Constituency
|
|
A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. It can be used to describe a business's customer base and shareholders, or a charity's donors or those it serves. The most common meaning of constituency occurs in politics and means the group of people or geographical area that a particular elected representative or group of elected representatives represents. The rest of this article deals with this sense of constituency.
Specifically, a constituency often refers to the group or area from which voters in an election are drawn. Depending on the electoral system being used, a constituency may elect one or more members. For instance, in the United Kingdom, House of Commons Parliamentary constituencies each elect one Member of Parliament using a first past the post system (though some used to elect more than one), while the larger European Parliamentary constituencies each elect a number of Member of the European Parliament (see 'Regions of England').
A marginal constituency is one where the margin between the expected voting for the major parties in an election is slim. In United Kingdom general elections, the voting in a relatively small number of marginal constituencies usually determines the outcome of the entire election.
| Contents |
Australia
List: List of Australian federal electorates
In Australia, federal and state constituencies are known as electorates or seats.
Canada
List: List of Canada's electoral districts
In Canada, constituencies are legally known as electoral districts (in French, circonscriptions) for Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies at the provincial level, although "constituency" and the informal term "riding" is also used.
France
In France, electoral constituencies are known as circonscriptions électorales.
For parliamentary elections, they are known as circonscriptions législatives', and for departemental one, France uses cantons.
Germany
In Germany there are 299 electoral constituencies (called Wahlkreise) for the Bundestag (Germany). In those elections where representatives are elected by the "First Past the Post electoral system" (for example the European Parliament, Bundestag, and federal state parliament) these same constituencies also serve.
The constituencies are divided so that each has approximately the same number of voters. German electoral law dictates that the deviation from average of all constituencies shall not exceed a certain figure (see for example § 3 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 in German electoral law (http://www.bpb.de/wissen/JJEYEX,2,0,Wahlsystem_%28%A7%A7_1_bis_7%29.html#art2)). Other restrictions prevent abuses such as gerry-mandering.
Republic of Ireland
Main article: Parliamentary constituencies in the Republic of Ireland
Constituencies in the Republic of Ireland elect between three and five TDs, while constituencies between 1536 and 1800 in the Kingdom of Ireland used to return two MPs.
Switzerland
In Switzerland the Canton of St. Gallen uses the Wahlkreise (constituency or electoral district) in place of the previous, and more usual, district. See Canton of St. Gallen#Constituencies and municipalities.
United Kingdom
Main article: United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom, a parliamentary constituency is sometimes called a Parliamentary seat or a Division. Constituencies for local government elections are called Wards.
As of 2005, there are 646 House of Commons constituencies in the UK:
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom
- MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005 lists the constituencies after that election.
Northern Ireland has 18 constituencies, each of which elect six MLAs to the Northern Ireland Assembly under the Single Transferable Vote system.
The Scottish Parliament has 73 single-member constituencies elected on a first past the post basis, with the remaining 56 seats in the parliament being selected by the Additional Member System (AMS). Since the passage of the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, the constituencies of the Scottish Parliament are no longer identical to those of the House of Commons.
The National Assembly for Wales has 40 constituencies elected by first past the post which are identical to the Welsh constituencies of the House of Commons. Its remaining 20 seats are selected by AMS.
The London Assembly has 14 constituencies elected by first past the post, described in the article on London Assembly constituencies. Its remaining 11 seats are also selected by AMS.
United States
In the United States, electoral constituencies for the federal House of Representatives are known as congressional districts, while the constituencies for the variously named state legislatures go by a variety of names. Long standing practice, reinforced and modified by several U.S. Supreme Court decisions, require the equalization of populations of constituencies after each decennial census, a process known as redistricting. When driven by partisan bodies, this process opens up the possibility of gerrymandering for political or factional advantage. A Pennsylvania legislator long active in redistricting issues, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said that "In election years, constituents choose their legislative officials. In redistricting years, legislative officials usually try to choose their future constituents."
Others
Most of the rest of the British Commonwealth also use constituencies as electoral divisions. For details of constituencies in these and other places see:
Synonyms
Marginal constituencies are also known as:
- Swing seats in Australia and the United States.
See also
de:Wahlkreis es:Circunscripción electoral fr:Circonscription sv:Valkrets