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Anelectoral college is a body of representatives empowered to formally select a candidate for a specific office, most often the head of state. Electoral colleges exist in several countries and may serve to balance regional representation or ensure indirect election mechanisms.[1]It is mostly used in the political context for aconstitutional body that appoints the head of state orgovernment, and sometimes theupper parliamentary chamber, in a democracy. Its members, calledelectors, are elected either by the people for this purpose (making the whole process anindirect election) or by certain subregional entities or social organizations.
If a constituent body that is not only summoned for this particular task, like a parliament, elects or appoints certain officials, it is not referred to as "electoral college" (see e.g.parliamentary system). Also, other appointing bodies (like committees appointing judges, as inCanada orGermany) normally do not fall into this definition.
TheUnited States Electoral College is the only remaining electoral college in democracies where an executive president (a head of state who is also head of government) is indirectly elected via an electoral college.[2][3] The other democracies that used an electoral college for these elections switched to direct elections in the 19th or 20th century.[4]:215
The electoral college is argued to be fundamental to American federalism. It is based on the notion that it requires candidates for president to appeal to voters in all states, or a substantial portion of states, rather than only those with large population which might hold greater power in elections based on simple majority.Federalist No. 68, probably written byAlexander Hamilton, argued in favor of the electoral college by stating:
Another argument states that the Electoral College prevents atyranny of the majority that would ignore the less densely populated heartland and rural states in favor of the mega-cities.[5]
ThePresident of Pakistan is indirectly elected by theElectoral College of Pakistan, consisting the members ofParliament of Pakistan andProvincial assemblies of Pakistan.
ThePresident of India is indirectly elected by theIndian Electoral College consisting of the elected members of theParliament of India and thelegislative assemblies of thestates andunion territories.
The GermanBundesversammlung has no other purpose than to elect theFederal President of Germany. It is composed half by the members of theBundestag and half by representatives delegated by thestate parliaments.
ThePresident of Italy is elected by an electoral college which comprises both chambers of theItalian Parliament meeting injoint session, combined with 58 special electors appointed by theregional councils of the 20regions of Italy.
The pope, who is head of theCatholic Church, theHoly See, and theVatican City State, is elected by apapal conclave consisting of allcardinals under the age of 80.
While thePresident of France is directly elected, theSenate isindirectly elected bycollèges électoraux in the French regions. They consist of 150,000 delegates, known as thegrands électeurs, who are mainly appointed by municipalcouncillors.
TheStates of Election has only one purpose, to elect a newJurat to the Courts inGuernsey.
The following examples are of electoral colleges used by democracies or dictatorships that were replaced by other mechanisms of election like direct elections during periods ofdemocratisation.
Before 1840, all presidents in Latin America were indirectly elected by legislatures or electoral colleges.[9]:202
Argentina had the longest lasting electoral college in South America, used to elect its president and vice president, and national senators starting with the1853 Constitution[10] and lasting mostly until the1994 constitutional amendment. There were a few exceptions, due topolitical instability in the 20th century, in which non-lasting reforms removed or suspended the electoral college. For example, the1949 peronist amendment promoted by PresidentJuan Perón which replaced it with direct elections by popular vote used in the1951 and1954 elections. After theRevolución Libertadora the 1957 constitutional convention repealed the 1949 constitutional amendment and the electoral college was reestablished from the1958 general election.
TheMarch 1973 andSeptember 1973 general elections used a two-round direct election by popular vote system which was established by the outgoing military junta, which decreed in 1972 an illegal 'temporary constitutional reform' which was supposed to be later ratified by an elected constitutional convention which never happened and therefore expired. The elections between1983 and1993 used again the electoral college. The constitution was then amended by a wide consensus for the last time in 1994 and the electoral college was finally replaced with a modified two-round direct elections by popular vote system in use since1995.[11]
Brazil initially became independent in 1822 as theEmpire of Brazil, which was aconstitutional monarchy. After becoming a republic in 1889, Brazil elected its president by direct popular vote until 1964, when themilitary dictatorship chose its president by an electoral college comprising senators, deputies, state deputies, and lawmakers in the cities. The electoral college was replaced with atwo-round systemdirect election in1989, after the end of the military dictatorship and the establishment of anew constitution in 1988 leading to the restoration of democracy.[11]
Colombia used an electoral college which was eliminated in 1910.[9]:205
Paraguay had an electoral college that was established by the1870 Constitution, which was used to elect its president. The constitution was replaced in 1940 and the electoral college was replaced with direct elections by popular vote since 1943.[11]
Chile had an electoral college established by the1828 Constitution, which was used to elect its president in the elections from1829 to1920. The constitution wasamended in 1925 and the electoral college was replaced with direct elections by popular vote since1925.[11] Also, the Regional Councils were elected until 2009 by provincial electoral colleges composed with communal councillors of local governments in each province;[12] since 2013 the regional councillors are elected by popular vote.
Uruguay had until 1918 one electoral college for everydepartment, each one of them had 15 members and elected the senator that would represent that department in the upper chamber of parliament.
Norway, from 1814 to 1905, used regional electoral colleges to elect legislators to theStorting, before switching to direct elections.[9]:199–201
France had its president elected by the legislature from 1875 to 1954. Thefirst presidential election of theFifth Republic which electedCharles de Gaulle was the only presidential election where the winner was determined via an electoral college.[11] The electoral college was replaced after the1962 referendum, with direct elections by popular vote, using a two-round system since1965.
Finland had an electoral college for the country'spresident from1925 to1988, except 1944 (exception law),1946 (parliament) and 1973 (extended term by exception law). Direct presidential elections were introduced in1988, with the electoral college only electing the President in case no candidate receives more than one-half of the popular vote; starting in1994, this was replaced by asecond round by popular vote.[13]
InSpain, during theSecond Republic period (1931–1936–39) thepresident was elected by an electoral college comprising the Parliament members and an equal number of democratically elected members ("compromisarios").[citation needed]
TheHoly Roman Empire also had anelectoral college to choose its ruler.
ThePresident of the Republic of China (Taiwan) was elected by theNational Assembly of theRepublic of China from1948 until1996 whendemocratization resulted in direct elections. The National Assembly had the similar function of electoral college except it had the power to amend theConstitution. ThePeople's Republic of China in themainland today elects both thePresident and thePremier by theNational People's Congress every five years similar to the National Assembly.[citation needed]
DuringSouth Korea's dictatorships of theFourth andFifth Republics from1972 until1981, thepresident was elected by anelectoral college untildemocratization resulted in direct elections starting in1987. Additionally, during the Fourth Republic, one-third of members of theNational Assembly were nominally elected by thesame electoral college which elected the president, though in practice they were appointed by the president.[14]
Inapartheid-era South Africa from 1961 to 1983, thestate president of South Africa was appointed by all the members of theHouse of Assembly of South Africa and theSenate of South Africa.[15] After the adoption of the1983 Constitution, the newHouse of Assembly,House of Representatives, andHouse of Delegates would designate 50, 25, and 13 of their members to the electoral college respectively.[16] The electoral college would disappear along with the apartheid government, with thepresident of South Africa beingelected by theSouth African Parliament in 1994, which is still the method of election to this day.[citation needed]
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