Click for Search Instructions |
||
Home > News & Events |
|
Column by Paul Willcocks29th October, 2004 :
Vancouver (Internal)
Great hope in new way of electing MLAs
OK, it's confusing, but you should be wildly enthusiastic about
the chance to change the way we elect MLAs and governments in
B.C.
It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Once political parties are in power they aren't much interested
in changing the system that got them there, even if it has huge
flaws.
But Premier Gordon Campbell, to his credit, promised to give a
randomly selected citizens' assembly the chance to see if there's a
better way of electing governments.
And what's more, he promised that any recommendation would go to
a binding referendum at the same time as next May's provincial
election.
Now they've done it.
The 160 members of the assembly, after 10 months of study and
consultation and public hearings, have come up with what they say
is a better way.
You have six months to assess their proposal before the
referendum.
It deserves your full attention.
The assembly came up with two basic conclusions.
First, that the current system isn't working. The make-up of the
legislature doesn't reflect the votes of British Columbians.
The New Democrats, for example, received 22 per cent of the vote
in 2001, but have 2.5 per cent of the seats. The Green party had
the support of 12 per cent of voters, but have no representatives
in the legislature.
In 1996, the NDP received 40 per cent of the votes, but 52 per
cent of the seats.
The assembly also found that the current system concentrates
power in the hands of the party leadership, with the result that
MLAs are seen as servants of the party, not the people that elected
them.
Second, the assembly decided that the best way to improve the
system was by moving to a single-vote transferable system, already
in use in other jurisdictions.
It's painfully complicated to explain, and a full review will
follow in a later column.
But, essentially, there are several key elements.
The legislature would stay the same size, but individual ridings
would be larger, and would elect more than one MLA.
Three Prince George constituencies, for example, could become
one larger riding that would elect three MLAs.
And the way you vote would change. Instead of marking an 'X'
beside one candidate, you would rank the people on the ballot in
order of preference.
One of the Liberals may be your first choice, because you like
the party and the candidate.
But your second choice might be an independent candidate who has
done a good job on school board, or a New Democrat whose abilities
you admire.
You don't have to say yes or no to a party, but can effectively
split your vote among several.
Here's where things get complex. When the votes are counted, the
rankings come into play and the votes are weighted to ensure a
result that reflects the preferences of the voters.
The result, the assembly says, would be a much more diverse
legislature, with candidates representing a wider range of
voters.
And, as importantly, it would - by ending the domination of two
main parties - lead to a greater need for parties to co-operate
with each other, and would shift power from the premier's office to
backbenchers.
There's room for a full debate about the pros and cons, and much
to learn about the specific proposal going to the referendum. The
assembly hopes to have that work done by mid-November.
But this is an extraordinary opportunity for real change, to a
system that has worked in other parts of the world for decades.
Few can deny change is needed.
The legislature isn't representative; barely half the eligible
population bothers to vote; citizens don't feel well-served by
their MLAs; and this place is an embarrassment too many days.
The Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform is composed of two
people from every riding in the province, from students to seniors
and farmers to scientists.
They consulted the best experts, and the public, and produced a
recommendation. It deserves serious consideration.
Footnote: Green Party of B.C. leader Adriane Carr immediately
trashed the proposal.
She favours a different proportional representation system, and
wants to organize a "no" campaign in the referendum. It's a
short-sighted, negative response to the one best chance for change
that would actually help the Greens and other smaller parties.
[© Copyright 2004 Paul Willcocks and http://willcocks.blogspot.com/.
Reproduced here by permission of Paul Willcocks.]
|
© 2003 Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform | Site powered by levelCMS | Site Map | Privacy Policy |