HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 98 : Model Answer

Question: What are the merits of choosing First Past the Post System ( FPTP ) ? (4 marks)

Answer:

India’s Constitution makers adopted the Parliamentary form of government with representative democracy in which legislators are elected by First Past The Post system (FPTP). When India gained independence, universal suffrage was immediately introduced, and FPTP was adopted as it is a simple election system that can be understood by common voters.

Merits of the FPTP system:

• It is easy to understand.
• The system gives clear choice to the voters to either vote for a candidate or a party.
• In FPTP system, the voter knows whom they have voted for. They can hold him/ her accountable.
• It has discouraged candidates to get votes from one community.

However, there’s been some criticism of FPTP as the number of political parties mushroomed. This resulted in the winning candidates often getting a much smaller percentage of votes compared to simple majority.