A country cannot be truly democratic until its citizens

have the opportunity to

choose their representatives

through elections that are free

and fair.U.S. Agency for International Development

Only when elections are clean and fair, can citizens be real

masters of their own destiny

and expect holders of public

office to act accountably and

effectivelyBersih 2.0

originated in the first post-apartheid elections in South Africa in 1994

free election

Every adult

citizen, with

the exception

of minors,

aliens, insane

and criminals,

must have the

right to vote.

Every adult citizen

must have an

equal opportunity

to vote and that

each citizens vote must have the

same weight as

every other adult

citizens.

Voting must be

secret.

Citizens should have full freedom to

form political parties, to contest in

elections, and to nominate

candidates of their choice.

Candidates must have equal

opportunities to publicise their names

and policy positions so that voters

can understand and choose among

candidates and policies.

fair election

Elections to be

held at regular

intervals within

prescribed

time limits.

At the end of

elections, votes

must be counted

accurately and in

public and the

results must be

published as soon

as possible.

Voters to have

equal access to

polling places.

All candidates be given equal

financial support and equal free time

on radio and television to make their

views known to the voters.

The electoral process to be

administered and monitored by an

impartial body composed of electoral

specialists.

organizations to ensure elections to be

free and fair

U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID)

promoting 10 elements that are essential to fair elections and political processes

Impartial electoral frameworks Credible electoral administration

Effective oversight of electoral processesInformed and active citizens

Representative and competitive multi-party systemsEffective governance by elected leaders and bodies

Inclusion of women and disadvantaged groupsEffective transfer of political power

Consensus-building for democratic reformSustainable local engagement

BERSIH 2.0The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections

Clean the electoral roll Reform postal ballot Use of indelible ink

Minimum 21 days campaign period Free and fair access to media

Strengthen public institutions Stop corruption

Stop dirty politics

TYPES OF ELECTION

NORMAL

ELECTION

REALIGNING/CRITICAL ELECTION

DEVIATING ELECTION

NORMAL ELECTION

Is where the result expresses the balance of long

term party loyalties in the electorate as a whole

It also a presidential election in which the

majority party continues its controls of

presidency

The voters have tended to vote according to

their party identification & have not been cross

pressured by short term variable

DEVIATING ELECTION

Is where winning majority party loses the election

due to short-term factors such as candidate

appeal.

short-term forces cause outcome that deviates

from the current normal vote but without

changing that normal-vote division

The shift in voting is only temporary

REALIGNING/CRITICAL ELECTION

The election that cause a significant shift in the

way voters align themselves that is in who they

vote for.

It were also stands for dramatic change in the

political system.

In such election, the voters give up their old

party loyalty & establish new durable party

identities.

Electoral SystemDetermine the number of parties, by forming a

stable government to represent the entire district by winning a plurality of the votes.

First Past The Post (FPTP) System pushes interest groups and political factions

to combine into two big parties.

The candidate with the largest number of votes wins the seat.

The party with the most seats forms the government.

Easy for the voter to understand, cheap

and inexpensive

Links maintained with

constituencies

One party usually wins outright and the government is therefore strong

Parties have a chance to carry

out their manifesto promises

It has been proven to work

effectively

Advantages

Parties coming consistently second

or third are underrepresented

Winning parties are overrepresented

Winning governments

usually only gain 40% of the total

vote

Voters in safe seats may not bother to

vote

The govt. may have less votes than its

nearest rival

Disadvantages

Majority Systems

(The winning candidate achieves more than 50% of the vote)

The Alternative Vote System (AV)

Voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Any candidate with 50%+ votes is elected.

If no-one gets 50%, votes are redistributed

This continues until someone wins

Supplementary Vote System (SVS) Voters have first and second choice. Candidates with 50%+ of votes are automatically

elected. If no-one has 50%, all candidates are eliminated

except for the top two. The votes of losing candidates are redistributed

to second choices.

The Second Ballot System Does not win 50% of the vote, a second ballot

takes place a week or two later. Candidates with the least votes are eliminated.

Second or third parties are more

fairly represented

If voters do not get their first

choice, they are quite likely to

get their second

MPs represent more members

of their constituencies

Constituency links are

maintained

Advantages

Second or third parties can be

over represented

AV in particular is complicated for the voters

Very small parties are not

represented

Second ballot system takes a

long time to produce an

outright result

It is more expensive and

time consuming

Disadvantages

Proportional representation (PR)

Based on multimember

districts

Each district sends several

representatives to parliament

Eg. Netherlands & Israel

Countrys legislature accurately reflects public opinion and party strength

Advantages

Doing little to fight party splintering, so that they often lead to multiparty systems

Disadvantages

Thank you