Electoral Institutions

Electoral institutions serve as the fundamental framework of democracy, determining how political power is distributed and exercised. This paper examines the structural impact of electoral institutions on party systems, focusing on how plurality systems consolidate into two-party models while proportional representation fosters multi-party diversity. Employing the "effective number of parliamentary parties" (ENPP) metric, the research demonstrates that these rules do not merely count votes; they reshape political incentives, fiscal policy, and social equity. While plurality systems encourage targeted spending toward specific voter blocs, proportional systems tend to prioritize broad public goods and significantly improve women's legislative representation. Ultimately, this review concludes that the health and inclusivity of democratic governance are direct reflections of institutional design, influencing government accountability and national economic development.