The term quorum comes from the Latin quorum and is defined as the number of people needed for the parliamentary body to debate certain matters and to make a valid decision, in addition this legal concept is of great importance in the political sphere. This word was born in a British court called Justices of the quorum, and its members acted in a very kind and supportive way, to the point that for a decision to be made, at least one of them had to be present. The way they told the member who was present was quorum vos unum esse volumus, which means "of whom we want you to be one."
The quorum can be made up of various forms, among which the following stand out:
Simple or ordinary majority: it is what is needed in a quorum to approve a decision, taking into account that there must be more votes in favor than against.
Absolute majority: it is the one that has the majority of votes, being then more than half of the members that make up the session, for example, an assembly with twenty members and eleven vote in favor or against, then there is an absolute majority. While in a parliamentary body with ten members, the absolute majority is made with six votes.
Qualified or special majority: is when more votes or more requirements than a simple majority are required to approve the decision, although within this category there are two subcategories that depend on the percentage of votes, these being:
- Minimum percentage of votes, it is understood when a minimum percentage of participation is required to make a delicate decision, such as constitutional reforms, change of the Executive train, among others.
- Minimum number of votes cast, this is the case where abstentions are not neutral, but instead make decisions are not approved.
Within any parliamentary system it is necessary that there be a number of members that represent the rest of those that make up the country or any body that is governed by this system. This term is only used in the political sphere to refer to voting or assemblies and not to refer to an audience or number of people who are spectators or listeners.
