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By-election

By-election

A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between general elections. Usually this occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall or a criminal conviction sufficiently serious. Historically, members of some parliaments were required to seek re-election upon being appointed to a ministerial post. The subsequent by-elections were termed ministerial by-elections. By-elections are held in most nations that elect their parliaments through single-member constituencies, whether with or without a runoff round. This includes most Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as France. In the United States they are called special elections, and are held when a seat in Congress or state legislature is vacant and there is a long period (typically six months) until the next regular election. The Republic of Ireland holds by-elections despite electing members in multi-member constituencies by the single transferable vote — the alternative would be to recount ballots as in Tasmania. Scotland and New Zealand hold by-elections despite using a proportional representation additional member system. When one seat in a proportional representation constituency becomes vacant, the consequences vary. For example, a by-election may be held to fill just the vacancy or all the seats in the constituency become up for grabs in the by-election held. The vast majority of by-elections are unimportant and voter turnouts are seldom comparable with general elections. The governing party normally has a solid cushion so that losing a handful of seats would not affect their position. Because by-elections usually have little influence on the general governance, voters feel freer to elect smaller fringe parties. Parties on both the far right-wing and the far left-wing tend to do better in by-elections than in general elections. However, by-elections can become crucial when the ruling party has only a small margin. In parliamentary systems, party discipline is strong enough so that the one common scenario for a vote of no confidence to occur is after the governing party loses enough by-elections to become a minority government. By-elections can also be important if a minority party needs to gain one or more seats in order to gain official party status or the balance of power in a minority or coalition situation. For example, Andrea Horwath's win in an Ontario provincial by-election in 2004 allowed the Ontario NDP to regain official party status, with important results in terms of parliamentary privileges and funding. By-elections may occur singly, or in small bunches, especially if the authority responsible for calling them has discretion over the timing and can procrastinate. They are sometimes bunched to save money as holding multiple by-elections is likely to cost more than holding a by-election to fill the vacancies all at once. In Canada, in 1978, 15 by-elections were held on a single date, restoring the House of Commons to 264 members. The media called it a "mini-election", a test of the Liberal government's popularity with a general election due in less than a year. The 15 districts stretched from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and produced some unexpected results, for example, an NDP candidate winning in Newfoundland for the first time. Party leaders and media commentators often point to by-election victories as important signals, but very often by-elections hinge far more on local issues and the charisma of the candidates (especially under single-seat constituency systems) than on national issues or how the voters feel about the governing party.

Election

An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. This is the usual mechanism by which a democracy fills offices in the legislature, and sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and in regional and local government. This is also typically the case in a wide range of other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair and democratic electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results).

Definitions of democratic elections

In theory, the authority of the government in democracies derives solely from the consent of the governed. The principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the holding of free and fair elections. government constituency, England.]] government There is a broad consensus as to what kind of elections can be considered free and fair. Jeane Kirkpatrick, scholar and former United States ambassador to the United Nations, has offered this definition: "Democratic elections are not merely symbolic....They are competitive, periodic, inclusive, definitive elections in which the chief decision-makers in a government are selected by citizens who enjoy broad freedom to criticize government, to publish their criticism and to present alternatives." The Democracy Watch (International) website, further defines fair democratic elections as, "Elections in which great care is taken to prevent any explicit or hidden structural bias towards any one candidate, aside from those beneficial biases that naturally result from an electorate that is equally well informed about the various assets and liabilities of each candidate". This was more formally stated in 2000 by Chief Justice Murray Gleeson of the Australian High Court as "The democratic and lawful means of securing change, if change be necessary, is an expression of the will of an informed electorate." The apparently simple requirement of an informed electorate is difficult to achieve in modern electorates with thousands of voters, most of whom have no prospects of knowing candidates other than by information published by third parties. The party with the most immediate interest in having structural biases is the government conducting the election. One possible result is the 'show' elections described below. Some other scholars argue that elections are at most secondary to a functioning democracy. They argue that the rule of law is more important. An example would be pre-unification Hong Kong, which was ruled by an unelected British administrator but was generally considered to be a free and open society due to its strong legal institutions.

