Dieter Nohlen
Electoral systems and optiosn for Catalonia and Spain (I) [DIETER NOHLEN] Generally, electoral systems rule how electors can express their political preferences and then make the electors' votes become parliamentary seats (if they are Voting for Parliament) or in government charges (if they are voting for a president, a governor or a mayor, etc) Politiciens and politologists do not agree about the importance of the electoral system for the development of the politic system in general and the parties system in particular. They have completely different and even opposed opinions; on the one hand the destiny of democracy is associated with the matter of the electoral system, on the other hand the electoral system is said to be of no political importance, even a minor question. None of the opinions is tenable: the first one ignores that political processes normally cannot be explained as if they were the result of only one cause, since they are determined by several factors from different origins. More over, against the second position, a number of empirical evidences can be brought up: electoral systems have effects on people's electoral attitude and the electoral results affect the conformation of the parties system and, so, the distribution of the power in a country, and, finally, they can also affect the political stability.