Proportional representation

• Proportional Representation is a system used to elect a country’s government in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.
• Proportional Representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body.
• If n% of the electorate supports a particular political party as their favorite, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party.
• The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result, not just a plurality, or a bare majority.
• The most widely used families of PR electoral systems are party-list PR, the single transferable vote (STV), and mixed-member proportional representation (MMP).

Anti-defection law

• The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The decision on the question as to disqualification on the ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, and his decision is final.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Election to Rajya Sabha

• The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly, rather than by the citizens at large like how it is for the Lok Sabha.
• Rajya Sabha members are elected by each state Vidhan Sabha using the single transferable vote system.
• Unlike most federal systems, the number of members returned by each state is roughly in proportion to their population.
• The single transferable vote uses multiple-member districts, with voters casting only one vote each but ranking individual candidates in order of preference (by providing backup preferences).
• During the count, as candidates are elected or eliminated, surplus or discarded votes that would otherwise be wasted are transferred to other candidates according to the preferences, forming consensus groups that elect surviving candidates.
• STV enables voters to vote across party lines, to choose the most preferred of a party’s candidates, and vote for independent candidates, knowing that if the candidate is not elected his/her vote will likely not be wasted if the voter marks backup preferences on the ballot.

Election of the Vice-President

• The election is in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferred vote and the voting is by secret ballot.
• The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting in such election is by secret ballot.
• The Electoral College to elect a person to the office of the Vice-President consists of all members of both Houses of Parliament.
• The Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters his office.

Representation of the People Act

• Representation of Peoples Act 1951 provides for the actual conduct of elections in India.
• Act deals with the election of the Parliament and State Legislatures, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of Parliament and state legislatures
• It was introduced in Parliament by the then law minister Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
• It was enacted under Article 327 of the Indian Constitution before the first general election in India.
• Representation of People’s Act contains 13 parts.
• Articles 324 to 329 deals with the electoral system in India.
• The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced by Varun Gandhi in Lok Sabha.