Is Scotland’s electoral system broken? The attempt by Alex Salmond’s Alba Party to “game the system” has prompted new calls for electoral reform. But is there appetite for change at Holyrood?
Ever since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999 – with the Additional Member System (AMS) chosen as the mechanism by which MSPs would be elected – parties have been accused of trying to “game the system". AMS involves two ballots: one for constituency MSPs who are elected by first-past-the-post (FPTP), like their Westminster counterparts; the other for MSPs on regional lists. In general, the more constituencies a party wins in any region, the fewer list seats it will secure.