Geography and Regional Planning

Geography and Regional Planning

Exploring Spatial Justice and Gerrymandering in Electoral District‎s of Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Authors
keramat ranjbar dastenaei 1
Zahra Pishgahi fard 2
bahador zarei 3
1 PhD in Political Geography, Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran
2 Professor of Political Geography, Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran
3 3. Associate Professor of Political Geography, Department of Political Geography
10.22034/jgeoq.2024.265136.2885
Abstract
In electoral geography, particularly in parliamentary elections, a significant topic is “the proportionality in the allocation of parliamentary seats” and “gerrymandering”, addressing how changed or unchanged boundaries of electoral districts may result in the victory of an individual or group, or unfair in elections, a subject that has been neglected in Iran. Sistan and Baluchestan Province is among the border, peripheral, and deprived provinces in the country (Iran) facing underdevelopment challenges and being of paramount sensitivity given its geopolitical importance. Electoral geography may be a key factor in transforming its development. Hence, research on “proportionality in allocation” and “Gerrymandering” in this province is of great significance. The present paper, as part of a comprehensive research on the two concepts of “Proportionality in Allocation” and “Gerrymandering” in the context of eleven parliamentary election cycles in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, solely focuses on these two subjects in this province. Research data has been extracted by library method and analyzed using SPSS in GIS environment. The examination of “Proportionality in Allocation” revealed a spatial inequity in the electoral districts of this province relative to the population, and two seats should be added to the representatives of this province. In addition, the Gerrymandering investigation in this province indicates that “Gerrymandering” has not been applied.
Keywords
Consistent apportionment
Gerrymandering
Spatial justice
Electoral districts
Sistan and Baluchestan Province
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