Pre-electoral Coalition formation in Mixed-member Electoral Systems with Majority Bonus: France and Italy
Résumé
The proliferation of mixed-member electoral systems has progressively led scholars to abandon the dichotomy between majoritarian and proportional systems. Among these numerous variants of these mixed systems, electoral systems with majority bonus remain overlooked and not well understood, not least because of the absence of systematic empirical comparison between them. France and Italy offer are among the few countries which have implemented mixed-member electoral systems with majority bonus at several levels of elections. In a preliminary empirical investigation on mixed-member electoral systems with majority bonuses, this study deals with the recent regional elections in France and Italy, in which such systems are used, focusing specifically on the matter of pre-electoral coalition formation, and on the political consequences of these systems. Two main aspects are studied. Firstly, what are the effects of the bonus arrangements on the probability and on the configuration of pre-electoral coalitions among parties? Secondly, what are the types of agreements reached in case of coalition formation? Does the well known 'Gamson law' of proportional sharing hold in such a context? It appears that these pre-electoral coalitions in such systems tend to lead to surplus coalitions in order to secure the bonus, and to a fairly proportional distribution of seats compared to votes, regardless of competitiveness or of the size of the larger parties. Levels of fragmentation are somehow linked to the constestability of the election both in France and Italy.
Domaines
Science politique
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Antwerp 2012 sauger bedock majority bonus systems.pdf (382.98 Ko)
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