Proportional Representation

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 181, 29 April 1941, Page 9

Proportional Representation

Sir,—With the publication of a list of names of candidates of a third poli-/ tical partv to contest the next general election, and the repeated requests for a Government that will represent the whole of the electors, this may bu a fit time to consider some of the unsatisfactory results of our “first past the post” system of election of members to Parliament. For many years Parliament has bad a considerable number of members who were elected on a minority vote; this cannot be satisfactory to any electorate. Our present. Parliament has only one seat (tbe Hon. Sir Ap»rana Ngata) so held, but that is due to the fact that of the eight European seats contested by more than two candidates, in only one case, Franklin (where Mr. Sexton secured 1461 votes), could, the position of the third candidate be seriously considered, as the largest number of votes by any of the other seven was at Kai para, and that was only 25G. At the 1935 election 61 European electorates were contested by more than two candidates, and all of the four Maori electorates, with the result that 33 European and three Maoris were elected on minority votes. Thirty-six out of a House of SO members is a serious position. The percentage of votes that elected the members in the following six electorates was: Invercargill, 31 per cent.; Manawatu, 35; Palmerston, 34; Parnell, 39; Tauranga, 35; Waipawa, 35. At the 1931 elections 32 electorates were contested by more than two eanuidates, 19 members were elected on a minority vote. Consider also the size of those minorities, Rotorua, 3169 minority with a total of 940 S votes.. In four other electorates the minorities were more than 2000, and in six others more than 1000. This sort ot result has taken plac ■ in many past elections; I cannot ask for space in your valuable columns to give the details at the present time, but suggest that the question of holding our eleclions under a system of proportional > representation should have careful attention. —I am, etc., E. J. GRAHAM. Otaki. Aoril 2L