18 October 2010, 18:03
Mykola Tomenko: A Mixed Majoritarian-Proportional Electoral System will allow the Average Citizens to vote with their ‘Heads´ and ‘Stomachs´ at the Same Time
Meeting the student self-government leaders in Lutsk, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, dwelled upon the specificity of the forthcoming local elections. He stated that the mixed majoritarian-proportional electoral system proved rather comfortable for many Ukrainian citizens. "It allowed them to vote with their ‘heads´ and ‘stomachs´ at the same time," he explained.
M.Tomenko claimed that voting with one´s ‘heart´ can not expected due to the bitter disappointment in the authorities and politics. "However, the mixed majoritarian-proportional electoral system allowed the average citizens to justify their actions," the politician admitted. "Citizens usually make a conscious choice voting for the party list, and afford the luxury of supporting the candidates in the majoritarian district, who are advocated by the local authorities, or who provided some financial or food ‘encouragement´ on the eve of elections," he stated. "Thus, a mixed majoritarian-proportional electoral system brought back voting with the ‘heads´ and ‘stomachs´ at the same time, as people vote for the party list due to their own preferences, while their choice in the majoritarian district is dominated by pragmatic motives," M.Tomenko declared.
Dwelling upon the parliamentary elections, the Deputy Chairman stated: "If the local authorities compensate for their unpopularity by the majoritarian component, then the next parliamentary elections will also adopt a mixed majoritarian-proportional electoral system."