But the first-past-the-post voting system for MPs is a huge obstacle for any small party.

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But had it not been for the peculiarities of the first-past-the-post voting system, it would have won more.

ECONOMIST: A founding father retires in his own way

If that second election transpires, it looks increasingly likely to be held under the same first-past-the-post voting system that Westminster has always known.

ECONOMIST: Election results

Messrs Zeman and Klaus, whose parties together won 60% of the vote and 137 of parliament's 200 seats, want to amend the constitution so as to change the voting system from proportional representation to first-past-the-post.

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They welcome Britain's first-past-the-post electoral system precisely because it creates stable, democratic government invulnerable to the uncertain coalitions that "fairer" voting systems have inflicted on countries like Holland.

ECONOMIST: From the archive

The South East, like the country as a whole, voted overwhelmingly ' No' to changing the voting system from the current first-past-the-post system to the alternative vote.

BBC: Labour's big push in the South East reaps mixed results

The one big idea that looms is that of electoral reform, but it is hardly new: the Liberal Democrats, the keenest advocates (and principal beneficiaries) of a change in the voting system, have been complaining about Britain's first-past-the-post system for years.

ECONOMIST: The daily take