A parliamentary vote is an action taken by members of a deliberative assembly on proposals put forward for consideration. These proposals are called motions and are dealt with according to parliamentary procedure, the generally accepted rules, precedents and practices employed in the governance of deliberative assemblies. Amongst other things, these rules are designed to preserve decorum, to ascertain the will of the majority and to safeguard the rights of the minority.
In a parliamentary system the legislative function is conducted through a unicameral (one-chamber) or bicameral parliament composed of members accountable to their constituents. This parliament selects a prime minister and ministers of several executive departments of the government to carry out the executive function. Some ceremonial executive duties are carried out by a head of state, a hereditary king or queen in a constitutional monarchy, an elected president or chancellor in a constitutional republic and a democratic constitutional monarchy, or by a head of state appointed by a majority party in a parliamentary democracy.
Voters mark one of the candidates on their ballot paper to represent them in a constituency. Each party is allocated a number of seats depending on the percentage of votes it receives. If the candidates on a constituency ballot do not achieve a 50 per cent threshold, those who receive second preferences from voters for eliminated candidates are transferred to new candidates until they reach the threshold. This is known as a second ballot or Single Transferable Vote (STV). The electoral management board, an independent body responsible for managing the administration of an election, can monitor whether the voting process has been fair and impartial.
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