What is Single Transferable Vote (STV) ?

Single Transferrable Vote is a method of Proportional Representation (PR) used in Northern Ireland for Assembly Elections. It was chosen as a voting system in the Good Friday Agreement to prevent majority rule and to increase representation in Northern Ireland. As a result this is supposed to reduce the Democratic deficit.

HOW IT WORKS:

• In an Assembly election using STV, constituencies elect  5 MLAs per constituency (originally six). A party can put forward as many candidates as it likes per constituency.
• Voters mark the candidates 1, 2, 3, etc. in order of preference, with '1' for their first choice of candidate, '2' for their second and so on. Voters do not have to state a preference for all candidates – they can choose as many or as few as they like.
• STV awards seats in proportion to the number of votes cast, with voters’ lower ranking preferences taken into account.

ADVANTAGES

• Supporters argue that STV has advantages over ‘First Past the Post’ (FPTP). Under FPTP, each constituency elects only one MP. The names of one candidate for each political party, plus independents, are on the ballot paper. Voters choose one candidate only and the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. They can win with a simple majority and many do so with less than 50 percent of the constituency’s support. In this system ‘the winner takes all’. Constituents who voted for the winning candidate are happy, but others may feel that they are not represented. However, MPs are required to represent everyone in their constituency.
• The STV system increases voter choice because they can vote for more than one candidate. They can choose between candidates within a party, as well as between parties. STV allows more voters to affect the outcome of an election.
• STV gives smaller parties a better chance in elections, as they may benefit from transfers from larger parties. PR systems tend to produce multi-party 'COALITION' governments. FPTP is more likely to produce single party governments. Supporters of FPTP argue that coalition governments are not as stable or effective as single party governments. This is because coalition governments are often formed by parties with opposing political principles. This leads to difficulties in agreeing decisions. Parties may withdraw from government and cause it to collapse.
• STV was introduced to provide better representation for those who supported other parties. In Assembly elections, voters can show support for a number of parties and constituents have a choice of MLAs and parties to approach for assistance.
• A PR election system, such as STV, ensures that different sections of the community have their views represented in the devolved institutions. It is important that as many people as possible feel represented and included. Since the 2016 election, parties with enough seats are entitled to opposition rights if they decide to opt out of the Executive Committee. Northern Ireland has a unique model of coalition government. Most coalitions are formed when parties agree to work together.