Possible Outcomes of Introducing a Majority System for Elections to the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies

Michal Pink

doi:10.5817/CEPSR.2017.2.135

Possible Outcomes of Introducing a Majority System for Elections to the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies

Roč.19,č.2(2017)

Michal Pink

https://doi.org/10.5817/CEPSR.2017.2.135

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Abstrakt

This paper explores the possibility of introducing a majority electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies in the Czech Republic, and discusses the virtues and drawbacks of such a system. It recalculates the electoral results from two previous elections using majority electoral systems (first-past-the-post and two round majority system) to examine how such a change could influence the formation of governmental majorities in the chamber and what the possible consequences for the quality of democracy in the Czech Republic could be. The results show that majority system would likely radically simplify the formation of governments with clear majorities, and hinder emerging populist parties as well as weaken the communist party. On the other hand, the adoption of a majority system would substantially lower barriers to enter the chamber, which could lead to the disintegration of the party system and its increased fragmentation. Combined with the common practice of Czech politicians to hold various mandates at different levels of the political system at the same time, this could be a significant risk factor.

Klíčová slova:
Elections; Czech Politics; Electoral System; First-Past-the-Post; Two Round Majority System

Biografie autora

Michal Pink

Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University

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