Single transferable nonsense

Canadian writer Norman Spector, is the author of Chronicle of a war foretold. He takes the Malta example to argue against the introduction of the single transferable vote in British Columbia. From his piece in the Globe and Mail:

The proposal that British Columbia adopt the single transferable vote (STV) in provincial elections is such a dumb idea, one hardly knows where to begin. Have I mentioned that STV supporters are asking us to try on for size the voting system used by only one of the Commonwealth's 53 countries? Now, it's possible that 400,000 Maltese know something the other 1.8 billion inheritors of British political traditions haven't yet grasped, but I wonder.

Proponents of this Rube Goldberg voting system say it's as simple as 1-2-3, but they're unable to explain how STV would work in practice. And, though they argue that transferring the transferable part of the ballot would reduce B.C.'s polarization, Malta's politics have historically been infamously polarized. STV advocates contend that only one country uses the system because it transfers power from politicians and parties to the people. I smell other interests at play.

This article came via the weblog of Ginna Dowler, a Canadian project manager.