SIf the crisis of our representative system was aggravated, in France, by the dissolution of the National Assembly, all parliamentary democracies are today affected by a growing polarization of the political debate and an erosion of the so-called “government” parties. . In the long term, an entire model is in danger.
From this point of view we could take inspiration from the Australian example. In response to the fear of isolation and fragmentation of communitywhich permeates the Australian identity,there is actually,in thier electoral practice,the constant concern to favor the rapprochement of points of view and the stability of the parliamentary system. Voting thus has two main characteristics: it is indeed mandatory and it is organized according to a “preference system” (preferential vote), that is, the voter is asked to express his opinion on the entire political offer present at each election.
In the House of Representatives (where elections are held by majority) and in the Senate (where the vote is proportional),the electoral law therefore obliges the voter to write down all the candidates or all the parties,otherwise his vote is not valid. The voter indicates his first choice (primary vote or “primary vote”) then his preferences, in descending order, for the other candidates or parties.
For results in the House of Representatives, primary votes are counted first. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority, the last candidate is eliminated and the preferences linked to his votes are distributed to the remaining candidates.We continue in this way until one of the candidates obtains an absolute majority.
Positive dynamics
In the Senate, the quota necessary to be elected is persistent according to a calculation that takes into account the total number of votes and the number of seats to be filled. If a candidate receives more votes than the quota, he or she is elected and his or her excess votes are redistributed. If no one is elected thanks to primary voteswe eliminate the candidates who obtained the lowest scores and distribute their preferences until the quota is reached.