2022 Saint-Baptiste electoral reform referendum
| 2022 Saint-Baptiste electoral reform referendum | ||
|---|---|---|
| Location | Saint-Baptiste | |
| Date | 2 January 2022 | |
| Voting system | Ranked voting | |
| Please select the electoral system that you wish the Chamber of Deputies to use for the successive elections of deputies. Principean: Veuillez sélectionner le système électoral que vous souhaitez que la Chambre des députés utilise pour les élections successives des députés. | ||
The 2022 Saint-Baptiste electoral reform referendum is a planned referendum in Saint-Baptiste set for 2 January, 2022. Baptistois voters will decide if the country retains its current first-past-the-post voting system to the country's Chamber of Deputies, or approve one of three available alternative systems. Since Saint-Baptiste's independence in 1947, every parliamentary election has used first-past-the-post in selecting its deputies, a system that had come under scrutiny over recent years regarding lack of proportionality and granting excessive landslides to victorious parties, namely the Baptistois Liberal Party. If an alternative system is chosen, the next election (expected to be held in the fall of 2022) will be the first election in Baptistois history to not use first-past-the-post.
The referendum came alongside a government reshuffle in November 2021 that saw the Saint-Baptiste Reform Party under Hanri Vasseur form a minority government with the support of the Baptistois Labour Party and Victory SB, after former Prime Minister Robert Ménard lost his majority in the Chamber of Deputies through a party defection and by-election in August of 2021. The referendum, announced by Prime Minister Vasseur in his first speech to the Chamber, was agreed upon in exchange for support from the minor parties towards his government.
History and campaign
The referendum was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 15 November, 2021, and set to be held on 2 January, 2022. The governing Saint-Baptiste Reform Party supported what it referred to as a "vote for change", or any system excluding first-past-the-post. In comparison, the Baptistois Liberal Party and the break-away People's Action Party aggressively campaigned to keep first-past-the-post, arguing that the system promoted stability and clear government formations. The various individual parties making up the left-wing electoral alliance Inite campaigned for different systems, with the Baptistois Labour Party supporting a switch to single transferable vote, arguing that it would allow continued local representation while creating results similar to the popular vote.
Support by party
| FPTP | MMP | Party-list | STV | PR (no specific system) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptistois Liberal Party People's Action Party Saint-Maurice Independents |
Victory SB | None | Baptistois Labour Party Fanmi |
Saint-Baptiste Reform Party |
Results
| Option | First preference | Second count | Third count | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Single transferable vote | 5,694 | 40.58 | 6,245 | 44.50 | 8,910 | 63.49 |
| First-past-the-post | 3,511 | 25.02 | 3,981 | 28.37 | 5,123 | 36.51 |
| Mixed-member proportional | 2,992 | 21.32 | 3,807 | 27.13 | N/A | |
| Party-list proportional representation | 1,836 | 13.08 | N/A | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 103 | N/A | ||||
| Total votes | 14,136 | 14,033 | 14,033 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 23,910 | 59.12 | N/A | |||