Characteristics of elections

Who can vote

administrator A crucial issue in elections is the question of suffrage—who is allowed to vote—whether the electorate comprises the entire citizenry or some subset of it. The democracy of ancient Athens did not allow women, children, foreigners and slaves to vote—thus disenfranchising the majority of the population. Over the last few centuries since elections began to be held there has been a long struggle to expand the franchise to excluded groups. Originally in the U.S., for example, only white male property holders enjoyed the right to elect and be elected when the Constitution was signed in 1787. The property qualification disappeared by the early 19th century, and women won the right to vote in 1920. African Americans, however, did not enjoy full voting rights in the southern United States until the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And finally, in 1971, younger citizens were given the right to vote when the United States lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. In Canada First Nations were long denied the vote. There are still many restrictions in place. Many countries do not allow those judged mentally incapable to vote, and some deny the vote to serving prisoners as well. In some cases, such as some U.S. states, convicted felons are also barred from voting upon release. Children are not permitted to vote in any country; however, the minimum voting age varies. In some countries, voting is compulsory. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, they may be subject to punitive measures such as a small fine.

Who is voted for

voting is compulsory In some states far more positions are filled through election than others. In all democracies it is often the case that some important positions are not filled through elections. Those institutions that were designed to not be too closely swayed by public opinion are often not elected. For instance judges are usually appointed for life, or until a specific age, to insulate them against popular pressure and help ensure their impartiality. This is often seen as an integral part of the separation of powers. separation of powers However, there are some counterexamples. In the United States some judges are elected, and in ancient Athens military generals were elected. separation of powers Also frequent is the erecting of an intermediate tier of electors between the people and the elected figure. For example, the President of the United States is not elected directly by the people but by the U.S. Electoral College. But since it is known who these people will vote for, the effect is the same as a direct election. Also, U.S. Senators were originally chosen by the state legislatures. And in the Westminster System the Prime Minister, who holds the most power, is formally chosen by the head of state and in reality by the legislature or by their party.

Types of election

In most democratic political systems, there are a range of different types of election, corresponding to different layers of public governance or geographical jurisdiction. Some common types of election are:
- Presidential election
- General election
- Primary election
- By-election
- Local election
- Co-option A referendum (pl referenda or referendums) is a democratic tool related to elections in which the electorate votes for or against a specific proposal, law or policy, rather than for a general policy or a particular candidate or party. Referendums may be added to an election ballot or held separately and may be either binding or consultative, usually depending on the constitution. Referendums are usually called by governments via the legislature, however many democracies allow citizens to petition for referendums directly, called initiatives. Referendums are particularly prevalent and important in direct democracies, such as Switzerland. The basic Swiss system, however, still works with representatives. In the most direct form of democracy, anyone can vote about anything. This is closely related to referendums and may take the form of consensus decision-making. Reminiscent of the ancient Greek system, anyone may discuss a particular subject until a consensus is reached. The consensus requirement means that discussions can go on for a very long time. The result will be that only those who are genuinely interested will participate in the discussion and therefore the vote. In this system there need not be an age limit because children will usually become bored. This system is however only feasible when implemented on a very small scale.

Electoral systems

Electoral systems refer to the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems which convert the vote into a determination of which individuals and political parties are elected to positions of power. The first step is to tally the votes, for which various different vote counting systems and ballot types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian. Among the former are party-list proportional representation and additional member system. Among the latter are First Past the Post (FPP) (relative majority) and absolute majority. Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting or a Condorcet method. While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception. The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation.

Scheduling

The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In most states elections are held between every three and six years. There are exceptions to this; the U.S. House of Representives stands for election every two years, while the President of Ireland holds a largely ceremonial position for seven years. Some nations have pre-determined and fixed election dates (e.g., the U.S.). This has the advantage of fairness and predictability. However, it tends to greatly lengthen campaigns, and makes dissolving the legislature more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will actually go to the polls. In practice this means the government will remain in power full term unless something special happens, such as a motion of no-confidence.

Election campaigns

When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign advertising.

