Does Proportional Representation increase the power of political parties?
Although Proportional Representation (PR) based on list systems can increase the power of the party machines, PR by the Single Transferable Vote (STV) actually reduces it and increases the power of voters. This is because STV lets voters choose not only between parties but also between candidates of the same party. Remember the disproportionate “first past the post” system is a list system anyway – usually with only one line and the parties often decide who will be elected.
