Proportional Representation (PR)

Most common form of PR systems is party list. Parties are awarded seats in the legislature in rough proportion to their share of the votes.

For example, a party wins 40% of the vote and gets 40% of the seats. The seats are filled from a list of candidates, from the top down.

Closed list - the list is created by the party

Open list - the voters can vote for candidates and move them up the rank of the party’s list

Most systems have a threshold - a party must win, for example, 3% of the vote before they are awarded any seats. This is meant to prevent fragment parties in the legislature.