Reserved political positions
Encyclopedia
Several politico-constitutional arrangements use reserved political positions, especially when endeavoring to ensure the rights of minorities or preserving a political balance of power
. These arrangements can distort the democratic
principle of one man - one vote in order to address special circumstances.
guarantees at least 64 delegates to be female in the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly
("The elections law shall adopt measures to attain, through the electorate system, general and fair representation for all the people of the country, and proportionate to the population of very province, on average, at least two females shall be the elected members of the House of People from each province."), while Kuchi nomads elect 10 representatives through a single national constituency. Moreover, "one third of the members (of the House of Elders
) shall be appointed by the President, for a five year term, from amongst experts and experienced personalities, including two members from amongst the impaired and handicapped, as well as two from nomads. The President shall appoint fifty percent of these individuals from amongst women.".
includes 17 reserved seats for the Flemish minority, on a total of 89, but there are no separate electorates. All seats in the Belgian Senate
(except those for the throne heirs) are allocated to the three linguistic communities: 41 for the Dutch language group, 29 for the French language group, plus one German-speaking Community Senator.
reserves eight seats from the minorities and five for citizens living abroad in its parliament
. There are three seats for Serbs
, one for Italians, and a few more for other ethnic groups, where a single representative represents more than one group (e.g. there's only one representative for both Czechs and Slovaks
).
is full of reserved political positions. Due to its nature of bi-communal republic, certain posts are always appropriated among Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. For example, the president is chosen from the Greek Cypriot community by using separate electoral rolls, whereas the vice president is chosen by the Turkish Cypriot community, using their own separate electoral rolls. Similarly 70% of the parliament are chosen from Greek Cypriots whereas 30% are chosen by the from Turkish Cypriots. In the Supreme Court, there should be one Greek, One Turkish and one neutral foreign judge.
for representatives of women, trade union
s and youth organisations.
, with reserved seats.
provides for the election of specific numbers of Members of Parliament on the basis of three racially-defined constituencies: the indigenous Fijians, the Fijian Indians and the "General" electorate.
has its 15% of seats in the Parliament of the country, State Assemblies, Local Municipal Bodies and Village level institutions reserved for untouchable castes, also called Dalits or Scheduled Castes. Similarly 7.5% are reserved for tribes or the aborigines. The election of Untouchables and Tribes candidates is by a Joint or mixed electorate , which includes all religions voters like Hindu, Muslim etc and all castes including Untouchables and tribes, vote. This is different from separate electorate practiced in other countries. Two Indian states, Kerala
and Bihar
, have parliamentary reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian
community.
reserves a fixed number of seats in the Majlis for certain recognized non-Muslim
ethnoreligious groups. To wit, two seats are reserved for the Christian Armenian community, and one seat each is reserved for the Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic
, Jewish
, and Zoroastrian
communities.
specifies the religious affiliation of several of its high officers, such as the President (Maronite), the Prime Minister (Sunni Muslim) and the Parliament's Speaker (Shia Muslim). Every electoral district for the parliamentary elections includes a fixed number of the various religious communities.
reserves a fixed number of parliamentary seats for non-Muslim
s and women.
, the Sephardi Jews
and for the Yemeni Jews.
makes no reservations within the Palestinian Legislative Council
(there were reserved seats for Christians and Samaritans in the electoral law for the Palestinian general election, 1996), certain positions in local government are guaranteed to certain minority groups, in order to retain particular traditional cultural influence and diversity. For example, the mayor of Bethlehem
is required to be a Christian, even though the city itself currently has a Muslim majority.
must be women. In the 80-member Chamber of Deputies, twenty-four of these seats are reserved for women, elected through a joint assembly of local government officials; another three seats are reserved for youth and disabled members.
Partly resulting from this arrangement, 45 female deputies were elected to the Parliament in 2008, making the country the first and only independent country to possess a female majority in its national legislature.
enjoyed an electoral system like Lebanon's, at least for the parliamentary elections, up to 1949, when the subdivisions among each religion were suppressed, then there were only reserved seats for Christians up to 1963, when the Baathist regime suppressed free elections.
