Duverger's
law claims that the effective number of parties in an electoral district is a
direct function of election rules. This seems to be true in the Islamic Republic
of Iran. In Iran, the Majles, or Parliament, has 290 members. All but five are
directly elected; five seats are reserved for minorities, one member from each
of these categories: Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians,
Armenian Christians in the north of the country, and Armenian Christians in the
south of the country. There are 196 consituencies; some are single-member
constituencies, and others are multi-member constituencies. There are two
rounds of voting: in the first, candidates must receive at least one-third of
the votes cast. In the second round, the leading candidates compete, and the number
of candidates running cannot be more than double the number of seats available.
Iran has a
proportional representation electoral system. Proportional representation, as
per Duverger's law, leads to more than two parties. In Iran, after the 2012
elections, there were thirteen parties or factions represented in the Majles,
divided into four coalitions. The conservative coalition includes the United
Front of Conservatives, the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, the People's
Voice, the Monotheism and Justice Party, and the Insight and Islamic Awakening
Front. The Reformist coalition includes the Democratic Coalition of Reformists,
the Labour Coalition, and the Moderate Reformists. The Religious minorities
coalition includes the groups mentioned above. The remaining coalition is the
Independents. Although there are thirteen parties represented, the effective
number of parties is 5.08. This conforms with Duverger's law—the proportional
representation system in Iran led to more than two effective parties.
(I am not finished, but I figure that something is better
than nothing.)
True, you didn't finish, but what you did cover is very informative. Thank you.
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