The system of relative majority ( English first past the post ) is a type of majority electoral system , in which to win it is enough to get more votes than any of the rivals separately.
It is mainly used for the election of deputies to the lower houses of parliaments in the UK , countries of the Westminster system (including Canada and Australia ), other former British colonies (in particular, India ) and some other countries, when electing state governors and deputies of both houses of the US Congress (with a number of exceptions), parts of deputies of the lower or only chamber in Hungary , Venezuela , Mexico , Russia , Thailand , South Korea , Japan . In rare cases ( Azerbaijan , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Venezuela , Mexico , Turkmenistan , Central African Republic , South Korea ) it is also used in presidential elections. In Russia, according to the system of relative majority, many mayors of cities and heads of municipalities are also elected.
The advantage of this system is financial savings on the conduct of the second round of elections and the possibility of voter support of the candidate most acceptable to him (which is impossible in the second round). At the same time, this system is most convenient for countries with a stable party system and a small number of political parties, because with a significant number of candidates, the winner can only slightly outpace the closest rivals and, in any case, does not represent the interests of the majority of voters.