Where is additional member system used

In other words, some form of proportional representation. This system allows people to have a local constituency MSP and also adds other members to make the overall result more proportional. In this way more viewpoints are represented in Parliament. There are two ways an MSP can be elected. Each elector voter has two votes. Scotland is divided into 73 constituencies and each constituency elects one MSP. These are known as constituency MSPs and are elected by 'first past the post' in exactly the same way as MPs are elected to Westminster.

The second ballot papers are then counted. The people counting look at how many seats a party won on the first ballot paper. So, if a party has 5 MPs from the constituencies and its fair share is 8 MPs then 3 candidates from its list become MPs.

This is either done in regions, as in Scotland or Wales, or countrywide, as in New Zealand. But also adds lists of candidates chosen by the political parties. Some also argue that the Additional Member System creates two classes of MPs, and that this can create tension.

For instance, constituency MPs receive local casework, whilst the party-list MPs do not. But the list MPs can provide a second layer of representation should the voter feel their MP does not represent them. They also ensure that every party can potentially win seats in every area. Skip to content Menu Search. In the upcoming Scottish Parliament election this May, split voting looks likely to be a major feature.

Moreover, two new parties have now expressed the explicit intention to use split voting strategies to maximize the representation of their preferred constitutional position. However, there are several important caveats. Firstly, we have little way of knowing how much split voting is the result of efforts by parties to manipulate seat allocation.

Many split votes will simply be legitimate expressions of voter preferences or the product of other factors. Secondly, it is extremely unclear what effect the split voting efforts will actually have.

Small parties running in the list section can only boost the representation of a broader camp if they themselves receive enough votes to win seats. Should small parties fail to win any MSPs, these parties could potentially reduce the representation of their preferred constitutional position by siphoning off votes from more viable parties.

Based on recent polling, this looks likely to be the fate of All for Unity. The impact of the Alba Party is more uncertain, as it currently polls at around or just below the minimum number of votes needed to win MSPs.

Its effect on the number of pro-independence MSPs could therefore easily be either positive or negative, depending on a combination of its level of support, from where it draws its support, the geographic distribution of its support, and the overall strength of pro-independence parties. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, split voting strategies have not yet been endorsed by any major party. Unlike in some other countries then, split voting campaigns in Scotland are not the result of collusion between larger parties and small allies, but unilateral efforts by small parties themselves.

Nonetheless, the increasing discussion of split voting strategies does highlight the potential of AMS to be gamed by unscrupulous political actors, and the increasingly widespread awareness of this fact.