Question

Discuss three merits of the First-Past-the-Post system.

Explain one advantage of First Past the Post System.

Answer 1

First Past The Post, like other plurality/majority electoral systems, is defended primarily on the grounds of simplicity and its tendency to produce winners who are representatives beholden to defined geographic areas and governability. 

The most often cited advantages of the FPTP system are:

1. It provides a clear-cut choice for voters between two main parties. The inbuilt disadvantages faced by third and fragmented minority parties under FPTP in many cases cause the party system to gravitate towards a party of the ‘left’ and a party of the ‘right’, alternating in power. Third parties often wither away and almost never reach a level of popular support above which their national vote yields a comparable percentage of seats in the legislature.
2. It gives rise to single-party governments. The ‘seat bonuses’ for the largest party common under FPTP (e.g., where one party wins 45 percent of the national vote but 55 percent of the seats) mean that coalition governments are the exception rather than the rule. This state of affairs is praised for providing cabinets that are not shackled by the restraints of having to bargain with a minority coalition partner.
3. It promotes a link between constituents and their representatives, as it produces a legislature made up of representatives of geographical areas. Elected
   members represent defined areas of cities, towns, or regions rather than just party labels. Some analysts have argued that this ‘geographic accountability’ is particularly important in agrarian societies and in developing countries.