HeLA Democracy

HELA NATION OF HELADIVA

Voting in the Hela Democracy

General elections are held every 3 years, on the 1st Saturday of March. Elections are held for electable counselors of the Community Councils, The Supreme Council and The Sovereign (Head of State).
All counselors are elected for a term of six years. Every 3 years however, only half of a council is elected. Therefore, on election day, the People elect only 6 counselors for their Community Council and only 6 counselors for the Supreme Council.
The People elect The Sovereign (Head of State) at every second election (i.e. every 6 years).

ELECTING COMMUNITY COUNCIL COUNSELORS

At election time (i.e. every 3 years), the Electoral Commission (EC) will present qualified and registered candidates for all the Community Councils. Using a yellow ballot paper, the People will indicate their most preferred candidate and their least preferred candidate for each vacancy by placing the number of the candidate in the relevant box. When the polling is closed, the candidate who scores the highest net percentage of vote (NPV) will be elected to that position in the Community Council. (In the event a counselor resigns or dies during term, the EC will appoint the candidate who got the next highest NPV to the Council or if none available, call for a by-election for that vacancy).

ELECTING SUPREME COUNCIL COUNSELORS

At election time (i.e. every 3 years), the Electoral Commission (EC) will present qualified and registered candidates for the Supreme Council. Using a blue ballot paper, the People will indicate their most preferred candidate and their least preferred candidate for each vacancy by placing the number of the candidate in the relevant box. When the polling is closed, the candidate who scores the highest net percentage of vote (NPV) will be elected to that position in the Supreme Council. (In the event a counselor resigns or dies during term, the EC will appoint the candidate who got the next highest NPV to the Council or if none available, call for a by-election for that vacancy).

ELECTING THE SOVEREIGN (Head of State)

At election time (i.e. every 6 years), the Electoral Commission (EC) will present qualified and registered candidates for The Sovereign (head of State). Using a white ballot paper, the People will indicate their most preferred candidate and their least preferred candidate for each vacancy by placing the number of the candidate in the relevant box. When the polling is closed, the candidate who scores the highest net percentage of vote (NPV) will be elected as the Sovereign. (In the event The Sovereign resigns or dies during term, the EC will appoint the candidate who got the next highest NPV as the Sovereign or if none available, call for a by-election for that vacancy).

For each position (seat) in a Council or for the Head of State, a sitting candidate may be chosen for re-election provided s/he still meets the selection criteria for another term.

The Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission (EC) is accountable to the State Ombudsman.

The Electoral Commission interviews applicants who wish to contest in all the Community Council elections, The Supreme Council election and the election for The Sovereign. To be declared a registered candidate, a potential candidate must demonstrate knowledge, skills and values against selection criteria stipulated in the constitution and must be of good standing without a criminal record and never been declared to be financially bankrupt. The interview process of candidature is transparent and is accountable to the constitution.

Every 3 years, the REC will present the People with suitable candidates for positions in their Community Council, 6 weeks prior to the election date. The candidates then have the opportunity campaign for their respective seats up to 1 day before the election.

The Voting Process

The voting process in the Hela System of Democracy is known as the Net Percentage Vote (NPV). This system is the happy middle between first past the post system and the preferential voting system.

How it works:

Voting is done at the polling booth on a computer. The voter then receives the print out of their vote. The voter then places this printed out voting paper in the appropriate voting box. Such paper copies of their votes are kept for 7 years (to cover two election cycles) and may be used as a back up if the digital system fails for any reason.

For each vacant position up for election, the Voter chooses their most preferred candidate AND their least preferred candidate for that position. This is done by placing the candidate's given number in the relevant box. (See below, examples of the three voting forms).

When the polls are closed, the votes are counted for each candidate and converted into percentages for 'Most Preferred' and 'Least Preferred'. From these two figures and 'Impartial preference percentage (IPP) is calculated. For example, if a candidates achieves a percentage of 45% of the vote as Most Preferred and 20% Least Preferred, then the IPP is 40% (i.e. 100% - (45%+20%) = 35%.

To summarise the voting result for this candidate:

Most Preferred Vote 45% (i.e. 45% of people who voted preferred this candidate as their choice)

Least Preferred Vote 20% (i.e. 20% of people who voted did not prefer this candidate as their choice)

Impartial Vote 35% (i.e. 35% of people who voted didn't vote for or against this candidate)

Using this data, the Net Percentage Vote (NPV) is calculated:

Net Percentage Vote (NPV) = (Most Preferred Vote % - Least Preferred %) + Impartial %

So, for this candidate the NPV = (45 - 20) + 35 = NPV 60%

BENEFITS OF THE NET PERCENTAGE VOTE (NPV)

Provides legitimacy for the winning candidate who can often get more than 50% as the end result, which is often not the case with other systems.
The people who voted for the candidate as well as the people who voted against the candidate mattered in the end result as did the people who didn't mind either way about the candidate.
Unlike a preferential system, the time taken to count the votes are are significantly less with the NPV leading to significant cost savings. Unlike a preferential system, the simplicity of the NPV is easily understood by most people. Unlike a preferential system, candidates don't need to rely on preference deals with other candidates.

The modern Hela System of Democracy and the Net Percentage Vote (NPV) was designed by H. De Silva.

Find out more ...

Google Sites

Report abuse