Under SNTV, each voter casts one vote for a candidate but (unlike FPTP) there is more than one seat to be filled in each electoral district. Those candidates with the highest vote totals fill these positions. SNTV can face political parties with a challenge. In, for example, a four-member district, a candidate with just over 20 per cent of the vote is guaranteed election. A party with 50 per cent of the vote could thus expect to win two seats in a four-member district. If each candidate polls 25 per cent, this will happen. If, however, one candidate polls 40 per cent and the other 10 per cent, the second candidate may not be elected. If the party puts up three candidates, the danger of ‘vote-splitting’ makes it even less likely that the party will win two seats.
Nowadays, SNTV is used for legislative elections in Afghanistan, Pitcairn Islands, Vanuatu and in 90 of the 150 seat of Jordan’s Lower Chamber, the Senate elections in Indonesia and in 6 of the 113 seats under the Parallel system in Taiwan. The best known application of this system was for the integration of the Japanese Lower House between 1948 and 1993.
