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Scotland has a form of proportional representation called The Additional Member System or D'hont system.
The aims are to make the results of an election reflect more closely the amount of votes cast for each party.
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The aims are to make the results of an election reflect more closely the amount of votes cast for each party.
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The Additional Member System combines First Past the Post in constituencies and a
regional list which elects 56 additional members to Holyrood.
At a Scottish Parliament election, each voter has two votes - One is your Constituency Vote the other is your Regional vote.
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regional list which elects 56 additional members to Holyrood.
At a Scottish Parliament election, each voter has two votes - One is your Constituency Vote the other is your Regional vote.
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One vote is used to elect the local constituency MSP. The constituency vote is counted and the person with the most votes wins. This is known as First Past the Post.
You use your second vote to choose a political Party within a larger electoral area known as a region.
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You use your second vote to choose a political Party within a larger electoral area known as a region.
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The region is made up of several constituencies.
The regional votes are counted and totalled per party.
Regional seats are decided using the D’Hondt Formula - Victor D’Hondt was a Belgian mathematician.
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The regional votes are counted and totalled per party.
Regional seats are decided using the D’Hondt Formula - Victor D’Hondt was a Belgian mathematician.
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How does it work -
Regional Votes are divided by the number of MSPs already won in the constituencies within the region plus 1.
The Party with the largest number after this formula is applied wins the round and wins one regional MSP.
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Regional Votes are divided by the number of MSPs already won in the constituencies within the region plus 1.
The Party with the largest number after this formula is applied wins the round and wins one regional MSP.
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This formula is used 7 times in 7 rounds to elect 7 regional MSPs.
There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. This gives 129 MSP's in the system of election.
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There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. This gives 129 MSP's in the system of election.
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Let's compare the 2016 election votes cast in comparison to the percentage of seats won to see if the system works.
Total votes - 4,099,407
SNP - 2,013,484 or 49.12%
Tory - 1,026,066 or 25.03%
Labour - 950,180 or 23.18%
Lib Dem - 297,522 or 7.28%
Green - 163,598 or 3.99%
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Total votes - 4,099,407
SNP - 2,013,484 or 49.12%
Tory - 1,026,066 or 25.03%
Labour - 950,180 or 23.18%
Lib Dem - 297,522 or 7.28%
Green - 163,598 or 3.99%
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Seats won:
SNP - 63 or 48.88%
Tory - 31 or 24.03%
Labour - 24 or 18.60%
Lib Dems - 5 or 3.88%
Greens - 6 or 4.65%
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SNP - 63 or 48.88%
Tory - 31 or 24.03%
Labour - 24 or 18.60%
Lib Dems - 5 or 3.88%
Greens - 6 or 4.65%
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My conclusion is that the number of seats roughly equates to the votes cast for each party however it could be argued unionist parties lost out and pro indy parties gained slightly, however overall the system works well.
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