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Democratic symmetry                Norwegian version  
                     
  Three systems                  
  One election Plurality voting - The candidate with most votes win          
  Two elections If no candidate get 50 %, a second election is held between these two candidates.      
  Symmetrical democracy Borda count - All voters give votes to all candidates. Lets say there are X candidates. Each voter gives her first candidate X point,   
    the second candidate X-1 points etc. The candidate with most point wins ...         
                     
  Example - Results in the Election held in Taiwan (Republic of China) 2000-03          
    [1] What candidate do you prefer as the second candidate [2]        
  Candidate One Election Koumingtang Independent DPP Two first Two elections Symmetrical democracy  
  Koumingtang 23,10 % - 70 % 30 % 0   2,037 Koumingtang  
  Independent 36,83 % 80 % - 20 % 1 53,00 % 2,019 Independent  
  DPP 40,07 % 70 % 30 % - 1 47,00 % 1,944 DPP  
  [1]  Actual numbers from the election: DPP have a bit higher numbers since all other candidates except Independent and Koumingtang is included here  
  [2] The numbers are hypotethical                
                     
                     
  Results                  
  One Election   DPP wins withe one elektion          
                     
  Two Elections   Independent wins with two elektion          
                     
  Democratic symmetry    Koumingtang wins under symmetrical democracy         
                     
                     
                     
  * I.e. all the three main candidates could win, depending on what election upset used          
  * Symmetrical democracy (also known as Borda count) include all preferences, including second, third, etc, wishes       
  * Symmetrical democracy may be regarded as the most correct results.            
                     
  Sources                  
  * Excel sheet with calculations   symmetrical_democracy.xls          
                     
  * From The Economist 2000-03-02 article "The mathematics of voting - Democratic symmetry "        
  " ...The fairest voting system, says Dr Saari, would respect both symmetries. The only system that fits the bill is       
  the Borda count, proposed by Jean-Charles de Borda in 1770 to elect members to the Academy of Sciences in Paris.       
  In an election with X candidates, each voter awards X points to his first choice, X-1 to his second choice, and so on.       
  The results are added up and the candidate with the most points wins.... ".           
  The full text is available here (login)    http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=288778        
                     
  * Borda count http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borda_count              
                     
                     
  Source for numbers                  
  http://th.gio.gov.tw/p2000/main.cfm                  
  Published: March 18, 2000                 
             Source: Taiwan Headlines                 
                     
             Opposition candidate Chen Shui-bian and his running mate Annette Lu emerged this evening as        
             the winners of the 2000 ROC presidential election.               
                     
             At 7:20 p.m. March 18, ROC Central Election Commission chairman Huang Shih-cheng        
             announced the preliminary results of ballot counting for the election of the tenth president and vice        
             president of the Republic of China, indicating that Chen and Lu, of the Democratic Progressive        
             Party (DPP), had gathered 4,977,737 votes.               
                     
             Independent James Soong and running mate Chang Chau-hsiung placed a close second with        
             4,664,922 votes, while Lien Chan and Vincent Siew, candidates for the current ruling party        
             Kuomintang (KMT), lagged behind in third place with 2,925,513 votes.           
                     
             Independents Hsu Hsin-liang and Chu Hui-liang garnered 79,429 votes, while New Party        
             candidates Li Ao and Fung Hu-hsiang gained 16,782.             
                     
             Huang Shih-cheng noted that a total of 12,786,671 voters cast ballots in this year's presidential        
             election. Of these, 12,665,393 ballots were valid. The voter turn-out rate was 82.69%,        
             approximately six percentage points higher than the presidential election four years ago.         
                     
             Chen Shui-bian, 49, will be the youngest president of the Republic of China, and as vice president        
             Annette Lu will be the highest-ranking woman in ROC political history.           
                     
