So the French presidential election

will now be a run off between the incumbent Macron and the far right candidate Le Pen. As I understand French elections this was what people expected. There were some other candidates but they have now been eliminated.

"There you are Cat," someone has just told me, "It works just the way our preferential voting system works."

No, it doesn't. For a start there is no compulsory attendance at the ballot box in France. Individuals decide whether they are going to vote...and that is the way it should be in a democracy.If you are foolish enough not to vote then you cannot complain about the outcome of the election. Fair enough?

But the system requires someone gets more than fifty percent of the vote. It could happen in the first round. If it doesn't then there is a second round...in this case on the 24th of April. 

Nobody is forced to vote in the second round. If your preferred candidate did not get in you can vote for him or her again if they are in the second round. If they are not in the second round and you want to choose between the two candidates in that round you can. You can also change your mind if you voted for one of the candidates in the second round and think you would now prefer the other.

And you can do all of this because that is what you want to do. Nobody is forcing you to do anything. You are just being foolish if you don't seize the opportunity to vote.

Our system is different. We only get one chance to vote. Yes, it is cheaper that way - much cheaper.  If we want to make our first choice count then we have to mark every square on the ballot paper in order of preference. We have to do that even if we are strongly opposed to all but our chosen candidate. This is wrong.

Why? I have used the example before but I will use it again. Imagine that there are four candidates on the ballot paper. One of them, your preferred choice, is opposed to the death penalty.  The other three candidates support the death penalty in varying degrees. Yes, you can choose the candidate whose views are the least extreme in this respect and mark them as your second choice and then put in your third and fourth choices. But why should you be required to make a choice at all? At very least such a choice should be optional. 

This is where my dog-walking acquaintance is mistaken in his belief that our electoral system and the French electoral system are the same. 

Of course we do not vote for our Governor-General at all - the government of the day chooses him or her in consultation with the Opposition. We do not vote for our Prime Minister either. The Prime Minister is, rightly, chosen by the party which forms government. They are the people who need to choose the person who will represent them while they represent us. 

As I said yesterday, our system has flaws - many flaws. At the same time we are not a one party state - and that is something for which to be thankful.