Voters Roundly Reject MMP

The proposal to change the way Ontarians elect MPPs was given a thumbs down by the voters in the current provincial elections in Ontario, which in my opinion, is very unfortunate for the future provincial elections as it will not reflect the popular vote. Mixed member proportional voting system (MMP), is a voting system used to elect representatives to numerous legislatures around the world. In this system the voters not only vote for various candidates fielded by their respective political parties but are also asked to vote separately for a party. This system is currently in use in the following democracies around the world; New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Bolivia, Venezuela, United Kingdom and Lesotho. Had this system been in place, the outcome of the current provincial elections in Ontario would have been different. Even though the similar proposals have been shot down earlier in Prince Edward Island and British Columbia, my personal opinion is that we have to intensify the campaign to educate people about the positive impact this system would have on the outcome of future elections in the province of Ontario. By implying this system, the election results would more closely reflect the popular vote. Not all of the above mentioned democracies adopted this system in a single referendum. If it took two referendums for New Zealand to adopt this system then we should also put it to test again in the next provincial elections.