             At his national campaign headquarters, Chen expressed gratitude for his victory, and announced        
             his intention to create a "multi-partisan working group," including representatives from the        
             Kuomintang, the New Party and independents, to work together for a democratic Taiwanese        
             society.                   
                     
             Chen also quickly weighed in on the question of cross-strait relations, saying he was willing to        
             handle the issue with the highest measure of good will, and that in the future he hoped to open up        
             communication, trade and transport ties with mainland China, and to build a bilateral mechanism        
             of mutual trust in military affairs.                 
                     
             Chen also reiterated his willingness to travel with his running mate Annette Lu to mainland China        
             for a visit of "reconciliation and communication." At the same time, he invited PRC president Jiang        
             Zemin, premier Zhu Rongji and Wang Daohan, director of the PRC's Association for Relations        
             Across the Taiwan Straits, to visit Taiwan.               
                     
             Chen affirmed that, based on the precedents set by other democratic national governments during        
             transitions of power, he hopes to build a channel of communication with current president Lee        
             Teng-hui in the interim period before he takes office, and after assuming the presidency, he hopes        
             to rely upon President Lee's experience in cross-strait relations and Taiwan's system of military        
             preparedness.                   
                     
             According to convention, Lee Teng-hui usually appears in the capacity of KMT chairman at his        
             party's central headquarters to view the vote count during a major election, but the president was        
             absent on this occasion.                 
                     
             In a press conference at his presidential campaign headquarters, Lien Chan admitted his defeat in        
             the election, and in a very dignified manner announced that he had already offered his        
             congratulations to Chen Shui-bian. Lien added he eagerly anticipates that Chen will appropriately        
             manage the nation's affairs, and lead the country into a new era.             
                     
             James Soong came in second place with around 4.6 million votes, but was still more than 1.5        
             million votes ahead of the KMT's Lien Chan. The Soong camp is thus already poised to become a        
             major opposition force.                 
                     
             With this in mind, some of Soong's campaign advisors stated after the election results came in        
             that they should take this opportunity to form a party as a means to solidify their power. They        
             suggested further that the Soong camp should now set its sights on gaining seats in the National        
             Assembly.                   
                     
             The Soong camp always maintained that if elected Soong would not oppose the KMT, nor would        
             he seek to form a separate party. This, the Soong campaign argued, was in keeping with the        
             "cross-party" spirit that they were championing. However, when it became clear by what a slim        
             margin Soong had lost, his supporters expressed regret at this strategy.           
                     
             Following the orderly completion of the election at 4:00 p.m., Chief of the General Staff General        
             Tang Yiao-ming, issued a statement concerning the stance and mission of the national armed        
             forces, according to an announcement from the ROC Ministry of National Defense's Military        
             Spokesman Office and Liaison Office.               
                     
             General Tang stated that as the military corps of the nation, the armed forces of the Republic of        
             China will fully act "with the constitution as its foundation and the will of the people as its guide."        
             The armed forces will obey the chief of state and carry out their mission according to the        
             constitution.                   
                     
             General Tang also represented the entire armed forces in expressing their resolute assurance to        
             the new commander-in-chief of the three branches of the armed forces that they will fully devote        
             their will and loyalty, and make a sacrificial contribution, in order to safeguard the national security        
             of the Republic of China.                 
                     
             Since Chen Shui-bian's victory has the potential to increase tensions across the Strait, figures in        
             the financial community are bracing for another expected blast to the economy. Some expect that        
             the increased tensions will lead first to a reduction in cross-Strait trade.           
                     
             In addition, efforts to open up direct communication, trade and transportation links with the        
             mainland, as well as planned adjustments to the current administration's "no haste, be patient"        
             economic policy toward the PRC, are both expected to encounter delays due to tensions caused        
             by Chen's victory.                   
                     
             Analysts also expect the stock market to take another blow following the DPP victory.        
             Nonetheless, stock analysts argue that Taiwan's economic fundamentals are solid. Therefore, it is        
             unlikely that Taiwan's benchmark index, the TAIEX, will fall below 8,000 points.           
                     
             Meanwhile, members of the securities industry predict a similar scenario. They do expect the        
             market to encounter some jitters in the short run. However, they believe that in the longer term        
             Taiwan's fundamentals will still reflect positively on the market.             
                     
             As for how the PRC's reaction will affect markets, one analyst argued that the mainland should        
             observe the new president's policies and statements before determining any actions.         

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