I think any reform needs to consider the objectives an electoral
system should meet. For me these are accountability of the elected
officials to their ridings and accountability of the government to
the public, as well as a functioning government. I also feel
strongly that the public must have sense of being able to
participate in decision making processes.
Accountability of the elected officials to their ridings means
for me that the candidate who can best represent the interests of
the riding while balancing these with the interests of the
Province, which may be different, would be the better choice. I
feel that the current system overemphasis loyalty to the party and
to the interests of the Province at the expense of an under
representation of the interests of individual ridings. The riding
becomes only important at election time.
Accountability of the government to the public is established by
an effective opposition to the government. If seats would
distributed based on the popular vote, then voting becomes an
important act for each member of the public because each vote
counts. Currently my vote only matters if I voted for the candidate
that is in the end elected. If I voted for anyone else I have in
effect wasted my vote.
A functioning government to me is a government that effectively,
not efficiently, administers public policies, and brings forward
new policies for debate. I am not looking for a government that
sees its election as an endorsement to make decisions for me in the
name of stability of government. I find that condescending.
Stability of government is based on the trust by the electorate in
the process of election. An example would be the 20 years of
conservative government in Germany with a representational voting
system. At the same the Green Party came to prominence in Germany
and was able to provide effective opposition and create dialogue.
One cannot refer to the German government at the time as
‘unstable’.
I am looking for an electoral process that allows me to
participate in a dialogue with my MLA and with my community about
the issues that matter. I want to be able to hear what other view
points are and I want to be able to trust that the process is not
divisive and adversarial in nature but encourages diversity in
opinion.
A form of representational voting system that allows
me to vote for my representative and a party would be a better
system than we have now.
I appreciate that the work the Citizens Assembly is doing and I
want to thank you for your efforts.
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