Democracy is not a procedure! 92 MPs out of 140 were not elected, but appointed

In proportional systems, the legitimacy and support of the political force is more important than individual votes. The oldest and most functional democracies in the world are mainly majoritarian democracies. Since 2008, we have had a proportional system and currently we have deputies in parliament with over 21 thousand votes as well as with only 360 votes.

Essentially, the system is a matter of compromise, what kind of parliament we want, what kind of party system we want, what we want to avoid/prevent, so the vote does not make the MP with more or less votes more important or weaker, but the concept of the system that puts the party as a priority implies that the party is a democratic institution, has a merit system and accountability.

In our country, not only is this prerequisite not respected, parties do not act as accountable institutions nor meritocracy, but the concern is also related to ethics and integrity: on what basis of sovereignty and legitimacy does a deputy who is appointed / not voted and does not represent act, and what value does a vote have in decision-making. A single individual, without support in a political party, without meritocracy and integrity, does not represent, is vulnerable, does not survive in politics, therefore, deputies as a whole are not accountable, their parties are not accountable, therefore they (such deputies and parties) find it almost impossible to produce democracy and a state of law for the citizens and the country.

Our system has become locally proportional, to prevent fragmentation, imbalance in areas and to create proportionality in representation, as well as de facto, to penalize new arrivals. In a national proportional system, for example, the current new parties would succeed and be decisive for political majorities. The Socialist Party with 52% would have 52% of the seats in parliament, not 60% as it has now, the Democratic Party 34% of the seats, parties with 3% would have 3-5 mandates, etc. For me personally, the best system for our conditions was 75 majoritarian + 20 proportional, with a representation quota of 5 deputies from the diaspora. 100 deputies are enough and excessive for 1.5 million voters.

The Assembly exercises sovereignty through the elected, although 92 out of 140 were not elected, they were appointed. However, the debate on the system does not make sense when the results are out but during the legislature, when there is a commission for electoral reform. Then the parties are silent, those who complain today have voted. Left and right. The major parties periodically agree, then the one that loses complains, a new reform is sought and the cycle starts from the beginning after each electoral process, with retouching, not electoral reform nor representation reform (in the party, in the system, in the elections). The same ones reconvene and the same ones seek a better formula for themselves.

Democracy is not a procedure, it is content, integrity, participation, and so we continue to be a hybrid system, a generation away from the democracy we have in mind when we give electoral victory speeches.

Photo taken from monitor.al