Should the FIDE voting system be reformed and if so how?

[Alex Holowczak]

Coming from a Federation (PNG) that can be considered a 'rotten borough', reforming the voting system has always been a topic of interest for me. But before I make some suggestions it is not clear exactly what problem is being fixed. Is it simply the 'wrong' side winning elections? or is it regular chess players being denied a voice? or does it result in an inflexible management structure for FIDE? (All observations I have either heard or made myself). If it is all of these, plus others, which problems need fixing the most.

My view has that, as far as possible, each individual's view needs to be approximately equal, rather than each Federation's view. The US Electoral College, for example, doesn't really achieve this very well but it does attempt to address it; it's a compromise between that aim, and the aim of making sure smaller states aren't ignored because they are at least worth 3 votes.

It will never change, because the current arrangement suits everyone who it might effect; it's much easier for prospective election candidates to promise big things to smaller Federations than it is to the bigger Federations, and you'd have to get turkeys to vote for Christmas.

[Alistair Campbell]

FIDE introduced a rule some while back that it was necessary for a territory to be eligible to compete in Olympics under its own name for its Federation to become a FIDE member. Had these rules been in place in the past, they would have excluded Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey, Bermuda, Hong Kong and no doubt some others. Existing membership continues. As it is, the rule excludes Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Gibraltar who might be interested if allowed.

A quick investigation suggests the following possible anomalies (in no particular order)


FIDE

ICCD
IPCA
IBCA
Scotland
England
Wales
Jersey
Guernsey
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
US Virgin Islands
Guam
Puerto Rico
Faroe Islands
Hong Kong
Macao
Chinese Taipei
Aruba
Netherlands Antilles

In addition FIFA recognises

Curacao
New Caledonia
Cook Islands
Cayman Islands
Gibraltar

Other football federations recognise teams from places like

Reunion
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Saint Martin
Sint Maartin
Bonaire
Northern Marianas Islands
Zanzibar

(This begs the Pub Quiz question - do the Republic of France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands share a land border?)

[Alistair Campbell]

My view has that, as far as possible, each individual's view needs to be approximately equal, rather than each Federation's view. The US Electoral College, for example, doesn't really achieve this very well but it does attempt to address it; it's a compromise between that aim, and the aim of making sure smaller states aren't ignored because they are at least worth 3 votes.

Interesting - I was going to suggest some sort of electoral college as a halfway house, citing D'Hondt's method of allocating seats to states in the US House of Reprentatives.

One problem with OMOV is the method by which one's vote would be exercised. Most of the electorate would be unaware they had one, and would risk it being used without their consent. This would indicate some form of representative democracy. but the cost of sending thousands of representatives to a potentially shambolic assembly would be prohibitive, I would have thought.

[Alex Holowczak]

(This begs the Pub Quiz question - do the Republic of France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands share a land border?)

Yes, they do; Saint Martin and Sint Maarten are part of the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and share the same island.

There's a related question, which is what the northern-most capital city of a country on the geographical South American continent is. The answer is Paris.

[Roger de Coverly]

This would indicate some form of representative democracy. but the cost of sending thousands of representatives to a potentially shambolic assembly would be prohibitive, I would have thought.

Didn't British Trade Unions more or less solve that one many years? There's a memorable Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch which satirises it. Something along the lines over whether to have tea or coffee. 900 votes for Tea and 1000 votes for coffee.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"There's a related question, which is what the northern-most capital city of a country on the geographical South American continent is. The answer is Paris."

Or the Western-most part of the EU, which I think is Guadeloupe...