Sri Lanka's system of proportional representation makes the magical two-thirds majority hard to reach.

ECONOMIST: Another romping success for the Tiger-slayer

Because, under Germany's system of proportional representation, the Greens got 47 parliamentary seats, but under France's majority-voting system its Greens, the main environmental party, got a mere half-dozen.

ECONOMIST: France

By early morning, after all the votes had been counted and 46 parliamentary seats allocated under the proportional-representation system, the GNP had emerged with 133 seats, just four short of a majority.

CNN: A Tale Of Two Parties