Sakrum
Newbie
Posts: 8
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« on: January 19, 2015, 08:48:31 AM » |
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Sorry if this topic has been done before, but I did a search and didn't see anything, so like the thread's title asks: What are some elections where a political party won the most seats in a legislature, but lost the popular vote?
Pretty much all the examples I could find were from Canada, the UK, and the US. That's because these places still use the FPTP voting system, which can allow a political party to become the majority in its state/provincial/territorial delegation, or even win an overall election and take power, despite coming in second place.
I'm sure there's more, but here's some examples I found (organized by country):
Canada
British Columbia Provincial Elections, 1996
The NDP is re-elected to government with 39 seats, 6 more than the Liberals. However, the latter party receives over 37,000 more votes.
Quebec Provincial Elections, 1998
The Parti Quebecois is re-elected with almost 30 more seats than the Liberals, 76-48. This is despite the fact Liberal candidates received over 27,000 more votes.
Federal Elections in Quebec, 2000
Pretty similiar to the 1998 provincial election. Almost 152,000 more Quebecers vote for Liberal candidates to reperesent them in Ottawa than they do for the Bloc, but the nationalists again win more seats (38-36).
New Brunswick Provincial Elections, 2006
Shawn Graham is elected Premier, with his party (the Liberals) getting 29 seats. However, the Progressive Conservatives win about 1,334 more votes, but only 26 are elected.
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United Kingdom
General Elections, 1929
Labour wins 287 seats, despite the Tories getting over 203,000 more votes, but only 260 are elected.
General Elections, 1951
Winston Churchill is re-elected as Prime Minister, with the Conservatives and their allies the National Liberals winning 321 seats. This is despite Labour candidates receiving over 230,000 more votes, and only 295 going to Westminster.
General Elections, Feb. 1974
Harold Wilson is elected as Prime Minister with a minority government, with 4 more seats than the Tories (301-297). This is despite the latter party receiving over 226,000 more votes.
General Elections in England, 2005
Even though Labour wins the most seats in England (286) over 64,000 more English voters cast their ballot for a Conservative candidate, but only 194 are sent to Westminster (although Labour still wins the popular vote UK-wide).
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United States
U.S. House of Representatives, 1942
Democrats keep their House majority, despite over a million more ballots being cast for Republican candidates.
U.S. House of Representatives, 1952
Republicans take back the House with 221 seats, despite Democratic candidates receiving almost 249,000 more votes.
U.S. House of Representatives 1996
Both parties get about 48.2% of the national vote, with less than 60,000 votes between them, and it's a virtual tie. Even though Democrats win more votes, it's not enough for them to take back the House, and the Republicans keep their majority.
U.S. House of Representatives, 2012
Democrats win about 1.4 Million more votes, but because of gerrymandering, flaws in the FPTP system in general, and the relatively close national vote (48.8% D to 47.6% R), Republicans keep their majority.
Any more examples, or thoughts on these election results?
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