commentonthis

About CommentOnThis.com

This is a site designed to make it easier to take the core of large published reports and allow anyone to comment on them.

More...

Often Duverger's claim that FPTP tends to produce a two-party system is assumed to be a rule.114 However, consideration has been given to how FPTP will continue to perform in an environment of the major parties. ERS analysis shows that the tendency to produce overall majorities under FPTP is largely a contingent rather than a necessary feature of the system that comes about largely due to the rise of a strong third party and the decline of marginal seats. The ERS believes that given the trends from 1979 to 2005, large pluralities where a party attracts as much as 40 percent of the vote is unlikely to be a regular occurrence in the future and a stable majority government is not guaranteed under FPTP in the future. 'Dead-heat' type elections such as those fought between two major parties with the emergence of a significant third party and declining marginal seats can result in the need for coalitions or the risk of a hung parliament. If that is the case, it is not clear that FPTP will continue to operate as it always has.

Email this to a friend.
Previous itemNext item.


Comment


(You must give a valid email address, but it will not be displayed to the public.)


We only allow the following html tags em strong blockquote p br. After posting, there may be a short delay before your comment appears on the site