; to date, only the Labour Party
utilises the law.
reserved a fifth of the seats in Parliament
for the white minority
, until these were abolished by constitutional amendment in 1987.
Schleswig-Holstein
(for the Danish
and Frisian minorities
) and Brandenburg
(for the Sorbian minority
) as well as in Poland
(for the German minority
), Romania
(18 recognized minorities) and Serbia
, political parties representing recognized ethnic minorities enjoy an exemption from the election threshold
.
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
. These arrangements can distort the democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
principle of one man - one vote in order to address special circumstances.
Afghanistan
The Constitution of AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
guarantees at least 64 delegates to be female in the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly
House of the People (Afghanistan)
The House of the People or Wolesi Jirga , abbreviated WJ, is the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the House of Elders....
("The elections law shall adopt measures to attain, through the electorate system, general and fair representation for all the people of the country, and proportionate to the population of very province, on average, at least two females shall be the elected members of the House of People from each province."), while Kuchi nomads elect 10 representatives through a single national constituency. Moreover, "one third of the members (of the House of Elders
House of Elders
Mesherano Jirga or the House of Elders, is the upper house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the Wolesi Jirga .It has 102 members...
) shall be appointed by the President, for a five year term, from amongst experts and experienced personalities, including two members from amongst the impaired and handicapped, as well as two from nomads. The President shall appoint fifty percent of these individuals from amongst women.".
Argentina
The Argentine Constitution requires for a 30% quota for female candidates for Congress.Belgium
The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region in BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
includes 17 reserved seats for the Flemish minority, on a total of 89, but there are no separate electorates. All seats in the Belgian Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
(except those for the throne heirs) are allocated to the three linguistic communities: 41 for the Dutch language group, 29 for the French language group, plus one German-speaking Community Senator.
Croatia
CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
reserves eight seats from the minorities and five for citizens living abroad in its parliament
Parliament of Croatia
The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...
. There are three seats for Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, one for Italians, and a few more for other ethnic groups, where a single representative represents more than one group (e.g. there's only one representative for both Czechs and Slovaks
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
).
Cyprus
The Republic of CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
is full of reserved political positions. Due to its nature of bi-communal republic, certain posts are always appropriated among Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. For example, the president is chosen from the Greek Cypriot community by using separate electoral rolls, whereas the vice president is chosen by the Turkish Cypriot community, using their own separate electoral rolls. Similarly 70% of the parliament are chosen from Greek Cypriots whereas 30% are chosen by the from Turkish Cypriots. In the Supreme Court, there should be one Greek, One Turkish and one neutral foreign judge.
German Democratic Republic
East Germany reserved seats in the VolkskammerVolkskammer
The People's Chamber was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic . From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , called the National Front...
for representatives of women, trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and youth organisations.
Greece
During the 1920s-1930s there was a system of separate electoral curiae for Muslim and Jewish electors in GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, with reserved seats.
Fiji
FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
provides for the election of specific numbers of Members of Parliament on the basis of three racially-defined constituencies: the indigenous Fijians, the Fijian Indians and the "General" electorate.
India
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
has its 15% of seats in the Parliament of the country, State Assemblies, Local Municipal Bodies and Village level institutions reserved for untouchable castes, also called Dalits or Scheduled Castes. Similarly 7.5% are reserved for tribes or the aborigines. The election of Untouchables and Tribes candidates is by a Joint or mixed electorate , which includes all religions voters like Hindu, Muslim etc and all castes including Untouchables and tribes, vote. This is different from separate electorate practiced in other countries. Two Indian states, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, have parliamentary reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
community.
Iran
IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
reserves a fixed number of seats in the Majlis for certain recognized non-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
ethnoreligious groups. To wit, two seats are reserved for the Christian Armenian community, and one seat each is reserved for the Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic
Assyrians in Iran
Assyrians in Iran was a thriving community, but was diminished from around 200,000 prior to the Islamic Revolution in Iran to a mere 50,000....
, Jewish
Persian Jews
Persian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
, and Zoroastrian
Zoroastrians in Iran
Zoroastrians in Iran are the oldest religious community of the nation, with a long history continuing up to the present day.Prior to the Islamization of Iran, Zoroastrianism was the primary religion of the Iranian peoples...
communities.
