ABSTRACT
The existence of a plurality of political parties is a defining feature of representative democracy. Political parties present the electorate with a choice at the ballot box and their differing programmes provide more or less coherent packages of ideas and policies. For the individual voter party names and manifestos simplify the potentially bewildering task of assessing the relative merits of individual candidates. Political parties also serve important functions for government. Political parties, nongovernment organisations (NGOs), interest groups and associational groups form an intermediate layer between the people and the government. These parties and groups help to aggregate and filter social demands and interests, so that government is not overwhelmed by a multitude of raw, unprocessed demands. The existence of a small number of disciplined political parties in parliament means that it is possible to anticipate the way that parliament will behave. In contrast lax party discipline and/or a great number of political parties, with no one party enjoying an overall majority, can be a recipe for instability, unstable voting coalitions, and political decisions taken through backroom deals rather than through open debate.
