Delimitation Equity Project Resource Guide - IFES

Delimitation Equity Project
India: Drawing Seats for Minority Groups
(c) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes shall be distributed in
different parts of the State and located, as far as practicable, in those areas where the proportion
of their population to the total is comparatively large; and,
(d) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes shall, as far as
practicable, be located in areas where the proportion of their population to the total is the largest.
The Delimitation Act of India, 1972
Fiji and Papua New Guinea, each with Alternative Vote systems, have separate sets of
communal seats to guarantee representation of the major ethnic groups. In Fiji, for
example, the 71 legislative constituencies are comprised of 46 “communal”
constituencies and 25 “open” constituencies (where all eligible voters, regardless of
race/ethnicity, caste votes), with the “communal” members elected as follows:
• 23 elected from a roll of voters registered as indigenous Fijians,
• 19 elected from a roll of voters registered as Indians,
• one elected from a roll of voters registered as Rotumans, and three elected
from a roll of voters not registered as Fijians, Indians, or Rotumans (this is
the “general voters” roll).
A significant feature of New Zealand’s electoral system is a provision for representation
of the descendants of New Zealand’s aboriginal Maori population. The Representation
Commission is obliged to create two sets of electoral districts (electorates) in New
Zealand: one set of “General” electorates and a second set of “Maori” electorates. In the
2002 general election, for example, there were 62 General electorates (electoral districts)
and seven Maori electorates delimited. 30 The Maori electorates overlay the general
electorates.
To vote in a Maori electorate, the voter must be a Maori and must register on the Maori
roll. 31 This mechanism provides Maori voters the opportunity to select their own set of
representatives. Because of this electoral feature, Maoris have been represented in the
New Zealand parliament in roughly the same proportion as their percentage in the
population for the past few decades.
Minority Representation in the United States The United States, because of its
sizeable racial and ethnic minority population and its history of discrimination against
certain minority groups, has had to address the issue of fairness to minorities in
promulgating districting plans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments in
1982 have established that a districting plan that dilutes the voting strength of minority
voters by dividing the minority community among different districts may be invalid.
30 There were also 51 Party List seats, for a total of 120 seats.
31 Registration on the Maori electoral roll is optional; Maoris can choose to register on the general roll
instead.
34