The Electoral Bonus Mechanism and Greek Variant of Electoral Reform in View of Results of Elections to the Czech Chamber of Deputies
No.1(2011)
Abstract
Keywords:
Czech Republic; elections 2010; electoral bonus; Chamber of Deputies; Greek variant
This article focuses on proving some of the earlier published hypotheses that criticized the possibility applying the electoral bonus (bonus seats) to elections to the Chamber of Deputies in the Czech Republic. The results of the Czech parliamentary elections held at the very end of May 2010 provide some empirical data for this analysis and help to prove that the mechanism of the electoral bonus is not useful in the Czech political system. The main reasons for this claim are the hypotheses that the electoral bonus should not reinforce the position of the government coalition and that it erodes the will of the people, whose votes in fact count towards the bonus seat(s) of another party (namely that party which receives the electoral bonus).
Czech Republic; elections 2010; electoral bonus; Chamber of Deputies; Greek variant