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Submission NEWELL-0347 (Online)

Submission ByMr. John Newell
AddressHalfmoon Bay, BC,
Organization
Date20040510
CategoryElectoral system change, Regional representation
Abstract
The danger that a province-wide MMP electoral system would be dominated by Lower Mainland opinions must be addressed. This could be achieved by dividing the province into 3 to 5 regions, each with its own list of candidates. [1 page]

Submission Content
The lopsided majorities produced by the present FPTP electoral system are clearly undesirable. Some form of MMP system would produce a more balanced Legislature. However, I urge the Assembly to be very cautious. We do not want to create a situation where, as in Italy, a multiplicity of small narrow-interest parties results in short-lived, unstable governments. The link between individual MLAs and their specific ridings is critically important and must be preserved. Increasing the size of the Legislature should be avoided; if some MLAs are elected by proportional vote, the number of ridings will therefore have to be reduced.

The threshold popular vote for winning proportional representation should be set very high, perhaps as high as 10%. Surely a party that cannot command the support of 10% of voters has not earned a voice in the Legislature.

The danger that the province-wide proportional vote would be dominated by Lower Mainland opinions must be addressed. This could be achieved by dividing the province into 3 to 5 regions, each with its own list of candidates for election in proportion to the regional vote.

Finally, I wish the Assembly well in its endeavours. This is indeed a noble experiment.

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