Dieter Nohlen
The electoral systems and the options for Catalonia and Spain [DIETER NOHLEN] University of Fleildeberg (Germany) Everywhere in the world and apart from the chosen electoral system by the country, this electoral system may be submitted to criticisms. There are always people or groups who don't agree to something. In Spain the critics focussed very soon on the deficient proportionality of the electoral results and in the electoral rolls closed and blocked. The last objection above mentioned remained and it grew so important that in the reform of the electoral system became one of the most important subjects during the electoral campaign in 1996.
In reference to Catalonia and its electoral system, the criticism to the proportional representation in the electoral districts has reached the distribution of the districts, which is referred to the provincial division; as an alternative to this division, the historical regions (41) have been proposed as a basis of the districts. In front of the virulence of the criticism by the media and by some political sectors, it is urgent that there is a broad and well informed public debate which leads us to a critical revision of the system, of its criticisms and of its proposals of reformation.