The key is our representatives

Dear Editor: The proponents of the first-past-the post system say it’s a simple, easy-to-understand way of electing our representatives.

Yes, after the election it is always easy to say who won and who lost. But, the key phrase here is “our representatives.”

Is the winner in any given constituency always the true representative of most of its electorate? Not when votes are divided amongst various parties and candidates running independently.

We have come to view our electoral process in the same way as we view games. The winners take all the glory. What if we make it so that we all win to some degree? It’s a simple thought, but it’s not easy to accomplish.

It requires some faith in the ability we humans have to understand the value of cooperation and compromise. It requires a belief in the value of participation of all the members of our society, rich and poor, urban and rural. If we recognize that politics is all about making our society a cohesive and safe environment for everyone, then everyone must feel that their voices will be heard.

Whatever shape the process takes, proportional representation will take us away from the winner-takes-all philosophy. It will lead us into a new kind of political undertaking that promises “our representatives” to be more of our own making.

Please vote to take us away from the political pendulum that is shaped by the need to vote strategically. Vote for proportional representation in any form, and let an all party committee do the rest.

And, if our society has lost its trust in the integrity of a political system that is meant to represent all its citizens, it is time to change that system. Elizabeth de Bosch Kemper

Kelowna