Proportional Representation
An electoral system where seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the votes they receive.
Explanation
Proportional representation (PR) is an electoral system where the share of seats a party wins reflects its share of the total vote. If a party receives 30% of the vote, it gets approximately 30% of the seats. PR systems tend to produce multiparty parliaments and coalition governments. Variants include party-list PR (used in the Netherlands, South Africa), mixed-member proportional (Germany, New Zealand), and single transferable vote (Ireland). PR systems are more common in Europe and give small parties a chance to win representation, but can also lead to political fragmentation and complex coalition negotiations.
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