Elections

Question 1

Election (4)

Answer 1

• Method of filling office/post
• Through choices made by designated body of people
• = electorate
• e.g General Elections, devolved assembly elections, local elections

Question 2

Majoritarian representation (5)

Answer 2

• Governments can get majority of seats without necessarily getting majority of votes
• 2015 - Conservatives got 36.9% of vote and 50.9% of seats
• Larger parties are generally overrepresented
• Associated with strong government
• e.g AV, FPTP

Question 3

Mandate (3)

Answer 3

• Instruction/command
• Gives authority to a person/body to act a certain way
• Confers legitimacy on a political actor

Question 4

Proportional representation (6)

Answer 4

• Close correlation between share of votes and share of seats in assembly/parliament
• In optimum system, parties should be represented in assembly/parliament in direct proportion to overall electoral strength
• e.g UKIP would have 12.6% of seats instead of 0.2%
• Confers greater sense of legitimacy on governments
• Often produces coalitions and thus weak & unstable governments
• e.g AMS, STV, regional party list

Question 5

Electoral reform (3)

Answer 5

• Change in rules governing elections
• Usually involving replacement of current electoral system with another
• Associated in UK with replacing FPTP with a PR system

Question 6

Party system (6)

Answer 6

• Examines political parties in political structure
• Attempts to place them into categories
• Attempts to define relationship within political structure as to how parties function/operate and how close they are to achieving governing status/power
• Two party system = two have chance of power
• Two 1/2 = two main parties + smaller party (Lib Dems)
• Multi-party systems and one party dominant systems

Question 7

Strong government (3)

Answer 7

• Ensures governments can govern
• When a government has majority control of HoC
• Coalition governments are weak

Question 8

Stable government (5)

Answer 8

• Generally able to survive a full term
• Single-party governments are usually stable and cohesive
• United by common ideological loyalties
• Subject to same party disciplines
• Coalition governments are often unstable