Summary
The process of boundary delimitation should respect equal suffrage.
Obligations
Election Parts
Criteria
Quotes
- The process of identification of electoral districts and boundaries should respect the international norm of equal suffrage. Such delimitation should not be designed to dilute or discount the votes of any particular groups or areas.
- Elections conducted on the basis of equal suffrage require equality of voting power. In principle, no vote should carry proportionally more weight than another, so that there is an approximately equal number of voters per elected representative in each district.
- Electoral units must be drawn in a manner that preserves equality among voters, a cornerstone of democratic elections. However, this does not preclude considering convenience and accessibility for voters, including through utilizing pre-existing administrative boundaries.
- [E]ach voter has in principle one vote; where the electoral system provides voters with more than one vote, each voter has the same number of votes.
- The electoral system should ensure that there is equal suffrage through the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. This principle means that every voter has the same number of votes in an election, and that each vote is equal in weight.
- When voting is conducted on the basis of electoral districts, the said districts shall be established on an equitable basis such as would make the result most accurately and completely reflect the will of all the voters.
- Equal voting power: seats must be evenly distributed between the constituencies.It entails a clear and balanced distribution of seats among constituencies on the basis of one of the following allocation criteria: population, number of resident nationals (including minors), number of registered voters, and possibly the number of people actually voting. An appropriate combination of these criteria may be envisaged.
- Electoral constituencies should be drawn in a manner that preserves equality among voters. Thus, the law should require that constituencies be drawn in such a way that each constituency has approximately the same population size.