Question

Discuss three merits and three demerits of the First-Past-the-Post system.

Answer 1

Hint: The First-Past-the-Post which is also referred to as FPTP is a procedure to elect prospective leaders. It is a kind of electoral voting system, where voters cast their votes for a candidate or a nominee and the one who receives the most votes wins the election. FPTP is generally used for assigning the respective seats to the deserving leaders.

Complete answer:Everything has something good and something bad in it. So let's have a look at the three most crucial merits of FPTP.
Merits:
1. Voters are in a degree to assume certainly for their favored nominee and can prefer the party to form a government. Moreover, it's somewhat inexpensive to administer.
2. It is relatively smart to figure the polls and work out who has won the maximum seats in the Parliament. Significant results can be proclaimed relatively promptly as soon as the poll ends.
3. The strategy is simple and understandable. Electors are not instructed to choose from vast lists of candidates or to exert priorities they may not have. In short, this system is easy to understand and even a less educated man can choose his desirable leader.
Despite various advantages, there are some disadvantages of FPTP.
Demerits:
1. FPTP can severely prohibit voter preference. Parties are not homogenous and do not speak with the same united voice. Parties are more unions of many different opinions and beliefs. If the preferred-party contender in a constituency has opinions with which a voter doesn’t agree, he or she doesn’t have a means of conveying that at the ballot box.
2. FPTP is generally tactical based voting, as voters constantly vote not for the candidate they most like, but against the nominee, they most dislike or hate the most.
3. Most of the lost leaders blame the EVM for their loss. They weren't able to accept the fact about their loss. That's another disadvantage of FPTP.

Note: The First past the Post system allows the society or the voters to directly choose their leaders. It was adopted in India just after the independence and this system is used in India generally for Lok sabha and state legislative assembly elections. Besides having so many disadvantages, this procedure is promising for the voters.