Difficulties with elections

Show elections

While all modern democracies hold regular elections, the converse is not true—not all elections are held by true democracies. Some governments employ other 'behind-the-scenes' means of candidate selection but organise a sham process that appears to be a genuine electoral contest, in order to present the facade of popular consent and support. Dictatorships, such as the former Soviet Union, have been known to hold such show elections. In the 'single candidate' type of show-election, there may only be one candidate for any one given position, with no alternative choices for voters beyond voting yes or no to this candidate. In the 'fixed vote' type of show-election such elections may offer several candidates for each office. In both cases, the government uses intimidation or vote-rigging to ensure a high yes vote or that only the government-approved candidates are chosen. Another model is the 'false diversity' type of show-election in which there may be several choices, all of which support the status quo. In theory, 'false diversity' elections would be recognised by a truly informed electorate but as noted above this may be impossible, for example where a government conducting elections also controls the media by which most voters are informed. Examples of this are given below.

Bias and limited options

Similar to the false diversity elections are those in which candidates are limited by undemocratic forces and biases. The Iranian form of government is an example of this. In the 2004 Iranian parliamentary elections almost all of the reformist candidates were ruled unfit by the Guardian Council of religious leaders. According to the Iranian constitution this was fully within the Council's constitutional rights, and designed to prevent enemies of the Islamic Revolution from coming to power. Even in the USA, socialist Victor L. Berger was twice denied a seat in the House of Representatives in 1919 because of his anti-war views. Simply permitting the opposition access to the ballot is not enough. In order for democratic elections to be fair and competitive, opposition parties and candidates must enjoy the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and movement as necessary to voice their criticisms of the government openly and to bring alternative policies and candidates to the voters. In states where these freedoms are not granted or where opposition party politicians are harassed and their events disrupted, elections may not reflect the legitimate views of the populace. A current example of such a state is Zimbabwe. In states with fragile democracies where there has been a history of political violence or blatantly unfair elections, international election observers are often called in by external bodies like the United Nations, and protected by foreign forces, to guarantee fairness. In addition, elections in which opposition candidates are not given access to radio, newspaper and television coverage are also likely to be biased. An example of this kind of structural bias was the 2004 re-election of Russian president Vladimir Putin, in which the state controlled media consistently supported his election run, consistently condemned his opponents, provided virtually unlimited free advertising to Putin's campaign, and barred attempts by his opponents to run campaign advertisements. For this reason, many countries ensure equal air time to election ads from all sizeable parties and have systems that help pay for election advertising or, conversely, limit the possibilities to advertise, to prevent rich parties or candidates from oustripping their opponents. Some allege that beyond the examples given here, there are more subtle and systemic forms of 'false-diversity' in elections which are not generally recognised. Noam Chomsky and other progressives argue that in the West, and especially the U.S., powerful corporate interests behind the media act as a filter that only lets preordained views be heard by the public and excludes third parties and alternative viewpoints.

Corruption of democracies

The very openness of a democracy means that in many states it is possible for voters to vote to get rid of democracy itself. Democracies have failed many times in history from ancient Greece to 18th and 19th century France (see Second Empire under Napoleon III), and perhaps most famously in 20th century Germany, when the Nazis initially came to power by democratic means (albeit by plurality vote). Throughout most of the developing world today democracies remain unstable, often collapsing to military coups or other forms of dictatorship. Thinkers such as Aristotle and many others long believed democracy to be inherently unstable and to always quickly collapse. Most democracies have some form of separation of powers so that even if a tyrant is elected the constitution would still have to be obeyed, in theory at least. Of course, an elected government can change the constitution, but this can be made difficult by, in some cases, requiring a 2/3 majority in two consecutive elected governments—the actual requirements vary by each constitutional system. To limit this danger the system used in many states indirectly places limits on how easily new parties can form. The first past the post electoral system makes it hard for new parties to quickly gain power. In states using proportional representation systems, there is a determined proportion of the popular vote that must be won before a party can be admitted to parliament. This election threshold may be simply the amount of votes required to get one seat, such as in the Netherlands, but it may also be set higher, to prevent small parties form getting a seat in government.

