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Lesson 12 min 20 XP

Electoral System Effects on Parties

How the rules of the game shape party strategy, internal organization, and the nature of political competition.

Different Rules, Different Campaigns

Electoral systems fundamentally shape how parties campaign. Under FPTP, parties focus resources on marginal (swing) constituencies and largely ignore safe seats and hopeless ones. Under PR with closed lists, parties campaign nationally on their brand and platform because every vote counts toward their seat total regardless of geography. Under open-list PR or STV, individual candidates must build personal profiles distinct from their party.

These incentives cascade through party organizations. FPTP parties invest in local candidate selection and constituency service. List PR parties invest in national advertising and party discipline. STV parties, where candidates from the same party compete against each other, invest in local clientelism and individual name recognition. The same politician would campaign very differently depending on the electoral system.