Effectively Composed Parliament Through Proper Electoral System

Introduction

To effectively compose a Parliament, there should be a proper electoral system in the country for the citizens to elect their governors. The existence of an electoral system allows the people to elect their governors, which is one of the finest achievements of democracy. There must be representatives in Parliament for the people who are responsible, answerable, and accountable to the wishes of society. However, there are many types of proper electoral systems in the world. The practice of the proper electoral system to compose an effective Parliament in Malaysia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) differs from each other.

Malaysia's Electoral System

In Malaysia, an elected Parliament consists of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA), the Dewan Negara, and the Dewan Rakyat, as provided under Article 44 of the Federal Constitution (FC). According to Article 46 of the FC, the Dewan Rakyat consists of 222 elected members, and the allocation of its members is based on the states in Malaysia. Furthermore, the Dewan Rakyat has a five-year tenure; in other words, a term for Parliament is only five years. However, in practice, elections are almost always called prematurely because of the Prime Minister’s (PM) power to advise the YDPA to dissolve the Dewan Rakyat prematurely under Article 55(3) of the FC. The senators of the Dewan Negara are unaffected by the dissolution because they are appointed by the YDPA on the advice of the PM.

Moreover, the simple plurality, first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system is practiced in Malaysia as the proper electoral system to compose Parliament. The election is conducted in each constituency as separated geographically. There are a number of candidates contesting, either individually or as nominees of political parties in each constituency. Normally, the candidates represent their respective political parties. Besides, a voter is entitled to have one vote with only one ballot held for each voter. On the ballot, there are a few options given, and the voter is instructed to cross beside the party they wish to cast their vote for.

Furthermore, the general election conducted in each constituency is to vote for their Members of Parliament (MPs) to sit in the Dewan Rakyat as their representatives. They vote for the party based on the candidate's list in their respective constituencies. To determine the result, the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner of the election. Further, the party with the majority of candidates in the Dewan Rakyat will form Parliament with the Dewan Negara; in other words, the winning party can form the government. The PM from the winning political party must command the confidence of the majority of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.

The United Kingdom's Electoral System

On the other hand, the simple plurality voting system is currently practiced in the UK as the proper election system, where Malaysia adopted the principle of the FPTP from the country. There are similar features of the voting system in Malaysia and the UK, where the general elections in the UK are conducted in the constituencies of the country to elect their MPs, who will be the representatives of the people in the House of Commons for a period of five years. There is only one vote with one ballot for each voter, which is the same as in Malaysia. Similarly to Malaysia, the political party with most of the seats in the House of Commons at the general election is the winner, and it will automatically form a new government for a new term of five years, and its leader becomes the PM. Likewise, the members of the House of Lords are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the PM.

In contrast, there are 600 seats in the House of Commons in the UK’s Parliament, reduced from 650 to 600 under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (‘the Act’), while there are only 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. Further, there is a limited area of not more than 13,000 km² for each constituency as provided under Section 11 rule (4)(1) of the Act, and the number of voters must be within 5% of the electoral quota in each constituency under Section 11 rule (7)(2) of the Act in the UK, where those limits aren’t provided in Malaysia. The limitations reflect the fairness of the general election to balance the number of voters with the surface areas of the election’s constituency.

Furthermore, the UK’s Parliament promotes the commitment of free and fair general elections, where the PM of the UK does not have the power to advise the Queen to dissolve Parliament. Parliament will automatically dissolve in a fixed five-year cycle, which is contradicted in Malaysia, where the PM has the power to advise the YDPA for the dissolution of Parliament. Moreover, the Electoral Commission in the UK practices a more transparent election, which was established under the manifesto of the UK’s Labour Party in 1997. The Electoral Commission is separate from the Executive of the government and involves MPs from the opposition party. However, in Malaysia, the Election Commission was established under Article 114 of the FC, which involves only the PM’s department.

The United States' Electoral System

In the US, the proper general election practiced by the country is the same as in Malaysia, which is the simple plurality, FPTP voting system. However, the practice of the FPTP is different from that in Malaysia. The Parliament in the US is known as Congress, and its members are known as Members of Congress. In contrast, the general elections in the US are conducted for the people to elect their President directly, known as the Presidential Elections. Each voter is given a ballot, and they are instructed to cast their vote for their preferred President instead of voting for the political party. The same principle of the FPTP voting system is applied, where the candidate with the most votes is declared to be the President of the US.

In contrast to Malaysia, the President of the US is not allowed to dissolve Congress, even in times of war. The general elections in the US are conducted every four years, while in Malaysia, they are every five years. Besides, there are two separate chambers of Congress, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives, which were established under the Constitution of the United States of America 1789 (‘the Constitution’). Two people are elected from each of the states in the US as representatives in the Senate. Currently, there are 100 representatives in the Senate since there are 50 states in the US, and they are elected to serve for a six-year term.

On the other hand, the members of the House of Representatives, whether congressmen or congresswomen, are elected for a two-year term to serve the people of a specific congressional district. The number of representatives in each state is proportionate to the population. Both the minimum and maximum numbers for the House of Representatives are provided under Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution. Presently, the number of representatives with full voting rights is 435. A representative to be elected must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least 7 years, and an inhabitant of the state that he or she represents.

Conclusion

To conclude, although the UK and the US practice the FPTP voting system as in Malaysia, some features differ from Malaysia. The principles of practicing the FPTP are mostly similar between Malaysia and the UK. Nevertheless, the commitment to free and fair elections is emphasized more in the UK than in Malaysia. The UK has a formula under the Act to construe the areas of the constituency to balance the number of people with the surface areas of each constituency, while there is no such formula to allocate the areas of each constituency in Malaysia, which are only separated geographically. Besides, in the US, the FPTP is practiced in the Presidential Elections, which is totally different from Malaysia, where it is conducted to elect the MPs in Parliament. In the US, the election is every 4 years; however, there is a five-year cycle for each election in Malaysia. Further, the members of the House of Representatives are elected according to specific congressional districts for a two-year term to serve the people.