Definition of Electoral Power

The idea of ​​electoral power is framed within the activity politics. And politics is the way social organization of a community of citizens. In politics (especially from a democratic point of view) there is a division of powers. This idea is attributed to the seventeenth-century thinker Montesquieu, who defended the desirability of the separation of powers (executive, legislative and judicial) so that there would not be an excessive concentration of power in a single establishment, as was the case in the absolutist.

When the democracy has established itself as a system or form of generalized organization, new approaches related to power appear. Thus, electoral power is, in general terms, the capacity of influence of all the voters (the electors) in an electoral process, in an election. By affirming that sovereignty resides in the people, it is being said that political power has as origin the free decision of all citizens at the time of casting their vote in the urns. This is the fundamental idea of ​​electoral power and an illustrative example is the

Constitution Spanish 1978.

The context of the idea of ​​electoral power can originate other meanings. One of them occurs when in an election there is a body that acts as an arbitrator that ensures the correct operation of the elections (vote count and all the regulation that is applied to guarantee the right to vote). This type of body functions as an electoral power and has to act as if it were an impartial judge who oversees the elections without any partisan purpose.

Finally, in a sense colloquial, a political formation is said to have significant electoral power when it possesses a significant popular support, a relevant number of votes that, in turn, are the origin of political power cash.

Democratic systems have different mechanisms in each nation. Despite the differences, they share a common idea: the free vote of each citizen is the basic foundation on which democracy exists.

Democracy is an imperfect system of government (Churchill said that it is the least bad of governments) and voting is a right of great social importance. It should not be forgotten that the female vote was achieved after the male vote. When the right to vote was finally achieved for all citizens of legal age, true electoral power was achieved.

Electoral Power Issues