It's no secret that in the modern world in most countries of the world (the Russian Federation, the United States and others) a democratic legal regime is established. One of its main characteristics is the supremacy of human rights and freedoms. Hence the election. But not so simple. Many laws require special care on the part of voters. Then a qualified majority enters into force.
The concept
But what is it all the same? In simple words, a qualified majority is an advantage of two-thirds, three quarters, or even more votes in any issue. That is, the bill should be approved by an absolutely large part of the meeting participants. This is not so easy to achieve, so people are still not sure about the qualified majority system, and very often you can hear how politicians are fiercely debating in this regard.
Alternatives and why are they sometimes not suitable?
There are two other options that are preferred in many situations. For example, the system of absolute majority assumes that the bill, in order to enter into force, must gain fifty percent of the number of voters and in addition to them another vote. People from all over the world acknowledge that even a single point added to these fifty percent can play a decisive role. This system is actively used in the elections of various political figures, such as presidents, chancellors and so on. Then, accordingly, the object of the hearing is not a bill, but a candidate. But the main problem is that very often it is necessary to re-run the elections, because voters may not come to an agreement. The same drawback, of course, is also characteristic of the qualified majority system, but to a greater extent.
According to the second alternative, the famous system of relative majority, for the adoption of the bill, he should not gain more than fifty percent. Enough to beat competitors, and no matter how many points. Such a system is very actively used in politics. The United States, Great Britain, and Japan choose the members of their Congresses in this way. In the Russian Federation, deputies of the State Duma are elected in this manner. The problem with this system is that it greatly simplifies the process of passing laws or electing members of parliament. That is why it is considered not as wealthy and fair as the same system of a qualified majority.
Political side of the issue
But where, then, is this strictest system used if the elections use mainly absolute and relative majority systems? Everything is very simple. In the Russian Federation, a majority majority system is used if it is necessary to amend the highest normative act, namely the Constitution. This is extremely difficult to accomplish. It is required that the lower house of the Federal Assembly, the State Duma, agree to amend by two-thirds of the vote. As for the upper house, the Federation Council, it should support the reform of three-quarters of the vote. To achieve such unanimity is, of course, very difficult. It is for this reason that the system of a qualified majority is used primarily with truly global changes that affect all spheres of society.
Tricks
There is another complication. The Constitution of the Russian Federation itself does not allow in any way to change the first, second and ninth chapters. The irony lies in the fact that the ninth chapter is just about the introduction of amendments to the Constitution. But at the same time, this prohibition, although with difficulty, can be circumvented. For example, if the deputies of both chambers, the State Duma and the Federation Council vote in favor of convening a new Constitutional Assembly, and this bill gains three fifths of all voters, then these three chapters still seem possible to change.
Joint stock companies
The federal law on joint-stock companies clearly states that relying on a qualified majority system, absolutely any amendments to the charter of a particular joint-stock company, changes in the cost of shares and a decree on the dissolution of the company are adopted. As you can see, in the economic sphere, too, only the most important issues are resolved, provided that one of the decisions will receive a majority of three quarters of the vote. Also, any questions regarding whether it is worth reforming the internal structure of society in any way are also resolved by a qualified majority. In addition to this, the most serious resolutions of a joint stock company in the Russian Federation include consent to major financial transactions. But the list does not end there. Any joint-stock company can be prescribed in the charter, so that other decisions are adopted by a qualified majority of votes. The main thing is that the questions relate to the conduct of the entire meeting of shareholders.
International organizations
Recently, new countries have joined the European Union. For this reason, in 2014, a rather serious reform of the Council of the European Union was carried out. Now a decision on a matter is taken only if two hundred and fifty-five members of the Council out of three hundred and forty-five (about seventy-three percent) agree. Moreover, these voters must be representatives of fourteen of twenty-seven countries and sixty-two percent of the population of the European Union.