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History

How Electoral Systems Translate Votes into Parliamentary Seats

Quick fact

In the 2015 UK general election, the Conservative Party won 36.9% of the popular vote but secured 50.8% of the seats, because first-past-the-post rewards geographic concentration and punishes smaller parties. In contrast, Germany's mixed-member proportional system ensures the Bundestag's composition roughly mirrors the national vote share.

Why this is interesting

Two countries hold elections with the same vote distribution. In one, a party wins an outright majority. In the other, it gets only a third of the seats. The difference? The electoral system, not the voters.