ELECTORAL THRESHOLDS

       According to the tenets of democracy, an electoral threshold is the minimum percentage of votes, which determines whether or not a party can enter parliament. However, the threshold is not the same in all democracies. In Turkey, parties have to exceed an extremely high threshold which is 10% while, in Europe, the highest is 5%. In my opinion, the threshold should be abolished in Turkey in order to maintain a better democracy.

First of all, a threshold is a hurdle for real democracy because it affects the tendencies of the electorate. People are inclined to vote for a party which is likely to exceed the threshold. From their point of view, if their party does not succeed, their votes are wasted. Although they are not wrong to a certain extent, this situation gives rise to inequality among parties which is against the basis of democracy. When there is no threshold in elections, people choose independently, so the result of the election becomes reliable.

The second argument for the election threshold is that it prevents broader political participation. The fact that small parties including ethnic groups cannot garner enough votes to participate causes their demands or needs to be ignored by the government. The threshold, whose initial aim is to exclude ethnic parties from parliament, acts against the universal election laws at this point. Democracy must depend on full representation; so if there is a group which supports a different argument from others, it must have a voice in the parliament.

 Opponents of the high threshold argue that a threshold is the only way to maintain stability and keep the confidence of people. In their belief, the threshold prevents coalition governments which may lead to disorder. However, in no way can one who is aware of political history believe them. For instance, in 1990s, despite the high threshold, fragmentation in parliament could not be prevented in Turkey. In addition to the coalition, advocates of the threshold are also afraid of consolidating the power of the ethnic groups. In my opinion, it cannot be a counter argument because the law protects the indivisible unity of the country, so an ethnic group cannot make any  demands on the government.

In a nutshell, the high threshold in Turkey should be overturned immediately. Since each person is equal before the laws, the parties ought to be the same. A threshold is an obstacle to better democracy and broader representation in parliament. Only if it is abolished, can the parliament become inclusive and can people voice their demands fairly.