Activity 1: Welcome And Introductions

Party Yellows Whites Reds Greens Blues Pinks Total

Votes 47,000 16,000 15,800 12,000 6,100 3,100 100,000 Seats 10 Hare Quota 10,000 Votes/Quota 4.70 1.60 1.58 1.20 0.61 0.31 Automatic seats 4 1 1 1 0 0 7 Remainder 0.70 0.60 0.58 0.20 0.61 0.31 Highestremainder seats 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 Total seats 5 2 1 1 1 0 10 Droop quota

Droop quota

Yellows Whites Reds Greens Blues Pinks Total

47,000 16,000 15,800 12,000 6,100 3,100 100,000 10+1=11

Droop quota 9,091

Votes/quota 5.170 1.760 1.738 1.320 0.671 0.341 Automatic seats 5 1 1 1 0 0 8 Remainder 0.170 0.760 0.738 0.320 0.671 0.341 Highest-remainder seats 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 Total seats 5 2 2 1 0 0 10

The Droop Quota is applied in elections in South Africa

(b) The Highest averages method

There are two forms: closed list (under which a party selects the order of election of their candidates) and open list (under which voters’ choices determine the order).

Example

In this example, 230,000 voters decide the disposition of 8 seats among 4 parties. Since 8 seats are to be allocated, each party’s total votes is divided by 1, then by 2, 3, and 4 (and then, if necessary, by 5, 6, 7, and so on). The 8 highest entries, marked with asterisks, range from 100,000 down to 25,000. For each, the corresponding party gets a seat.

For comparison, the “True proportion” column shows the exact fractional numbers of seats due, calculated in proportion to the number of votes received. (For example, 100,000/230,000 × 8 = 3.48) The slight preference of the largest party over the smallest is apparent.

Round

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Seats won

(1 Seat Per Round) (bold) Party A Quotient 100,000 50,000 50,000 33,333 33,333 25,000 25,000 25,000 4 Seats After Round 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 Party B Quotient 80,000 80,000 40,000 40,000 26,667 26,667 26,667 20,000 3 Seats After Round 0 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 Party C Quotient 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 15,000 15,000 1 Seats After Round 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Party D Quotient 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 0 Seats After Round 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The chart below shows an easy way to perform the calculation:

Denominator /1 /2 /3 /4 Seats won (*) True proportion

Party A 100,000* 50,000* 33,333* 25,000* 4 3.5

Party B 80,000* 40,000* 26,667* 20,000 3 2.8

Party C 30,000* 15,000 10,000 7,500 1 1.0

Party D Total 20,000 10,000 6,667 5,000 0 8 0.7 8

3. Constitutionalism and Elections

Case of Zimbabwe: According to Reynolds, et al (2005) proportional representation promotes regional balances and equal gender representation in parliament. It also helps to create on a political environment conducive for empowering women politically. It provides a window that paves the way for women from losing political parties to still participate in governance issues. For instance in Zimbabwe, proportional representation allowed 3 women from the MDC, which was led by Professor Welshman Ncube at the time, to be in parliament despite not winning any posts during the elections.

Proportional representation in a particular country focuses on the inclusion of all groups that would customarily be excluded. In Zimbabwe, the national constitution specifically reserves seats for 60 women in the national assembly and stipulates that party lists for senatorial seats should be done starting with female candidates first followed by male candidates.

An electoral system based on proportional representation means that political parties compete for support in multimember constituencies and that the division of seats is determined by the actual support a party receives. The rationale underpinning all PR systems is the conscious translation/correlation of the party’s share of the votes into a corresponding proportion of seats in the legislature.

In Zimbabwe, the national constitution specifically reserves seats for