View source for Closed list

{{Short description|Variant of party-list voting system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}
{{Electoral systems}}
'''Closed list''' describes the variant of [[party-list system]]s where voters can effectively vote for only [[political parties]] as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some influence, that would be called an [[open list]]. Closed list systems are still commonly used in [[party-list proportional representation]], and most [[Mixed electoral system|mixed electoral systems]] also use closed lists in their party list component. Many countries, however have changed their electoral systems to use open lists to incorporate personalised representation to their proportional systems.

In closed list systems, each political party has pre-decided who will receive the seats allocated to that party in the elections,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Open, Closed and Free Lists —|url=https://aceproject.org/main/english/es/esg03.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628155439/https://aceproject.org/main/english/es/esg03.htm|archive-date=28 June 2020|access-date=2 January 2021|website=ACE Project}}</ref> so that the candidates positioned highest on this list tend to always get a seat in the parliament while the candidates positioned very low on the closed list will not. However, the candidates "at the water mark" of a given party are in the position of either losing or winning their seat depending on the number of votes the party gets. "The water mark" is the number of seats a specific party can be expected to achieve. The number of seats that the party wins, combined with the candidates' positions on the party's list, will then determine whether a particular candidate will get a seat.

==List of countries using closed list systems==
[[File:Closelist PR 2020.svg|thumb|800x800px|Countries using closed-lists as of 2022 in the electoral system of their legislature (unicameral, or lower chamber){{legend|#ff0d00|Proportional representation: countries where all parties use a closed-list}}{{legend|#ff8400|Proportional representation: countries where only some parties use a closed-list}}{{legend|#3737c8|Mixed-member proportional systems with closed-lists}}{{legend|#ff00cc|Mixed-member majoritarian representation with closed-lists}}|center]]

=== Proportional representation ===
{{Div col}}
* {{flagicon|Algeria}} [[Elections in Algeria|Algeria]]
* {{flagicon|Angola}} [[Elections in Angola|Angola]]
* {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Elections in Argentina|Argentina]]
* {{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Elections in Armenia|Armenia]]
* {{flagicon|Benin}} [[Elections in Benin|Benin]]
* {{flagicon|Burkina Faso}} [[Elections in Burkina Faso|Burkina Faso]]
* {{flagicon|Burundi}} [[Elections in Burundi|Burundi]]
* {{flagicon|Cambodia}} [[Elections in Cambodia|Cambodia]]
* {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Elections in Colombia|Colombia]] (depending on the party)
* {{flagicon|Costa Rica}} [[Elections in Costa Rica|Costa Rica]]
* {{flagicon|Dominican Republic}} [[Elections in the Dominican Republic|Dominican Republic]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/DomRep/voto_preferencial.pdf/ |title={title} |access-date=2018-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122204816/http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/DomRep/voto_preferencial.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Equatorial Guinea}} [[Elections in Equatorial Guinea|Equatorial Guinea]]
* {{flagicon|Guatemala}} [[Politics of Guatemala|Guatemala]]
* {{flagicon|Guinea-Bissau}} [[Elections in Guinea-Bissau|Guinea-Bissau]]
* {{flagicon|Guyana}} [[Elections in Guyana|Guyana]]
* {{flagicon|Hong Kong}} [[Elections in Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] (1997–2016)
* {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Elections in Israel|Israel]]
* {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Elections in Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Lundberg|first=Thomas Carl|date=22 October 2010|title=Post-communism and the abandonment of mixedmember electoral systems|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/206628811.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102063819/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/206628811.pdf|archive-date=2 January 2021|access-date=2 January 2021|website=University of Glasgow}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} [[Elections in Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyzstan]]
* {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Elections in Lithuania|Lithuania]] (1992–1997) (Seimas and municipalities' councils)
* {{flagicon|Moldova}} [[Elections in Moldova|Moldova]]
* {{flagicon|Montenegro}} [[Elections in Montenegro|Montenegro]]
* {{flagicon|Morocco}} [[Elections in Morocco|Morocco]]
* {{Flagicon|Mozambique}} [[Elections in Mozambique|Mozambique]]
* {{flagicon|Namibia}} [[Elections in Namibia|Namibia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecn.na/web/ecn/elections|title=Elections - GRN Portal|website=www.ecn.na|access-date=2018-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721014311/http://www.ecn.na/web/ecn/elections|archive-date=2018-07-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Nicaragua}} [[Elections in Nicaragua|Nicaragua]]
* {{flagicon|Niger}} [[Elections in Niger|Niger]]
* {{flagicon|North Macedonia}} [[Elections in Macedonia|North Macedonia]]
* {{flagicon|Norway}} [[Elections in Norway|Norway]]
* {{flagicon|Paraguay}} [[Elections in Paraguay|Paraguay]]
* {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Elections in Portugal|Portugal]]
* {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Elections in Romania|Romania]]<ref name="ro2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.romanialibera.ro/politica/institutii/legea-algerilor-parlamentare-pe-liste--promulgata-de-iohannis-386442 |title=Legea ALEGERILOR PARLAMENTARE pe LISTE, promulgată de Iohannis |work=România Liberă |last=Filimon |first=Paul |date=20 July 2015 |language=ro |access-date=2018-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702055511/http://romanialibera.ro/politica/institutii/legea-algerilor-parlamentare-pe-liste--promulgata-de-iohannis-386442 |archive-date=2017-07-02 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Rwanda}} [[Elections in Rwanda|Rwanda]]
* {{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Elections in Serbia|Serbia]]
* {{flagicon|South Africa}} [[Elections in South Africa|South Africa]]
* {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Elections in Spain|Spain]]
* {{flagicon|Sri Lanka}} [[Elections in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]
* {{flagicon|Timor-Leste}} [[Elections in Timor-Leste|Timor-Leste]]
* {{flagicon|Togo}} [[Elections in Togo|Togo]]
* {{flagicon|Tunisia}} [[Elections in Tunisia|Tunisia]]
* {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Elections in Turkey|Turkey]]
* {{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[Elections in Uruguay|Uruguay]]
* {{Flagicon|Wales}} [[Senedd#Elections|Wales]] (from 2026)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.wales/historic-act-strengthens-democracy-in-wales | title=Historic Act strengthens democracy in Wales &#124; GOV.WALES | date=24 June 2024 }}</ref>
* {{Div col end}}

