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Sohni Dharti Pakistan hosts program 2018 referendum on BC electoral reform
11-28-2018
On Sunday November 18, Sohni Dharti Pakistan hosted a program on 2018 Referendum on Electoral Reform.
The program was attended by local community members to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed electoral reform referendum.
To talk about the proposed reforms, speakers included Amandeep Singh, Maheen Chaudhry, Naseer Pirzada, Jafar Bhamji, Ijaz Chatta and Naveed Waraich.
Voters in the referendum will be asked what voting system B.C. should use for provincial elections.
Voters have until December 7, 2018 to cast their votes in the referendum to decide what voting system we should use for provincial elections.
Voters will be asked two questions on the referendum ballot.
The first question asks if we should keep the current First Past the Post voting system or move to a system of proportional representation.
The second question asks voters to rank three proportional systems: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP).
The referendum will decide if British Columbia keeps the current First Past the Post voting system or adopts a proportional representation voting system.
If more than half the votes support First Past the Post on the first question, the voting system will stay the same.
If more than half the votes support proportional representation on the first question, the proportional system with the most support on the second question will be adopted.
If a proportional voting system is adopted it must be in place for provincial elections called on or after July 1, 2021. A provincial election called before this date would use First Past the Post.
If a proportional representation voting system is adopted, government has said that after the referendum:
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a legislative committee will determine how some aspects of the new system will work
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an independent electoral boundaries commission will determine the number and boundaries of the electoral districts and regions represented in the legislature
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the total number of MLAs in the legislature will be between 87 and 95 (currently there are 87)
no region in the province will have fewer MLAs than it does now
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another referendum will be held after two general elections to see if B.C. wants to keep the new voting system or go back to using First Past the Post
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