Přehled o publikaci

Although the change in the electoral system used in elections to theChamber of Deputies has attracted the attention of lawyers, political scientists, andsociologists, we still lack a comprehensive comparative analysis of the new systemwith the original one or other alternatives. The main reason for this is the lack ofempirical data. This article overcomes this problem using a simulation of electoralresults that correspond to the real Czech election environment. On the basis of thissimulated dataset it is possible to generate generalisable conclusions about theproportionality, integration effect, and legitimacy of three electoral formulas: theoriginal DHondt divisor, the newly adopted Imperiali quota, and the Hare quota.Our results show that the Hare quota is clearly the best choice. Its advantages inproportionality significantly outweigh its disadvantages in integrative effect.Moreover, this formula sees the least disruption to the logical sequence of results,i.e. where a party with fewer votes gets more seats, a phenomenon that isundesirable and undermines the legitimacy of elections. We are convinced thatamong the three formulas compared the Hare quota is the one that best fits theconstitutional requirements of the electoral system as interpreted by theConstitutional Court, and that unless the legislature is planning to change otherparameters of the electoral system it is the one that should be implemented.