Closed list

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Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can (effectively) only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters have at least some influence then it is called an open list.

In closed list systems the party has pre-decided on who will receive the votes for the political parties in the elections, that is, the candidates positioned highest on this list tend to always get a seat in the parliament while the candidates positioned very low on the closed list will not.

However, the candidates "at the water mark" of this specific party are in the position of either losing or winning their seat, depending on the specific total closed list votes for this party. "The water mark" is defined as the number of seats a specific party can be expected to achieve, in reference to how the party produces their closed lists, that is, the candidates who might or might not get a seat.

List of countries with closed list proportional representation

• Albania
• Argentina
• Andorra
• Hong Kong
• Israel
• Italy
• In Mexico's Lower Chamber, 200 out of 500 Deputies are elected using Closed Lists
• Pakistan: 70/342 members of the National Assembly are elected using Closed lists
• Philippines
• Russia
• Scotland
• Serbia
• Sri Lanka
• UK MEPs (except Northern Ireland) are elected using Closed Lists
• South Africa
• Ukraine^[1][2][3][4]

Criticism

Voting systems using a closed list employ a listing of candidates selected by the party. Whoever controls this list is in a crucial power-brokering role. Members (candidates) elected from the list are essentially in thrall to the list maker—their political survival depends on how high up the list their name appears, or whether it appears at all.

The party executive or party leader generally control the list, consequently closed-list systems transfer political power to the un-elected persons (strategists, delegates, party officials, etc.) who author the party's list of candidates. However, parties can mitigate this by using an internal vote of their members or an open^{[clarification needed]} primary to determine the ordering of the lists.

See also

• List of democracy and elections-related topics

References

1. ^ Understanding Ukrainian Politics: Power, Politics, And Institutional Design by Paul D'Anieri, M.E. Sharpe, 2006, ISBN 0765618117 (page 251)
2. ^ Black Sea Fleet vote: Know thy turncoats, Kyiv Post (May 6, 2010)
3. ^ Ukraine needs constitutional change now, Kyiv Post (May 7, 2009)
4. ^ Parliament rejects bill on local elections under open lists, Kyiv Post (July 1, 2010)