Why didn't the BC Liberals use second place Cambodia's 353 days?
Why use the country of Belgium, or Cambodia, at all as a comparison?
Why not use just ONE of Belgium, or Cambodia, PROVINCEs?
The reason? BC Liberals couldn't find an example of a Province having a 'problem' with PR from a list of 87 countries.
The BC Liberal Party's official position is:
"Proportional representation leads to confusion and chaos. In Belgium after elections in 2010 it took 589 days for politicians to come to a governing agreement. That's 589 days without a government with a mandate from the people. BC doesn't need an electoral system that leads to confusion and less accountability for voters.
https://www.facebook.com/BCLiberals/
December 20, 2017
If the BC Liberals are going to quote from the Washington Post then they should go a bit further and give credit to day-to-day affairs of the country were tended to by a temporary government run by a former prime minister' whereas Ms. Strauss was asking for a Caretaker Congress to run the United States, just like Belgium.
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Washington Post |
The BC Liberals fail to mention that in the 'province of Belgium' voters cast their ballots for their MP and their SENATE. Yes, Belgians elect their Senators. Not so in the Province of British Columbia, ooops, in Canada. Successive Prime Ministers of Canada have that responsibility by appointing their trusted 'foot soldiers' to the Senate until they reach the age 75; retirements with a fully INDEXED pension. Whereas the Belgians term is for only four years and then must face another election.
Reuters' FactBox
ELECTORATE: About 7.7 million of Belgium’s population of 10.5 million. It is compulsory for all people aged 18 or over to fill in a ballot sheet.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM: Proportional representation, with 5 percent minimum threshold.
PARLIAMENT STRUCTURE: The parliament is split into the Chamber of Representatives (150 seats) and the Senate (71 members of which 40 are directly elected). The Chamber is the more powerful of the two, with control over state finances.
VOTING: Two votes -- one for the Chamber, the other for the Senate. Voters are given a list of candidates from each party and can either vote for this list, backing the party’s order on who should get seats, or choose specific candidates from it, potentially pushing that person up the pecking order.
CONSTITUENCIES: For the Chamber, parties have lists for each of Belgium’s 10 provinces and the Brussels region. The number of seats available depends on each province’s population.
For the Senate, there are just two lists -- one for the Dutch-speaking Flemish community and one for the French-speaking region of Wallonia. Residents of Brussels, the third community, choose from one of the two lists. Belgium’s tiny German-speaking community select from the Walloon list.
While the Chamber has more power, politicians seeking to become prime minister are typically placed as the leading candidate for the Senate because it is a clearer demonstration of their popularity in their respective communities. The Senate vote is effectively a prime ministerial popularity contest.
GOVERNMENT FORMATION: After the election, the monarch typically appoints a senior politician (informateur) to investigate whether potential political coalitions are viable. The informateur can be replaced.
The monarch subsequently appoints a person (formateur) to form a new government. This person will typically be the next prime minister. The monarch can immediately designate someone as the formateur, without the need for an informateur.
The entire process can take from a few weeks to a few months. It is expected to last at least two months this time.
The government is in power for four years.
Google Search Criteria: "Proportional representation" Belgium 2010 it took 589 days
Google Search Criteria: Belgium Elections via Wikipedia
Voting is MANDATORY
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Provinces of Belgium |
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Spain’s experience over the last six months suggests that Canadians shouldn’t be spooked into dismissing PR out of hand. Not having a government can be a good thing — in the short term, at least.
After a long recession, the Spanish economy started rebuilding in 2014; last year the economy grew by 3.2 per cent, one of the strongest showings among European Union countries that use the euro. Of course, Spain has still accumulated debt and faces a challenge in keeping the deficit below the ceiling mandated by Brussels: three per cent of gross domestic product. But its overall direction is positive.
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Merritt HeraldHistorically, Proportional Representation (PR) systems often lead to smaller parties and encourages coalition governments. If we look to other countries as examples of PR, Belgium’s coalition government took 589 days to form government in 2010.
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Hmmmm IF WE LOOK TO OTHER COUNTRIES????? .....
Blog: NonSuch HP
Between 2010 and 2011, Belgium spent 589 days without an elected government. During this time, they broke the world record for the longest time for a democratic country to go without an elected government, overtaking Cambodia’s record of 353 days set in 2003 to 2004.
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Hmmmmmmm CAMBODIA'S RECORD OF 353 DAYS????? Cambodia has PR???? Countries in transition???Cambodia Daily
“For countries in transition [such as Cambodia], elections experts often argue that proportional representation works better” because it lets various factions help reconstruct the country, said Mark Stevens, deputy chief observer for the European Union Election Observation Mission.