=== Mixed electoral systems ===
Mixed electoral system using closed lists for the proportional component{{Div col}}
* {{Flagicon|Andorra}} [[Elections in Andorra|Andorra]]
* {{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Elections in Hungary|Hungary]]
* {{Flagicon|Germany}} [[Elections in Germany|Germany]] (mixed-member proportional representation)
* {{Flagicon|Italy}} [[Elections in Italy|Italy]]
* {{Flagicon|New Zealand}} [[Elections in New Zealand|New Zealand]] (mixed-member proportional representation)
* {{Flagicon|Philippines}} [[Elections in the Philippines|Philippines]]
* {{Flagicon|Russia}} [[Elections in Russia|Russia]]
* {{Flagicon|Scotland}} [[Elections in Scotland|Scotland]]
* {{Flagicon|Taiwan}} [[Elections in Taiwan|Taiwan]]
*{{Flagicon|Wales}} [[Elections in Wales|Wales]] (1999–2026)
*{{Div col end}}

=== Majoritarian representation ===
Party block voting ([[general ticket]]) with a closed list
{{Div col}}
* {{Flagicon|Côte d'Ivoire}} [[Elections in Côte d'Ivoire|Côte d'Ivoire]]  (party block voting in multi-member districts)
* {{flagicon|Singapore}} [[Elections in Singapore|Singapore]] (party block voting in multi-member districts)
* {{Flagicon|United States}} [[Elections in United States|United States]] (electoral college)
* {{Div col end}}

==See also==
* [[Ley de Lemas]]
* [[List of democracy and elections-related topics]]
* [[Sekihairitsu]]
* [[Zweitmandat]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.electionguide.org/countries/ Country profiles] at [[IFES]]
* [https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/es/esd/esd02/esd02e/esd02e03 Open, Closed and Free Lists] at Ace Project

{{voting systems}}

[[Category:Party-list proportional representation]]