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Difficulty: HardElectoral Systems and Their Characteristics

In a single-member parliamentary constituency election governed by the First-Past-The-Post (simple plurality) electoral system, four political parties received the following valid votes:

- Party P: 18,500 votes
- Party Q: 15,200 votes
- Party R: 12,300 votes
- Party S: 4,000 votes

Based on the operational mechanics of the First-Past-The-Post system, which statement accurately describes the electoral outcome and its structural implication?

  1. Party P wins the seat outright by securing a simple plurality (37%37\% of total votes), illustrating how the system allows a candidate to win without an absolute majority.Answer
  2. B
    No party is declared elected because Party P failed to cross the mandatory absolute majority threshold of 25,00125,001 votes, requiring a run-off election.
  3. C
    Party P and Party Q must enter a second-round ballot because neither candidate attained the minimum required threshold of 51%51\% of total votes cast.
  4. D
    The single constituency seat is divided proportionally among Party P, Party Q, and Party R based on their respective percentages of the 50,00050,000 total votes.

Answer

Party P wins the seat outright by securing a simple plurality (37%37\% of total votes), illustrating how the system allows a candidate to win without an absolute majority.
In a First-Past-The-Post (simple plurality) electoral system, the single seat in a constituency is awarded to the candidate who secures the highest number of valid votes relative to any individual rival. Here, Party P leads with 18,50018,500 votes out of 50,00050,000 cast (37%37\%). Even though 63%63\% of voters voted against Party P, Party P wins the seat outright because FPTP does not require an absolute majority (50%+150\% + 1).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate total valid votes cast in the constituency.
18,500+15,200+12,300+4,000=50,00018,500 + 15,200 + 12,300 + 4,000 = 50,000 total valid votes.
Establishing total vote tally helps evaluate candidate percentages against plurality and majority thresholds.
2
Identify the candidate with the highest number of votes.
Party P has the highest vote count with 18,50018,500 votes (37%37\% of total votes).
First-Past-The-Post determines the winner purely by who receives the highest single vote count.
3
Apply the rule of First-Past-The-Post (Simple Plurality).
Party P is declared winner of the single seat without requiring an absolute majority (>25,000>25,000 votes).
Simple plurality systems mandate that the leading candidate wins regardless of whether they achieve an absolute majority of total votes.

Key Concept

First-Past-The-Post (Simple Plurality) System Mechanics
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Electoral Systems and Their Characteristics

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