Narrow-zone electoral system and its effects on regional development

Elections are one of the essential elements of democracy. Electoral systems are regulated by law within the framework of a fair representation and stable governance in constitutions. Electoral systems are divided into two groups as proportional representation system and majority system. In Turkey, a multi-party system has been adopted since 1946 and many election models have been tried until today. For the last 50 years, the d'Hondt system with a country threshold has been implemented and the results are generally in favor of strong parties. The election model needed in Turkey, as in the rest of the world, is a system where the distance between voters and representatives is closed, there is no or very minimized country threshold, the electoral districts are represented fairly in proportion to their population, and the voters do not have any serious concerns. One of the chronic problems of Turkey is the imbalanced differences in the level of development between the regions. In this study, first, electoral systems within the framework of democracy, then the concept of region as well as the regional development and imbalances between regions are emphasized. For a parliament with fair representation, an electoral system with the least flaws, where the voters can vote for the party they like and support without worrying about the threshold, would be an appropriate practice for a democratic society. In this sense, it is suggested that there is no election threshold, the electoral circles are narrowed, and the two-round narrow-zone electoral system will be beneficial in terms of voter behavior and the electoral system of the country. Keywords: Electoral Systems, Democracy, Narrow District Election System, Concept of Region, Regional Development