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Britain holds referendum on first-past-the post voting system

Other News Materials 5 May 2011 12:56 (UTC +04:00)
A national referendum was being held in Britain Thursday on replacing the country's traditional voting system to elect parliamentarians.
Britain holds referendum on first-past-the post voting system

A national referendum was being held in Britain Thursday on replacing the country's traditional voting system to elect parliamentarians, DPA reported.

The vote on the so-called first-past-the-post (FPTP) system is Britain's first referendum since 1975, when citizens were asked to give their opinion on membership of the European Union (EU) - then known as the European Community.

This time, Britons are asked whether they want to replace FPTP by the Alternative Vote (AV), a method under which electoral candidates are ranked by preference, and votes are redistributed under a system of elimination.

The referendum has seen the two coalition government parties - the Conservatives and the Liberals - campaign on opposing sides.

The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, reject AV, whereas the Liberal Democrats have initiated the referendum.

In addition , regional and local elections are also taking place in large parts of England, as well as in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Results will not be known until Friday.

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