Elections around the world

External links

- [http://www.angus-reid.com/tracker/ Angus Reid Consultants: Election Tracker]
- [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch/ CNN.com World News: Election Watch]
- [http://www.democracywatch.org#great_care Democracy Watch (International)'s Definition of Democracy]
- [http://www.electionworld.org Electionworld.org] Category:Ethics ja:選挙 simple:Election

Resign

A resignation occurs when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down. Leaving of a job upon the expiration of a term is not a resignation. Abdication is the equivalent of resignation of a reigning monarch or pope, or other holder of a non-political, hereditary or similar position. A resignation is a personal decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases. For example, Richard Nixon resigned from the office of President of the United States in 1974 following the Watergate scandal, when he was almost certain to have been impeached by Congress. Resignation can be used politically, as in the Philippines July 2005 when ten cabinet officials resigned in order to put pressure on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to do the same over allegations of electoral fraud. Although government officials may tender their resignations, they are not always accepted. Alternatively, resignation as a procedure may be used as a political weapon. In 1995, the British Prime Minister, John Major, resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party in order to contest a leadership election with the aim of silencing his critics within the party and reassert his authority. Having resigned, he stood again and was re-elected. For many public figures, primarily departing politicians, resignation is an opportunity to deliver a valedictory speech in which they can elucidate the circumstances of their exit from office and in many cases deliver a powerful speech which often commands much attention. This can be used to great political effect, particularly as, subsequent to resigning, government ministers are no longer bound by collective responsibility and can speak with greater freedom about current issues.

List of notable resignations

- 1795 - John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States
- 1800 - Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice of the United States
- 1817 - Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of New York
- 1829 - Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York
- 1832 - John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States
- 1848 - Francis R. Shunk, Governor of Pennsylvania
- 1885 - Grover Cleveland, Governor of New York
- 1898 - John W. Griggs, Governor of New Jersey
- 1910 - Charles Evans Hughes, Governor of New York
- 1913 - Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey
- 1942 - Herbert H. Lehman, Governor of New York
- 1947 - Edward Martin, Governor of Pennsylvania
- 1947 - Walter E. Edge, Governor of New Jersey
- 1963 - John Profumo, British Secretary of State for War, after misleading the British House of Commons in relation to his controversial personal life
- 1969 - Charles de Gaulle, President of France, following defeat in a constitutional referendum
- 1973 - Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States, over allegations of financial irregularities
- 1973 - Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York
- 1974 - Richard Nixon, President of the United States, after becoming mired in the Watergate scandal
- 1984 - Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
- 1990 - Geoffrey Howe, British Deputy Prime Minister, over differences with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over government policy on the European single currency
- 1990 - Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, after narrowly failing to win the first round of a leadership contest
- 1991 - Albert Reynolds, Irish Minister for Finance
- 1993 - Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada, retiring from politics.
- 1994 - Morihiro Hosokawa, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1994 - Tsutomu Hata, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1995 - John Major, British Prime Minister (resigning as leader of the Conservative Party)
- 1997 - Fife Symington, Governor of Arizona
- 1999 - Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation, retiring from politics
- 2001 - Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey
- 2001 - Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgian Minister for Justice
- 2001 - Tom Ridge, Governor of Pennsylvania
- 2001 - Henry McLeish, First Minister of Scotland, over allegations of improper financial dealings
- 2002 - Robin Cook, British Leader of the House of Commons (formerly Foreign Secretary), over his opposition to the UK's involvement in the invasion of Iraq
- 2003 - Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency
- 2003 - Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia, after extensive public demonstrations against him
- 2003 - Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, retiring from politics.
- 2004 - Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, retiring from politics.
- 2004 - George Tenet, Director of US Central Intelligence , officially for 'personal reasons', resigned after criticism of the CIA's approach to intelligence used to support the 2003 Iraq War
- 2004 - James McGreevey, Governor of New Jersey
- 2005 - Carlos Mesa, President of Bolivia (rejected by National Congress)
- 2005 - Tom DeLay, Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, from his leadership position while under investigation.
- 2005 - Michael Brown, Director of Federal Emergency Management Agency, after heavy criticism of his handling of emergency management operations in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
- 2005 - Greg Sorbara, Finance Minister of Ontario, resigned while under investigation.
- 2005 - David Blunkett, British Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, resigning after breaking the ministerial code of conduct regarding private business appointments, becoming the second minister to resign twice from the Blair government.

