Use of the new open-list balloting system in the proportional representation segment of the July 29 Upper House election has exposed a number of defects. The basic flaw is that it favors candidates from major parties, particularly those who count on organized votes.
The open-list system, as opposed to the closed-list system, allows voters either to select from numbers of candidates prepared on a party-by-party basis or to vote for parties of their choice. One problem, as many voters must have found, is that it is a bother to pinpoint the name of a favored candidate -- if there is one -- on a lengthy list printed in small type. In the last election, a total of 204 candidates ran in the PR constituency.
Still, it was a bother worth taking for those who had particular candidates in mind -- and for those who did not vote for parties, that was the only alternative unless they decided to abstain. The statistics show a majority of voters chose parties, suggesting that they had no personal preferences for or no reasonable knowledge of individual candidates.