Political scientist Devaron Bruce has recommended that provisions be made in the new Constitution for national seats to be introduced in Parliament to remedy the electoral distortions of the first-past-the-post system.
Instead, he has proposed that while the current constituency arrangements should remain unchanged, ten national seats should be introduced in the Lower House. These should be determined based on the percentage of the national vote a political party receives in a general election, he said.
Such an approach, he said, was known as proportional representation.
“To select the candidates for these national seats, the political parties would utilise a ranked list system of candidates. These national seat members will have the same parliamentary rights and privileges as those elected by the first-past-the-post system, including the ability to sit in Parliament, elect a prime minister and the leader of the opposition and vote on legislation,” he said.
He has also suggested that the time has come for the country to reduce the ability of the Prime Minister to engage in partisan strategy with general election dates.
Delivering Friday’s Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lunch-time lecture at the George Street Auditorium, on the topic Towards a New Constitution: Revolutionising Governance, Bruce stressed that one of the key areas for constitutional reform is that of the first-past-the-post electoral system.
He indicated that although Barbadians have become quite familiar with this electoral system, there are several issues with the model as it produces undemocratic and unrepresentative outcomes.
Bruce said, a troubling characteristic of the electoral system is that it produces heavily-skewed parliaments in favour of one party.
“In essence our electoral system behaves like a ponzi scheme. Where else would you receive such large returns from your input other than in a ponzi scheme?
“This matter is not only an issue for democracy, but also governance, as we have seen the implication of the absence of a parliamentary opposition due to the electoral system,” he said.
(AH)
The post Reform electoral process, advises Bruce appeared first on Barbados Today.