Lebanon
LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
specifies the religious affiliation of several of its high officers, such as the President (Maronite), the Prime Minister (Sunni Muslim) and the Parliament's Speaker (Shia Muslim). Every electoral district for the parliamentary elections includes a fixed number of the various religious communities.
Pakistan
PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
reserves a fixed number of parliamentary seats for non-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s and women.
Palestine (British mandate)
During the British mandate of Palestine at the third election (1931) of the Asefat HaNivharim there were three curiae, for the Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, the Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
and for the Yemeni Jews.
Palestinian Authority
While the Palestinian AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
makes no reservations within the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
(there were reserved seats for Christians and Samaritans in the electoral law for the Palestinian general election, 1996), certain positions in local government are guaranteed to certain minority groups, in order to retain particular traditional cultural influence and diversity. For example, the mayor of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
is required to be a Christian, even though the city itself currently has a Muslim majority.
Rwanda
In the Parliament of Rwanda, a minimum of 30% of elected members of the 26-member SenateSenate of Rwanda
The Parliament of Rwanda has two chambers. The upper house is the Senate ...
must be women. In the 80-member Chamber of Deputies, twenty-four of these seats are reserved for women, elected through a joint assembly of local government officials; another three seats are reserved for youth and disabled members.
Partly resulting from this arrangement, 45 female deputies were elected to the Parliament in 2008, making the country the first and only independent country to possess a female majority in its national legislature.
Syria
SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
enjoyed an electoral system like Lebanon's, at least for the parliamentary elections, up to 1949, when the subdivisions among each religion were suppressed, then there were only reserved seats for Christians up to 1963, when the Baathist regime suppressed free elections.
Uganda
The Ugandan constitution provides for a reserved woman's parliamentary seat from each of the 39 districts.United Kingdom
Political parties are permitted to restrict the selection of their candidates in constituencies to a specific gender under the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002
The Sex Discrimination Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The purpose of the Act was to exempt the selection of candidates in parliamentary elections from the provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Sex Discrimination Order 1976 that outlaw sexual...
; to date, only the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
utilises the law.
Zimbabwe
ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
reserved a fifth of the seats in Parliament
Parliament of Zimbabwe
The Parliament of Zimbabwe consists of two chambers:*The Senate *The House of Assembly...
for the white minority
Whites in Zimbabwe
White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe who identify themselves as white...
, until these were abolished by constitutional amendment in 1987.
Reserved seats for expatriates
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
reserves 12 seats in the Senate for expatriates - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
reserves seats in its Parliament for Italian expatriateExpatriateAn expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s, with twelve members of the Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of DeputiesThe Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
and six in the SenateItalian SenateThe Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
representing an Overseas constituency - PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's Assembly of the RepublicAssembly of the RepublicThe Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...
has two seats reserved for Portuguese living abroad, one for those living in Europe, the other for those living in other parts of the world.
Floating reserved seats
- In MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, the National AssemblyNational Assembly of MauritiusThe National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral parliament, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic...
consists of 70 members, 62 elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies and from 4 up to 8 additional members, known as "best losers" appointed by the Electoral Supervisory Commission "with a view to correct any imbalance in community representation in Parliament". - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
reserves a proportion of its parliamentary seats for the representation of persons electing to register on a separate Māori roll. The number of seats depends upon the number of people on the roll — there are currently seven seats. See Māori seatsMaori seatsIn New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially also called Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that gives reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament...
.
Exemption of the election threshold
In the German LänderStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
(for the Danish
Danish minority of Southern Schleswig
The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig, with a Danish majority and a German minority was united with Denmark, while Southern Schleswig remained a...
and Frisian minorities
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
) and Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
(for the Sorbian minority
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
) as well as in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(for the German minority
German minority in Poland
The registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
), Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(18 recognized minorities) and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, political parties representing recognized ethnic minorities enjoy an exemption from the election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
.
Quotas inside party lists
- IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
held its first post-Saddam parliamentary elections in January 2005 under an electoral law providing for compulsory integration of women on the candidates lists, like several European countries with a proportional electoral system.