ABSTRACT
Introduction In a democratic state, the electoral process determines who will hold political offi ce. It is the electorate which confers the power to govern and calls government to account. If the electorate is to enjoy true equality in constitutional participation, it is of fundamental constitutional importance that the electoral system ensures four principles:
(a) that there is a full franchise, subject to limited restrictions; (b) that the value of each vote cast is equal to that of every other vote; (c) that the conduct of election campaigns is regulated to ensure legality and fairness; (d) that the voting system is such as to produce both a legislative body representative of the
electorate and a government with suffi cient democratic support to be able to govern effectively.
