Question

What are the demerits of territorial representation?

Examine the drawbacks of single member constituency.

Answer 1

1. Wrong basis of representation: One delegate chosen from a territorial constituency cannot represent people in various professions, trades, and occupations. The territorial representation system is rejected by proponents of functional representation. They desire distinct representation for every vocational and professional category.
2. Territorial representation encourages localism: A territorial constituency’s residents are always just concerned with their immediate surroundings. They frequently disregard the demands and interests of the country and the region.
3. Functional representation is better than territorial representation: It is well known that only educators can effectively represent their own interests; physicians can speak for themselves; students can speak for themselves; and so forth. A single representative cannot effectively represent individuals from many professions.
4. Territorial representation can lead to the election of unsuitable representatives: A territorial constituency’s voters can be readily manipulated in the name of regional concerns, caste, religion, language, and other such considerations. Individuals from other territorial constituencies who move to a constituency find it difficult to blend with the local population.
5. Fragmented representation: Representatives with a local mindset are elected as a result of territorial representation. Their actions are dominated by localism. These elected officials continue to be split into various factions. They frequently don’t function as a cohesive group of elected officials.
6. Territorial representation, when combined with simple majority vote victory system leads to the election of less popular representatives: A candidate who receives more votes than all the others may win an election when multiple candidates from a same territorial district run. He frequently receives fewer votes overall than all of the other candidates who lost.
7. Territorial representation is simple but not very effective: Territorial representation is undoubtedly a straightforward representational method. However, since a single representative cannot truly represent everyone residing in a constituency, it is not a very effective approach. No one person can speak for all occupations and professions.