD-0078 (Online)

During recent political times our electoral system has given us results that fall dramatically short of what most BC'ers would consider valid in a modern democracy.

In 1996 the party that came in second place won a majority of seats in the Legislature and governed for five years without having to accommodate itself to the views of the majority of BC'ers who voted for other parties. Having lost the election the 1996 the government of the day had very little political legitimacy.

And just five years later in 2001, 45% of the voters did not vote for the party that won the election. But this party was allotted almost 100% of the seats in the Legislature and is now able to govern BC as if it represents almost all of the people. So currently almost half of our population is either vastly underrepresented or has no representation whatsoever.

The solution to this mess is obvious. Most of the world has seen the light and have some sort of proportional representation. The best form of PR is the "mixed" system that was recently adopted by another constitutional monarchy, namely New Zealand. The mixed electoral system used in parliamentarian systems such as New Zealand and Germany boasts the best aspects of our first-past-the post system and PR.