A parliamentary vote is a way that decisions on proposed laws are made. MPs make these votes by talking about the issue and answering questions about it.
The main purpose of parliament is to represent the interests and views of its constituents in government policy making. This means that citizens must have access to their local representatives, so that they can express their opinions and concerns about draft legislation. The MPs must then be able to communicate these concerns and ideas to the ministers in the government.
In many countries, MPs are elected using a form of proportional representation. Voters mark one or more of the candidates on their ballot paper; the candidate(s) with the most first preference votes wins. Other systems are based on electoral thresholds – parties failing to win a certain percentage of the total vote lose all seats – or use first-past-the-post voting.
Once the ballot papers have been counted, the result is published in a gazette or official publication. These publications are designed to provide the public with information about parliament’s work and its decisions. They can range from the formal, such as the transcripts of plenary sessions (Hansard) or the official report of committee proceedings, to the more promotional.
In addition to the formal procedures described in the Our Procedure article, the House may also adopt special arrangements by unanimous consent. This allows bills to pass through more than one stage in a day or to be referred to a committee of the whole rather than to a standing committee. It can also be used to deem recorded divisions as having been waived or withdrawn.