Which European countries use proportional representation?

Of the 43 countries most often considered to be within Europe, 40 use some form of proportional representation to elect their MPs.

The UK stands almost alone in Europe in using a ‘one-person-takes-all’ disproportionate voting system. If we exclude the authoritarian state of Belarus – “Europe’s only remaining outpost of tyranny” – France is the only other European country to use a ‘one-person-takes-all’ system (the Two-Round System).

Proportional voting systems used for lower house national elections in Europe

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parline Database, https://data.ipu.org/

What type of proportional system do European countries use?

Party List PR

Party List proportional representation is the most widely used form of PR in Europe – 28 countries use it to elect their MPs.

In Party List systems, constituencies are bigger than under First Past the Post and voters elect a group of MPs, rather than a single person. In this system, voters get MPs roughly in proportion to how many people voted for each party.

Party List systems differ in the extent to which citizens can choose which individuals get elected. In ‘closed’ list systems, parties decide who their candidates are and voters can only mark their support for a party (some point out that first past the post is a closed party list of one) Parties decide which candidates fill the seats they have won in the election.

In ‘open’ list systems, each party presents a list of candidates, and citizens can choose which candidate to vote for (or – in some systems – they can choose to vote just for the party if they want). A vote for a candidate is counted as a vote for that candidate’s party.

Semi-open list systems are a mix of the above: voters have more choice in who they can vote for, but – generally – parties can decide the order in which candidates are elected.

Single Transferable Vote

Ireland and Malta use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) to elect their representatives.

As with Party Lists, voters elect a small group of representatives in bigger areas, like a small city or county, as opposed to a single MP in small constituencies as we do in Westminster.

STV gives voters maximum choice on who to vote for. Each elector has one vote. Voters number candidates in order of preference, with a number 1 for their favourite – they can rank all candidates or just vote for their preferred candidate.

To get elected, a candidate needs to reach a set amount of votes. This quota based on the number of seats to be filled and the number of votes cast (read our explanation to find out more about how votes are counted).

If your favourite candidate already has enough votes to win or stands no chance of winning, your vote is transferred to your next choice based on how you ranked candidates.

Under STV, voters can choose between candidates from the same or different parties, which incentivises parties to stand candidates who reflect the diversity of society. Electors can also vote for independent candidates, without worrying about ‘wasting’ their vote.

Mixed Member Proportional Representation

Germany elects their representatives with Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP). Which is similar to the Additional Member System (AMS) in the UK.

MMP is a mix of Westminster’s First Past the Post system and Party List PR – the goal is to provide a proportional parliament but also keep a single local MP.

Voters have two ballot papers. On the first is a list of candidates who want to be the local MP. Like a Westminster election, the voter marks their preferred candidate with a cross and the candidate with the most votes wins and gets a seat, even if most people didn’t vote for them.

On the second ballot paper is a list of parties who want seats in parliament. Each party publishes a list of candidates for these elections, a vote for a party is a vote to make more of their list of candidates into MPs. Seats are allocated in proportion to the votes a party received in the election, taking into account how many ‘first vote’ seats they obtained.

Other systems

The remaining countries (Andorra, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Monaco, San Marino and Ukraine) combine a number of voting systems – mainly First Past the Post and List PR. These tend to be less proportional for a number of reasons.

In Italy, for example, the distribution of the List PR seats does not take into account seats won under the First Past The Post section. While in Greece, the party with the most votes receives a bonus of up to 50 seats, in addition to those they are entitled to on a proportional basis. This makes it likely that a party that receives 40% of votes would achieve an overall majority of seats in the Hellenic Parliament.

Conclusion

The UK is unique among European countries in terms of its electoral system – and not in a good way. It’s the only democracy that uses the outdated, one-person-takes-all First Past the Post system. Westminster is even unique within the UK, as the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, as well as the Northern Ireland and London Assemblies all use forms of proportional representation.

While the List PR systems commonly used in Europe can create parliaments that closely reflect the opinions of their countries, there is often a weaker constituency link.

This is why the ERS favours the Single Transferable Vote: this system enhances voter choice and guarantees a strong link between MPs and voters, while also distributing seats in parliament in a way that is fair and reflects how people voted. Rather than throwing votes on the electoral scrapheap as ‘wasted’, STV helps ensure every vote counts and people’s voices are heard.

It’s time that we caught up with the rest of the world and changed the way we elect our parliament so it finally reflects public opinion.