Problems of Minorities. Many States have heterogeneous population, comprising of two or more groups of people who differ from each other in political views, religion, race, language or culture. The larger group in the State usually rules it, while the smaller group or groups have no share in the government due to their numerical inferiority. Such a lesser group which differs from the more numerous groups in political views, religion, nationality, language, race or culture, is known as a minority. There are political, national, religious or communal, linguistic and racial minorities. Among them, however, the political minority is different from all other kinds. Political minorities are temporary, for the people usually change their political views after some time, so that what is a minority party today may become a
majority party tomorrow. But one cannot thus change the colour of his skin, religion, language or his race and nationality. Hence national, racial, religious or linguistic minorities are permanent. If minority groups are not given a share in the government of their country, as it is often the case, it becomes a source of permanent injustice and grievance, and a blot on its democratic system, if such a country claims to be a democracy.
Arguments for minority representation.
John Stuart Mill was the first great advocate of minority representation in a democratic State. In his book, “Representative Government”, he declared that “it is an essential part of democracy that minorities should be adequately represented. The idea of democracy, according to its definition, is the government of the whole people by the whole people, equally represented.” “Mill lamented the fact that such a democracy exists nowhere. On the other hand, he said, the existing democracies are really “the governments of the whole peoples by a mere majority of the peoples exclusively represented.” Analysing the reason why the majority rules and the minority disfranchised, he says, it is due to the voting system, that is, the principle that majority votes must decide discussion and deliberation in a representative body or legislature.
“But” he goes on to say, “does it follow that the minority should have no representatives at all? Because the majority ought to prevail over the minority, must the majority have all votes, the minority none?” Such a State of affairs should cause injustice, inequality and would be a blot on the fair name of democracy, “which professes equality as its very root and foundation.” Justice and equality demand that majority and minority should be proportionately represented.
So the method of proportional representation was Mill’s solution of the minority problem, without which democracy becomes not equal government but a government of inequality and privilege. Accordingly, the minority has a right to elect its own representatives to the legislature so that they participate in the deliberation and adoption of laws, along with those of the majority representatives. For laws, as Laski says, must be built on the widest wishes of the minorities, which must be taken into consideration in making them. Otherwise it would result in oppression, tyranny, discontent and rebellion.
Methods of minority representation.
Five methods of minority representation have been devised and applied in the modem States. We shall first consider the method of proportional representation.
Proportional representation.
It is the earliest and the best method of minority representation. It seeks to remove the defects of the majority principle in the single—member constituency, on which the present-day election and representation systems
are based Minorities are not represented in the legislature, at lea proportion to their voting strength, that is, in proportion to the numfc votes they have actually secured at the polls. The system of propori representation seeks to obviate or correct such defects of the existing s; of representation.
The principle of proportional representation is succinctly expl by J.S. Mill in these words: “In a really equal democracy, every o section should be represented, not disproportionately but proportionate majority of the electors would always have majority of the representa but a minority of the electors should always have a minority c representatives. Man for man, they would be as fully representative ; majority.” Lecky, another advocate of minority representation, wrote importance of providing some representation for minorities is extr great. When two-thirds of a constituency vote for one party and one for the other, it is obviously just that the majority should have two- and minority one-third of the representatives.” This is the aim < probational representation. Two methods of probational representatii the Hare or the single transferable vote system and the list system.
The single transferable vote system.
This method is in use in Ireland and for municipal electii Canada and the U.S.A. It is also known as Hare System. It was devi: an Englishman, Thomas Hare, in his book “Election of representath 1857. It is also called Andrae system, after the Danish Minister, 1 Andrae, who first applied it in Denmark in 1855, with a slight diffi regarding the method of determining the quota, as mentioned her Some writers also call it the Preferential System, for it enables the v indicate his preference for one or the other candidate. Finally, it is i known as the Single Transferable Vote System. The vote of an ele not wasted. If his candidate is unable to get a majority or plurality of his vote is transferred to the next candidate for whom he was sho’ second preference and so on.
The essentials of the single transferable vote system a multiple number constituency, a single vote, preferences, the quota i transfer of votes.
Preferences.
This system requires the multiple member constituencies least three seats. No maximum number of seats is necessary, bu Courtney suggested a fifteen-member constituency as a responsible 1 practice, however, the number of seats varies between three to fifteer each voter has only one vote. But he can indicate his preference ballot-paper by marking his first, second, third or more choices various candidates on the ballot-paper as 1,2, and 3 so on against the
of the candidates. He can thus indicate as many choices as there are the representatives to be elected.
Quota.
Before the counting of votes begins, the quota of votes which a candidate must secure to be declared elected is first determined. In the Hare System, the quota is determined by dividing the total number of votes in the constituency by the number of seats to be filled, as thus:
Quota = Total No. of votes
No. of seats
Suppose there are 10,000 voters in a constituency, and 4 seats to be filled.
Quota = 10.000 = 2,500.
4
In the Andrae System, the quota is calculated as thus:
. Total No. of votes + 1 No. of seats + 1
Suppose there are 10,000 votes, and four seats to be filled. The quota of votes will be:
10.000 + 1 =
2,001 4 \ +1
The Andrae system of reckoning the quota is better than that of the Hare system.