Though the Constitution has
adopted the system of proportional representation in the case of Rajya Sabha,
it has not preferred the same system in the case of Lok Sabha. Instead, it has
adopted the system of territorial representation for the election of members to
the Lok Sabha.
Under territorial representation, every member of the legislature
represents a geographical area known as a constituency. From each constituency,
only one representative is elected. Hence such a constituency is known as
single-member constituency. In this system, a candidate who secures majority of
votes is declared elected. This simple majority system of representation does
not represent the whole electorate. In other words, it does not secure due
representation to minorities (small groups).
The system of proportional representation aims at removing the defects of
territorial representation.
Under this system, all sections of
the people get representation in proportion to their number. Even the smallest
section of the population gets its due share of representation in the
legislature.
There are two kinds of proportional representation, namely, single
transferable vote system and list system. In India, the first kind is adopted
for the election of members to the Rajya Sabha and state legislative council
and for electing the President and the Vice-President.
Though some members of the
Constituent Assembly had advocated the system of proportional representation
for the election of members to the Lok Sabha, the Constitution has not adopted the proportional representation system
for Lok Sabha elections due to two reasons.
1. Difficulty for the voters to
understand the system (which is complicated) due to low literacy scale in the
country.
2. Unsuitability to the
parliamentary government due to the tendency of the system to multiply political
parties leading to instability in government.
Additionally, the system of proportional representation has the
following demerits:
1)
It is highly expensive.
2)
It does not give any scope for organizing
by-elections.
3)
It eliminates intimate contacts between voters
and representatives.
4)
It promotes minority thinking and group
interests.
5)
It increases the significance of party system
and decreases that of voter.
No comments:
Post a Comment