Recall election

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. Along with the initiative and referendum, it was one of the major electoral reforms advocated by leaders of the Progressive movement in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This movement was less than successful, because in the United States today, recall elections are prohibited in the Federal system, and prohibited in 32 out of the 50 states. In the eighteen U.S. states that today allow the recall of state officials, only two Governors have ever been successfully recalled. In 1921, North Dakota's Lynn J. Frazier was recalled over a dispute about state-owned industries, and in 2003, California Governor Gray Davis was recalled over mismanagement of the state budget. The movement in California was spearheaded by then-Governor Hiram Johnson as a "precautionary measure by which a recalcitrant official can be removed". It was instituted as a way for the populace to fight back against political corruption and the powerful railroads and banks, which had enormous influence on state governments. Until Gray Davis' recall in October 2003, no California statewide official had ever been recalled, though there were 117 previous attempts. Only seven of those attempts even made it onto the ballot, all for state legislators. In California, every Governor since Ronald Reagan in 1968 has been subject to a recall effort, but none until Gray Davis, the 37th Governor of California, had to face a special recall election. In 2003, several million citizens petitioned the government for a gubernatorial recall election.

Representative recall

The Canadian province of British Columbia has representative recall. In that province, voters in a provincial riding can petition to have a sitting representative removed from office, even a Premier presently leading a government. If enough voters sign the petition, the Speaker of the legislature announces before the House that the member has been recalled and a by-election follows as soon as possible, it gives the opportunity to replace the politician in question. Fourteen United States states have similar measures in their constitutions — and many more municipalities — but generally these measures fail to operate more readily than in British Columbia, which in January 2003 achieved a record twenty-two such recall efforts (all but one of them, excluding the recall of Paul Reitsma, ultimately failed, however).

Recall in the Venezuelan constitution of 1999

Article 72 of the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela enables a recall of any elected representative, including the president, and has been used in the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004: :Article 72: All [...] offices filled by popular vote are subject to revocation. :Once one-half of the term of office to which an official has been elected has elapsed, a number of voters representing at least 20% of the registered voters in the affected constituency may petition for the calling of a referendum to revoke that official's mandate. :When a number of voters equal to or greater than the number of those who elected the official vote in favour of the recall, provided that a number of voters equal to or greater than 25% of the total number of registered voters vote in the recall referendum, the official's mandate shall be deemed revoked and immediate action shall be taken to fill the permanent vacancy as provided for by this Constitution and by law.

List of recall elections

- 1921 North Dakota recall
- 2003 California recall
- 2004 Venezuela recall
- 2005 recall of Spokane, Washington, mayor James E. West

Constituencies

Category:Elections A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. It can be used to describe a business's customer base and shareholders, or a charity's donors or those it serves. The most common meaning of constituency occurs in politics and means the group of people or geographical area that a particular elected representative or group of elected representatives represents. The rest of this article deals with this sense of constituency. Specifically, a constituency often refers to the group or area from which voters in an election are drawn. Depending on the electoral system being used, a constituency may elect one or more members. For instance, in the United Kingdom, House of Commons Parliamentary constituencies each elect one Member of Parliament using a first past the post system (though some used to elect more than one), while the larger European Parliamentary constituencies each elect a number of Member of the European Parliament (see 'Regions of England'). A marginal constituency is one where the margin between the expected voting for the major parties in an election is slim. In United Kingdom general elections, the voting in a relatively small number of marginal constituencies usually determines the outcome of the entire election.

Australia

List: List of Australian federal electorates In Australia, federal and state constituencies are known as electorates or seats.

Canada

List: List of Canada's electoral districts In Canada, constituencies are legally known as electoral districts (in French, circonscriptions) for Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies at the provincial level, although "constituency" and the informal term "riding" (or "comté" in French) are also used.

