Effective governance relies not only upon those 'in power' but also, almost as much, on those who sit in parliament but are out of government. The electoral system should help ensure the presence of a viable parliamentary opposition grouping that can critically assess legislation, safeguard minority rights, and represent their constituents effectively. Opposition groupings should have enough parliamentary members to be effective, assuming they warrant these members by their performance at the ballot box, and should be able to realistically present an alternative to the current administration. Obviously the strength of parliamentary opposition depends on many factors other than the choice of electoral system, but if the system itself makes parliamentary opposition impotent, democratic governance is inherently weakened. At the same time, the electoral system should hinder the development of a 'winner take all' attitude which leaves rulers blind to other views and the needs and desires of opposition voters, and in which both elections and government itself are seen as zero-sum contests.