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"Belgium has become the country that in peacetime has known the longest period without official government," says the Guinness entry. "Iraq still has the record for longest period without a democratic government after a period of conflict."
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November 22, 2017
....... the small matter that this is not remotely typical of proportional representation systems, least of all Germany’s: it was in fact the first time negotiations had failed to produce a coalition — though they still might — in the history of the Federal Republic. That’s why it came as such a shock. In every one of the previous 18 elections (that’s four fewer, by the way, than Canada has held in the same period) any negotiations had been concluded successfully. ....
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Here you go BC Liberal-lites.... 86 other examples in addition to Belgium with PR
Wikipedia: Countries with PR
Country | ||
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1 | Albania | |
2 | Algeria | Party list |
3 | Angola | Party list |
4 | Argentina | Party list |
5 | Armenia | |
6 | Aruba | Party list |
7 | Australia | For Senate only, Single transferable vote |
8 | Austria | Party list, 4% threshold |
9 | Belgium | Party list, 5% threshold |
10 | Bénin | Party list |
11 | Bolivia | Mixed-member proportional representation, 3% threshold |
12 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Party list |
13 | Brazil | Party list |
14 | Bulgaria | Party list, 4% threshold |
15 | Burkina Faso | Party list |
16 | Burundi | Party list, 2% threshold |
17 | Cambodia | Party list |
18 | Cape Verde | Party list |
19 | Chile | Binomial voting (party list with 2-seat districts) |
20 | Colombia | Party list |
21 | Costa Rica | Party list |
22 | Croatia | Party list, 5% threshold |
23 | Cyprus | Party list |
24 | Czech Republic | Party list, 5% threshold |
25 | Denmark | Two-tier party list, 2% threshold |
26 | Dominican Republic | Party list |
27 | East Timor | Party list |
28 | El Salvador | Party list |
29 | Equatorial Guinea | Party list |
30 | Estonia | Party list, 5% threshold |
31 | European Union | Each member state chooses its own PR system |
32 | Faroe Islands | Party list |
33 | Fiji | Party list, 5% threshold |
34 | Finland | Party list |
35 | Germany | Mixed-member proportional representation, |
36 | Greece | Two-tier party list Nationwide closed lists and open lists in multi-member districts. |
37 | Greenland | Party list |
38 | Guatemala | Party list |
39 | Guinea-Bissau | Party list |
40 | Guyana | Party list |
41 | Honduras | Party list |
42 | Iceland | Party list |
43 | Indonesia | Party list, 3.5% threshold |
44 | Iraq | Party list |
45 | Ireland | Single transferable vote (For Dáil only) |
46 | Israel | Party list, 3.25% threshold |
47 | Italy | Party list The winning party or coalition receives a majority bonus. |
48 | Kazakhstan | Party list, 7% threshold |
49 | Kosovo | Party list |
50 | Kyrgyzstan | Party list, 5% threshold |
51 | Latvia | Party list, 5% threshold |
52 | Lesotho | Mixed-member proportional representation |
53 | Liechtenstein | Party list, 8% threshold |
54 | Luxembourg | Party list |
55 | Macedonia | Party list |
56 | Malta | Single transferable vote |
57 | Moldova | Party list, 6% threshold |
58 | Montenegro | Party list |
59 | Mozambique | Party list |
60 | Namibia | Party list |
61 | Netherlands | Party list |
62 | New Zealand | Mixed-member proportional representation, ...... |
63 | Nicaragua | Party list |
64 | Northern Ireland | Single transferable vote |
65 | Norway | Two-tier party list, 4% national threshold |
66 | Paraguay | Party list |
67 | Peru | Party list |
68 | Poland | Party list, 5% threshold or more |
69 | Portugal | Party list |
70 | Romania | Party list |
71 | Rwanda | Party list |
72 | San Marino | Party list If needed to ensure a stable majority, .... majority bonus. |
73 | São Tomé and Príncipe | Party list |
74 | Serbia | Party list, 5% threshold or less |
75 | Sint Maarten | Party list |
76 | Slovakia | Party list, 5% threshold |
77 | Slovenia | Party list, 4% threshold |
78 | South Africa | Party list |
79 | Spain | Party list, 3% threshold in small constituencies |
80 | Sri Lanka | Party list |
81 | Suriname | Party list |
82 | Sweden | Two-tier party list, 4% national threshold or 12% in a district |
83 | Switzerland | Party list |
84 | Togo | Party list |
85 | Tunisia | Party list |
86 | Turkey | Party list, 10% threshold |
87 | Uruguay | Party list |
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Bill and Sue and Bob have set up a Society with opposing goals
We will support Proportional Represention sic
And
We will support Proportional Representation
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Bill and Sue and Bob have set up a Society with opposing goals
We will support Proportional Represention sic
And
We will support Proportional Representation
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