The Political Consequences of the Afghan Electoral System: Voting for an Individual in a Multi-Member District
The Political Consequences of the Afghan Electoral System: Voting for an Individual in a Multi-Member District

Summary/Abstract: The application of the single non-transferable vote system (SNTV) to large multiple-member districts causes a mismatch between the system of candidate choice and electorate size. The application of the SNTV system produced biased results in the favor of a larger group in a constituency. Therefore, large ethnic groups, both national and local, achieve better representation and greater benefits from the system than do local and national ethnic groups that are in the minority. This study carried out a qualitative data analysis and included interviews with a number of Afghan Members of Parliament (MPs) and politicians to examine the hypothesis that a candidate from a large ethnic group is more likely to support the current electoral system than a candidate from a small ethnic group, since the former type of candidate benefits more from the SNTV with large constituencies than does the latter type. The relevance of the advantages of the electoral system for particular ethnic groups and the level of support from the particular ethnic groups for the system is clearly supported by this paper.

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