About electoral systems
In the light of yet another deadlock-looking-outcome for Spain, an article in ElPaìs highlights the role electoral systems play in shaping electoral results.
What this is about
This week, an article published in El Pais shed a particular light on the electoral outcome of last Sunday. Jesús Sérvulo González showed how different Spanish parties had to win astonishingly different amount of average-votes-per-MEP to be represented in the Parliament. For instance, an almost unknown party such as ¡Teruel Existe! entered the Parliament with a single MEP backed by only 19.696 votes. Meanwhile, the leftist party, Más País (3 seats) had to collect 192.352 - that is almost ten times ¡Teruel Existe!’s number - to grant each of its deputies a pass.
Why we like it
Together with an analysis published by The Guardian , the article underscores the role an electoral system plays in translating numbers and shares of votes into actual Parliamentary seats. In the end, it is the latter who make the difference when it comes to create a government. In El Paìs piece a bar chart and a Parliament chart help the author to back his explanations with easy to grasp infographics.
