Democracy, parliament and electoral systems / edited by M.A. Griffith-Traversy.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Griffith-Traversy, M. A. (Mary Anne)

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy.

Parliamentary practice.

Elections.

Physical Description:

x, 162 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling. Va. : Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in association with Pluto Press, 2002.

Summary:

The contributors to this volume examine the importance of democracy as a system of government. Exploring various forms of democratic government throughout the world, they assess how democracy works in theory and in practice. Chapters cover how to improve democracy using case studies from the Caribbean and Spain; how to make parliaments more effective, looking at issues such as technology and the structure of parliamentary bodies; the comparative benefits of different electoral systems; finally, the contributors examine problems thrown up by various recent elections including the American election in 2000, Sri Lanka, Poland and various African experiences.

Contents:

1 Introduction: democracy, parliaments and electoral systems 1

Part I Building Democracy

2 Enhancing democracy: a Caribbean perspective 7

3 Transparency, integrity and funding of the political process 19

4 The Spanish transition: dictatorship to democracy 25

Part II Making Parliaments More Effective

5 Strengthening parliament's role 31

6 Do unicameral or bicameral parliaments function more effectively? 47

7 Information technology and parliamentary effectiveness 59

Part III Electoral Systems and Processes

8 Alternative electoral systems 73

9 Mandatory voting: the pros and cons 83

10 Gender equality and electoral systems 89

11 Holding elections: the mechanics 99

12 External influences on electoral processes 107

i) Exit polls, time zones and length of elections 107

ii) Opinion polling and the media 114

Part IV Country-Based Insights on Electoral Issues

13 Ethnically divided polities: the case of Sri Lanka 123

14 The United States Presidential election: year 2000 127

15 Disputed election results: various African experiences 131

16 Evolving electoral systems: the experience of Poland 135

17 The New Zealand experience of changing electoral systems 141.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0745321542

OCLC:

53914936