By IRNA,
London : A leading British electoral reform campaigner, who organised thousands of voters in a demonstration yesterday, has called for a referendum on which voting system best serves the democratic interests of the people.
“Politicians have an interest in which voting system give them more advantage. So it is better for us to seize the issue (of electoral reform) from the hands of the politicians and bring it back to the citizens,” Ken Ritchie the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) said.
He told IRNA that large gathering of people across Britain will call in the coming days for reforming the electoral system.
“They (people) can listen to the arguments and experts and make a recommendation as to what system we, the people, might put in a referendum. Major parties have pledged to do a review of the electoral system but we want a referendum.”
Referring to the ongoing negotiations among major British parties to form a coalition government, Ritchie said people hope there might be the possibility of an agreement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour for having a “progress towards electoral reform”.
He said smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats have been “sympathetic” to changing the electoral system, adding that there are many supporters in the Labour Party who have argued for an electoral reform but “we do not have any support in the Conservative Party”.
“For many years, we have been campaigning for a fair voting system which will give us a more democratic government. Now that we have a hung parliament, we believe there is a good opportunity for politicians to deliver and talk about electoral reform,” he said.
Ritchie added that British politicians should be “more accountable” to the people who elect them because people are looking for a “better democracy”.
“We all want a change in the electoral system and how our votes are taken into account. We want a system which is broadly proportional so that different voices could be heard,” he said.
Thousands of British protestors across the country staged a large demonstration on Saturday calling for “electoral reforms” and a “fair” voting system. They were chanting slogans in condemnation of the present first-past-the-post election system in the UK which prioritises the number of parliamentary seats to the number of votes.
Protestors were wearing purple because it symbolises a large movement named “Suffragette” in the 1900s fighting for women’s suffrage in Britain.
“Fair Votes Now”, “Unlock Democracy” and “Take Back Parliament” were the main mottos being chanted by angry demonstrators who were wearing purple and protested at the result of the “unfair elections” held last Thursday. Similar demonstrations were also being held in other British cities including in Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Oxford and Middlesborough.