France

In France, electoral constituencies are known as circonscriptions électorales. For parliamentary elections, they are known as circonscriptions législatives, and for departemental one, France uses cantons.
Germany
In Germany there are 299 basic electoral constituencies (called Wahlkreise), accounting for half of the 598 nominal seats in the German Bundestag in a "First Past the Post electoral system". The constituencies for the rest of the seats are the federal states, representatives being drawn from the top of their respective electoral lists. The former constituencies are divided so that each has approximately the same number of voters. German electoral law dictates that the deviation from average of all constituencies shall not exceed a certain figure (see for example [http://www.bpb.de/wissen/JJEYEX,2,0,Wahlsystem_%28%A7%A7_1_bis_7%29.html#art2 § 3 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 in German electoral law]). Other restrictions prevent abuses such as gerry-mandering. Similar provisions obtain for many of the federal state parliaments, though constituencies are generally smaller and boundaries change more frequently. Representatives to the European Parliament are only elected by party proportion and state.
Hong Kong
The unicameral Legislative Council has 60 members, 30 returned from five geographical consituencies based on the Hare quota and largest remainder method, and the remaining 30 returned through 28 functional constituencies.
Republic of Ireland
Constituencies in the Republic of Ireland elect between three and five TDs, while constituencies between 1536 and 1800 in the Kingdom of Ireland used to return two MPs.
Singapore
In Singapore, there are 14 group representation constituencies and 9 single member constituencies, giving a total of 23 constituencies. Group representation constituencies elect between three to six MPs to the Parliament of Singapore, while single member constituencies elect one.
Switzerland
In Switzerland the Canton of St. Gallen uses the Wahlkreise (constituency or electoral district) in place of the previous, and more usual, district. See Canton of St. Gallen#Constituencies and municipalities.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a parliamentary constituency is sometimes called a Parliamentary seat or a Division. Constituencies for local government elections are called either Wards or electoral divisions. As of 2005, there are 646 House of Commons constituencies in the UK:
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom
- MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005 lists the constituencies after that election. Northern Ireland has 18 constituencies, each of which elect six MLAs to the Northern Ireland Assembly under the Single Transferable Vote system. The Scottish Parliament has 73 single-member constituencies elected on a first past the post basis, with the remaining 56 seats in the parliament being selected by the Additional Member System (AMS). Since the passage of the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, the constituencies of the Scottish Parliament are no longer identical to those of the House of Commons. The National Assembly for Wales has 40 constituencies elected by first past the post which are identical to the Welsh constituencies of the House of Commons. Its remaining 20 seats are selected by AMS. The London Assembly has 14 constituencies elected by first past the post, described in the article on London Assembly constituencies. Its remaining 11 seats are also selected by AMS.
United States
In the United States, electoral constituencies for the federal House of Representatives are known as congressional districts, while the constituencies for the variously named state legislatures go by a variety of names. Long standing practice, reinforced and modified by several U.S. Supreme Court decisions, require the equalization of populations of constituencies after each decennial census, a process known as redistricting. When driven by partisan bodies, this process opens up the possibility of gerrymandering for political or factional advantage. A Pennsylvania legislator long active in redistricting issues, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said that "In election years, constituents choose their legislative officials. In redistricting years, legislative officials usually try to choose their future constituents."
Others
Most of the rest of the British Commonwealth also use constituencies as electoral divisions. For details of constituencies in these and other places see:
- Constituencies of Namibia
- Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Synonyms
Marginal constituencies are also known as:
- Swing seats in Australia and the United States.
See also

- List of politics-related topics Category:U.S. Congressional districts

Runoff voting

Runoff voting is a voting system used in single-seat elections. It is used widely around the world, including in elections for the President of France and Finland, and especially in a political party's primary elections, in which it selects candidates to present to the public. When restricted to two rounds, it is sometimes called the two round system or the second ballot. When the number of rounds is unlimited, then it is sometimes known as an elimination ballot. An example for elimination ballot is the Olympic Games host city election, where one city is eliminated in each voting round until one city achieves a 50% majority.

Voting

In the preliminary election, voters select their preferred candidate. If one candidate reaches the election threshold (usually fifty percent of the valid votes plus one), they are elected. Otherwise, in a two round system, the top candidates (usually the top two) are placed on a secondary ballot. Whoever receives the most votes on the second ballot is declared elected. In an elimination ballot, successive rounds of voting are held until a candidate wins a majority of the positive votes. After each inconclusive round, those candidates at the bottom whose votes together do not add up to the votes of the next candidate are eliminated (so barring ties at least one candidate is eliminated each round). Runoff voting can be condensed into a single preference ballot paper, at which point it becomes instant-runoff voting or an "alternative vote". A simplified model of a two round system is the supplementary vote. A runoff ballot is not the same thing as a primary election. In a runoff ballot, all candidates are placed on the initial ballot and all voters are allowed to participate in the vote, whereas primaries are generally internal measures within a political party.

