This change in itself falls far short of the proportional representation that Lib Dems would like.
The new party's initial successes were all in the proportional representation elections for the European Parliament - winning its first three seats in 1999 with 7% of the vote.
By early morning, after all the votes had been counted and 46 parliamentary seats allocated under the proportional-representation system, the GNP had emerged with 133 seats, just four short of a majority.
And the new proportional representation system would give Tory rebels a better chance of winning seats as an independent party.
It meant that although the BNP came fifth in the popular vote for the area, it won a seat through the system of proportional representation used in the European elections.
Some voters hedged their bets in the proportional-representation part of the ballot by supporting the new Your Party that is fast emerging as a third force in Japanese politics (see article).
He also hit out at the present proportional representation system for voting for assembly members which he described as leading to "perverse outcomes", with candidates defeated in a first-past-the-post system getting in under the regional list ballot.
But Mr Obuchi's party is now saying that, if it has to sacrifice some of its own single-seat incumbents to make room for Liberal candidates, it will have to find seats for those displaced on the proportional-representation list.
Moreover, Scotland's electoral geography means that Labour, unlike other parties, cannot use the introduction of proportional representation to even up the numbers of each sex.
The government's aim has been impressively transparent from the start, not least by choosing in Lord Jenkins a chairman whose career has been dedicated to the idea of proportional representation and to ending the duopoly that first-past-the-post entrenches.
Mr Kennedy says he expects Labour to honour its pledge but he strenuously denies any suggestion of a pre-election pact between himself and the prime minister to introduce the lesser form of proportional representation - the Alternative Vote system.
If this were to happen, and a hung parliament were the result, then I presume the first instinct of the Liberal Democrats would be to apply the principles of proportional representation and try to form a government with the Conservatives?
The introduction of proportional representation, she believes, would bolster confidence and interest in the political system.
Messrs Zeman and Klaus, whose parties together won 60% of the vote and 137 of parliament's 200 seats, want to amend the constitution so as to change the voting system from proportional representation to first-past-the-post.
The Liberal Democrats were clear that delivering proportional representation was the price of their support should Labour or the Conservatives request it.
The voting system is highly complex, with two-thirds of the 498 elected seats being decided by proportional representation and the rest by a first-past-the-post system.
In Scotland, but not yet in England, there is the prospect of proportional representation in local government.
It aims to attract people "disaffected by the decision of the long-standing supporters of proportional representation - like the Liberal Democrats... to back the Yes to AV campaign".
The justification for the Israel's system of proportional representation is that the state is still undergoing far-reaching and rapid changes in the population make-up as a result of immigration.
Fighting their first election, the Liberal Democrats did much to give themselves a politically vital unique selling point apart from the issue of proportional representation - a marginal concern to most voters.
However, because the elections are being fought under a new system of proportional representation, the overall number of Tory seats will rise, which should help Mr Hague put a positive gloss on the results.
The government has already changed the voting system for European elections and will introduce some form of proportional representation for the polls for the Scottish and Welsh assemblies and the London mayor.
He is regarded with great suspicion by the Blair camp as a troublemaker: but he did push for both proportional representation and the drive to adopt more women candidates.
The Irish parliament, or Dail, is elected by proportional representation, using the single transferable vote system.
The problem is that because the Parliament is elected by proportional representation, a party needs to get close to 50% of the vote before it can hope to have a majority.
Much of Labour's support, however, stems from disenchantment with the first government to be elected under the now unpopular proportional-representation system.
The Scottish coalition's harmony threatened to break down on June 27th when an independent commission set up by the administration to look at local-council reform recommended reducing the number of councillors and electing them by proportional representation, instead of by first-past-the-post.
ECONOMIST: In one part of Britain a Liberal Democrat is in charge
But the Scottish parliament will be elected by proportional representation, and in Scotland's four-party politics not even the Labour Party has enough support to win outright control.
New Zealanders seem to have mastered some of the intricacies of their German-style system of proportional representation, which had been blamed for producing the previous unstable government.
Sri Lanka's system of proportional representation makes the magical two-thirds majority hard to reach.
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