Possibilities for Modifying the System of Proportional Representation Aimed at Stabilizing the Executive in the CR

Abstract

As a result of the Czech Republic's experience of a series of unstable minority governments, serious debate has arisen over the need for changes to the electoral system. The aim here is to find a suitable alternative to the representational system, one capable of ushering in a period of government stability, by modeling the results of the 1996 & 1998 elections. It is also necessary to determine which type of proportional electoral system could transform the party system in such a manner so as to render it capable of setting up a two-party majority coalition government. The method of modeling the election results is rooted in an exact calculation of specific election results by applying particular mathematical formulas to examples of various sizes of electoral constituencies. Three possible solutions emerge, one of which appears to be exceptionally effective. A number of options have been worked out whereby the political party system in the Czech Republic could be reconstructed. A description & brief evaluation of the proposal for changing the electoral system made by the two largest political parties in Jan 2000, which is also grounded in making modifications to the representational system, is presented.