Erika Brown
PL SC 150
31 October 2012
Blog 7 Duverger's
Law
As we learned in
class, Duverger’s Law states that the effective number of parties in any
electoral district is a function of the electoral rules. Supposedly,
single-member-district-plurality systems (SMDP) produce two main parties, while
proportional representation (PR) allows for more parties. When we
calculate the number of effective parties and describe the electoral rules in
the Netherlands, we discover that the Netherlands’ House of Representatives
abides by Duverger’s Law.
There are many
political parties contesting in Dutch elections. In the most recent
election on September 12, 2012, there were 41 seats appointed to the People’s
Party for Freedom and Democracy and 38 seats appointed to the Labour Party
(“House…”). However, there are a total of 150 seats that need to be
distributed. There are 21 parties contesting the elections, but only 11
of them are winning seats (“Netherlands…”). Ten of the political parties
are not winning seats because their lists are not obtaining the required .67%
of the nationwide vote to win seats (“Netherlands…”). There are 11
political parties that are winning seats, but how many of these parties are
considered effective parties? Using the formula from class, there are
approximately six effective parties.
Just like other
countries, the Netherlands’ electoral rules include district magnitude, a
formula for distributing seats, identifying a list or hybrid structure, and
recognizing any thresholds. The Netherlands’ House of Representatives is
comprised of only one district in which all 150 of the seats are directly
elected (“Netherlands…”). After the first distribution of seats following an
election, the Netherlands’ House of Representatives distributes the remaining
seats according to the d’Hondt method of highest average, which slightly favors
larger parties and coalitions (“Netherlands…”). This process eliminates
any idea of a hybrid structure for the Netherlands because it is not a mix of
the two systems, but rather only uses Proportional Representation methods.
Furthermore, the
Netherlands’ House of Representatives uses an open or preferential list
structure (“Netherlands…”). This means that the Dutch voters get to vote
for specific candidates on the list, rather than just voting for a party list
in which the winning political party would choose the top candidates.
This form of list structure allows the voters to have a voice.
Candidates can only be on the list if they are supported by at least 25
electors (“Netherlands…”). This ensures that the lists are comprised of
candidates that the people would most likely support. Because of the
proportional representation structure, there are many political parties.
Some of these parties have little influence and lack support while other
parties have a more dominating nature. The Netherlands established a
threshold of .67% of the nationwide vote in order for parties to have a seat in
the House of Representatives (“Netherlands…”). This threshold weeds out
the small parties and favors the parties that have more support and a larger
influence.
We conclude that
Duverger’s Law is correct in the case of the Netherlands’ House of
Representatives. There are more than two effective parties in the Netherlands’
because it uses a proportional representation system. The Netherlands is
comprised of just one district that holds 150 seats. The seats remaining
after the first distribution are allotted according to the d’Hondt formula.
The open list structure allows the people to have a voice, but only
commonly held political beliefs have an effect on the government because the
Netherlands has a threshold. Duverger’s Law is evident throughout the
electoral system and the electoral rules of the Netherlands’ House of
Representatives.
Works Cited
“House of Representatives: Netherlands.”
Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, 9 October 2012. Web.
31 October 2012. (Graph used to calculate
the number of effective parties on this site.)
“Netherlands Electoral System.” Inter-Parliamentary
Union. Parline, 2012. Web. 31 October
Very interesting that it is all one district. I wonder if there is one solid political identity there.
ReplyDeleteOverall, pretty good though worded a little confusingly
ReplyDelete