An example

Assuming each voter voted for his preferred city (for a more sophisticated approach, see below), the first ballot results would be as follows:
- Memphis: 42%
- Nashville: 26%
- Knoxville: 17%
- Chattanooga: 15% In a two round runoff, Knoxville and Chattanooga are eliminated, while Nashville and Memphis advance to the second ballot. The voters from Knoxville and Chattanooga prefer Nashville to Memphis, so the results of the second ballot would be:
- Nashville: 58%
- Memphis: 42% Nashville would then be declared the winner. Note on strategy: A two round runoff encourages candidates to unite to make the top two cut. Since Chattanooga and Knoxville both prefer each other second, knowing their divided vote might eliminate them both, they might work together before the election and decide for only Chattanooga to run. That would cause the defeat of Nashville (third place) and Chattanooga could win the final runoff round against Memphis. Something similar would happen with a multi-round elimination ballot. In an elimination ballot, Chattanooga would be eliminated after the first round, and the second round would be:
- Memphis: 42%
- Knoxville: 32%
- Nashville: 26% Nashville would then be eliminated and the third round of the elimination ballot would be:
- Knoxville: 58%
- Memphis: 42% So Knoxville would win.

Potential for tactical voting

The runoff system encourages voters to "compromise" by not voting for their favorite candidate in their first round. In the above two-round example, if all voters from Chattanooga "compromised" for Knoxville in the first round, Knoxville would advance to the second round, where it would defeat Memphis. This would be a better result for the Chattanooga voters than sincere voting would get them. The Memphis supporters voters could respond by voting for Nashville instead of Memphis as a way to prevent Knoxville or Chattanooga winning. Runoff voting can also encourage voters to vote for "push-overs", in order to set up a more favorable second-round matchup.

Impact of scattered voting on two-round systems

A two-round runoff voting system, in practice, may work as a system of primary elections in countries where there are two major partisan blocks, by choosing for the second round of election a candidate in each block. While this is the usual outcome, different situations may arise in the presence of coalitions fielding multiple candidates, protest votes and third parties. A striking example, which attracted considerable media attention, was that of the 2002 French presidential election. The two major contenders, respectively leading a left-wing and a right-wing coalition, were Lionel Jospin and Jacques Chirac. However, the left-wing coalition fielded three additional candidates representing minor parties in the coalition. Furthermore, part of the left-wing vote went to candidates from far-left parties, presumably to protest Jospin's policies, deemed too centrist. A third important candidate was Jean-Marie Le Pen, a controversial politician often described as racist and fascist-leaning. On the first round of elections:
- Jacques Chirac obtained 19.88% of the vote; added to other candidate in the same coalition François Bayrou's 6.84%, this makes 26.72%;
- Lionel Jospin obtained 16.18% of the vote; added to other candidates in the same coalition Robert Hue (3.37%), Noël Mamère (5.25%), Christiane Taubira (2.32%), this makes 27.12%. While it is not established that voters for minor candidates of each coalition would have voted for the major candidate of the same coalition, these sums would tend to indicate that Jospin had a slight edge over Chirac. Le Pen, however, obtained 16.86% and thus went to the second round of election against Chirac. Since the vast majority of the electorate disapproves of Le Pen's policies, Chirac then won by an enormous majority (82.21%). In the last decades, normal second rounds in French presidential elections were settled around 50% for each side.

Impact on factions and candidates

Between each round of voting, discussion and dealing is possible; policy concessions and withdrawals can be negotiated. Accordingly, runoff votes in some form are advocated as part of most deliberative democracy proposals. Other electoral reform and grassroots democracy advocates prefer instant-runoff voting which let larger groups participate in the process by ballot - the French participation of the whole electorate in a runoff vote is a rare exception and permits some dealing between parties who have lost and those who seek their support. The one-ballot "instant runoff" proposals are the opposite of such 'deliberative' processes, as there is no time nor place for explicit discussion and dealing as the power relationships become clear. Polls can take the place of early rounds of balloting but are nowhere near as statistically valid as a formal vote.

