December 18, 2012
The media has reported that the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the Lower House election. In reality, the party obtained much fewer votes than the previous general election three years ago. The single-seat constituency system brought such a “victory” to the party.
The number of votes the LDP received in single-seat constituencies decreased by 1.66 million from the 2009 election when the party was driven out of power. Though the percentage of its votes against the total poll was just 43%, the party gained 79% of all single-seats. This shows clearly a defect in the election system which distorts people’s will by giving a big advantage to major parties.
In regard to the proportional representation seats, the LDP’s votes received went down by 2.19 million to 16.62 million. The Komei party, allied with the LDP, received 7.11 million, down by 940,000 from the last election.
The voter turnout dropped by 10% compared to the 2009 election as more than 10 million voters abstained. Thanks to the low turnout, the rate of votes and the number of seats obtained by the two parties increased slightly in the proportional representation races.
These results indicate that electors did not necessarily turn from the governing Democratic Party of Japan to the LDP.
During the election campaign, LDP Secretary General Ishiba Shigeru said, “No wind is behind us.” After the election results came in, LDP President Abe Shinzo also stated, “Our party has yet to regain full public trust. The returns probably show people’s rejection of the three-year DPJ regime that has caused the current confusion.”
Related past article
> Initiators of single-seat election system regret introducing the system [November 29, 2011]
The number of votes the LDP received in single-seat constituencies decreased by 1.66 million from the 2009 election when the party was driven out of power. Though the percentage of its votes against the total poll was just 43%, the party gained 79% of all single-seats. This shows clearly a defect in the election system which distorts people’s will by giving a big advantage to major parties.
In regard to the proportional representation seats, the LDP’s votes received went down by 2.19 million to 16.62 million. The Komei party, allied with the LDP, received 7.11 million, down by 940,000 from the last election.
The voter turnout dropped by 10% compared to the 2009 election as more than 10 million voters abstained. Thanks to the low turnout, the rate of votes and the number of seats obtained by the two parties increased slightly in the proportional representation races.
These results indicate that electors did not necessarily turn from the governing Democratic Party of Japan to the LDP.
During the election campaign, LDP Secretary General Ishiba Shigeru said, “No wind is behind us.” After the election results came in, LDP President Abe Shinzo also stated, “Our party has yet to regain full public trust. The returns probably show people’s rejection of the three-year DPJ regime that has caused the current confusion.”
Related past article
> Initiators of single-seat election system regret introducing the system [November 29, 2011]
