Greens challenge Premier to sign Declaration of Voters’ Rights

Media Release

Millvale – Premier Ghiz is lamenting the lack of people in the P.E.I. legislature to challenge his ideas and engage in passionate debate but there is a simple solution to the lifeless and uninspiring house, according to the Green Party of PEI.

“It’s called proportional representation,” said Green party leader Sharon Labchuk.  “The lop-sided legislatures we end up with in the first past the post voting system means one party is over-represented, another party is the toothless opposition, and others are shut out.”

Proportional representation, the voting system used by most Western democracies, ensures every vote counts by electing members to the legislature according to the number of votes each party receives.  The first past the post system, chosen for PEI when it was a British colony, distorts election results so that one party can hold the majority of seats even though it did not win a majority of votes. The result is a weak opposition that cannot hold government accountable and the marginalization of citizens whose votes don’t count.

“The Liberals and Conservatives are so closely aligned in terms of policy and ethics that they are indistinguishable. It is no wonder the legislature is a stagnant pool of political thinking, lacking passion and grand new ideas,” said Labchuk. “With proportional representation, the Greens would have MLAs in the legislature and I can guarantee we would breathe new life into the place with a green vision for combating climate change and taking better care of our environment, our health and our economy.”

The Green party is calling on Premier Ghiz to sign the Declaration of Voters’ Rights, launched last month by Fair Vote Canada to give voters a means of demanding democratic rights to equal votes, fair election results and legitimate majority rule.

“Premier Ghiz would realize his dream of more people in the legislature to challenge his ideas if his government committed to bringing PEI’s voting system into the 21st century with proportional,” said Labchuk.

References: Declaration of Voters’ Rights    http://www.fairvote.ca/