I am completely dissatisfied with the present system. I have no
statistics to support my arguments, but as a voter I think that the
present system and some of the proposals for proportional
representation favour political parties over independents. I have
two proposals:
(1) If we believe in democracy and the rule of the majority, the
single transferable ballot [STV] is the correct selection. One of
the disadvantages of the proportional representation system is that
it places the majority at the mercy of the minority. Minorities are
just as evil as majorities -- i.e. South Africa under the
Caucasians.
(2) Should the first suggestion not be preferable, I would
recommend a system of two ballots [MMP]. One ballot would list the
constituency candidates, this would allow the voter to look for the
best representative for the constituency -- may be even an
independent. The second ballot would list the parties and you would
vote for the party of your choice. It is true that many voters
would vote the same on each ballot. But, have you ever looked at
the platform of the political parties and found one that completely
matches your philosophy. For example under my proposal I could vote
for the best person to represent me and yet at the same time vote
for a party which might fill in the gaps in the candidate's
platform. (For example if you believed in fiscal responsibility you
might have difficulty finding a party which has this value while at
the same time you may be concerned about the environment. Therefore
hypothetically you might vote for a Liberal candidate and at the
same time vote for the Green Party to express your second concern.)
You could vote for both a government and opposition policy at the
same time.
The parties would have to prepare a list of candidates, for the
party ballot, and they would get so many seats as their proportion
of votes represented. Think of the electoral system of some major
cities. There are cities that have candidates elected at large who
have global picture and also who have ward candidates who have a
more narrow focus.
I think that you are contributing a great service to our
Province and democracy.
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