Mixed-member electoral systems, best loser rules, and the descriptive representation of women

Kerevel, Yann P.; Matthews, Austin S.; Seki, Katsunori

doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2018.11.006

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Described in the Mauritian constitution and colloquially referred to as the ‘best loser system’ (BLS), an extensive literature exists on the subject that explores both what it is (Seegobin 2009; Fessha and Nam 2015; Kerevel et al . 2019) and the potential need for reform (Couacaud et al . 2022; Munohur 2020).…”

Section: The Best Loser System and Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The unique parliamentary system at play in Mauritius has long relied on the abilities of politicians to predict voter behaviour. Described in the Mauritian constitution and colloquially referred to as the 'best loser system' (BLS), an extensive literature exists on the subject that explores both what it is (Seegobin 2009;Fessha and Nam 2015;Kerevel et al 2019) and the potential need for reform (Couacaud et al 2022;Munohur 2020). Ramola Ramtohul writes that the main purpose of the BLS is: to correct any imbalance in the representation of the various communities which may result from the direct election.…”

Section: The Best Loser System and Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Auerbach

2023

Africa

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In this article I explore changing state–citizen relationships in Mauritius. To do so, I outline and provide analysis of the system through which this Indian Ocean island has historically managed its diversity – a process that I call conscripting communalism. Conscripting communalism was formulated at independence in a context of behavioural predictions for the future that the internet era has challenged in powerful ways. To illustrate my argument, I explore three specific moments when ethnic and religious discourses were surpassed by collective concern within a rapidly authoritarianizing state: first, the sinking of the Wakashio oil tanker off the coast of Mauritius in 2020, which resulted in national solidarity towards the environment rather than communal violence; second, proposed legislation put forward by the Mauritian Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICTA) in 2021, which attempted to enable state surveillance of social media and which was soundly resisted by both domestic and external parties. And finally, I explore 2022 accusations that the Mauritian government authorized the installation of digital interception technology by representatives of the Indian state on one of the country’s fibre optic cables. The article argues that Mauritius represents an important site of analysis of the tensions between competing global visions of human rights, political autonomy, surveillance, solidarity and expectations for the future and the role of the internet in shaping these competing visions. I explore how new technologies have become the tools of both repression and resistance. The implications ripple far beyond the island.

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Section: The Best Loser System and Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Best Loser System and Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Auerbach

2023

Africa

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“…Building upon these considerations, this article leverages the two-tier elections to the Italian Senate between 1994 and 2001 to address the nonrandom selection into overrepresented and underrepresented districts. As explained in more details below, the system introduced with the 1993 electoral reform is part of the broader family of mixed-member systems using the "best loser provision" (Kerevel, Matthews, & Seki, 2019;Shugart & Wattenberg, 2003). Several countries use variants of this system for national elections (e.g., Japan, Denmark, Austria) and local ones (e.g., Mexico, Germany).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malapportionment, Legislator Effort and the Representation of District Interests. Evidence from the Italian Senate

Troncone

2024

Preprint

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This paper studies the effect of malapportionment on policymaking. I argue that in malapportionedchambers, policymaking is biased in favor of overrepresented districts via a mechanicaland a behavioral effect. Using data on the Italian Senate and a regression discontinuitydesign, I first show that two-tier electoral systems can cause malapportionment by allowingdistricts with similar population size to elect a different number of legislators. I then demonstratethat the local interests of overrepresented districts receive disproportionately greaterattention in bill sponsorship. The effect is driven not only by the election of the additionallegislator but also by the increased activism of electorally vulnerable legislators from overrepresenteddistricts. Both geographically targeted and sectoral bills contribute to this bias.The results demonstrate the political consequences of unequal geographic representation.

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Women’s Representation and the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 in Japan

Kweon

2022

Japan Decides 2021

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Mixed-member electoral systems, best loser rules, and the descriptive representation of women

Cited by 7 publications

References 40 publications

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Malapportionment, Legislator Effort and the Representation of District Interests. Evidence from the Italian Senate

Women’s Representation and the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 in Japan

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