Runoff (election)

Voting

An example

Potential for tactical voting

Impact of scattered voting on two-round systems

Impact on factions and candidates

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. It was once known as the British Commonwealth of Nations or British Commonwealth, and some still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the other commonwealths around the world, such as the Commonwealth of Australia and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of State of 16 Commonwealth Realms, is the Head of the Commonwealth; this title, however, does not imply any political power over member nations, and does not automatically belong to the British monarch. The Commonwealth is primarily an organisation in which countries with diverse economic backgrounds have an opportunity for close and equal interaction. The primary activities of the Commonwealth are designed to create an atmosphere of economic cooperation between member nations, as well as the promotion of democracy, human rights, and good governance in them. The Commonwealth is not a political union of any sort, and does not allow the United Kingdom to exercise any power over the affairs of the organisation's other members. While some nations of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth Realms, recognize the British Monarch as their head of state, the majority do not.

Origins

Although performing a vastly different function, the Commonwealth is the successor of the British Empire. In 1884, whilst visiting Adelaide, South Australia, Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as its former colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations". The formal organisation of the Commonwealth has its origins in the Imperial Conferences of the late 1920s (conferences of British and colonial Prime Ministers had occurred periodically since 1887), where the independence of the self-governing colonies and especially of Dominions was recognized, particularly in the Balfour Declaration at the Imperial Conference in 1926, when the United Kingdom and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". This relationship was eventually formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. 1931 After World War II, the Empire was gradually dismantled, partly owing to the rise of independence movements in the then-subject territories (such as that started in India under the influence of the Mohandas Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah), and partly owing to the British Government's strained circumstances resulting from the cost of the war. The word "British" was dropped in 1946 from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect the changing position. Burma (1948) and Aden (1967) are the only former colonies not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Among the former protectorates and mandates, Egypt (1953), Israel (1948), Iraq (1932), Bahrain (1971), Qatar (1971), United Arab Emirates (1971), Jordan (1946), Kuwait (1961) and Oman (1971) never became members of the Commonwealth. The Republic of Ireland was a member but left the Commonwealth upon becoming a republic in 1949. However, the Ireland Act 1949 was passed by the Parliament of Westminster and gave citizens of the Republic of Ireland a status similar to that of other citizens of the Commonwealth in UK law. The issue of republican status within the Commonwealth was resolved in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. India agreed that when it became a republic in January 1950 it would accept the King as ‘symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such Head of the Commonwealth’. The other Commonwealth countries in turn recognised India's continuing membership of the association. (At Pakistan’s insistence, India was not regarded as an exceptional case and it was assumed that other states would be accorded the same treatment as India.) The London Declaration is often seen as marking the beginning of the modern Commonwealth. As the Commonwealth grew, the United Kingdom and the pre-1945 Dominions (a term that was formally dropped in the 1940s) became informally known as the "Old Commonwealth", particularly in the 1960s onwards when some of them differed with poorer, Afro-Asian (or New Commonwealth) members over various issues at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings. Accusations that the old, "White" Commonwealth has different interests from African Commonwealth nations in particular, as well as charges of racism and colonialism, arose during heated debates concerning Rhodesia in the 1970s, the imposition of sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s and, more recently, over the issue of whether to press for democratic reforms in Nigeria and then Zimbabwe. The term "New Commonwealth" is also used in Britain in debates over non-white immigration from these countries. In recent years, the term "White Commonwealth" has been used in a derogatory sense to imply that the wealthier, white nations of the Commonwealth had different interests and goals from the non-white, and particularly the African members. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has used the term frequently to allege that the Commonwealth's attempts to catalyse political changes in his country is motivated by racism and colonialist attitudes and that the White Commonwealth dominates the Commonwealth of Nations as a whole. In Britain, the term New Commonwealth was used in the 1960s and 1970s to refer to recently decolonised countries that were predominantly non-white and underdeveloped. The term was often used in reference to immigration to Britain from "New Commonwealth" countries.

Membership

immigration The Commonwealth encompasses a population of approximately 1.8 billion people, making up about 30% of the world's total. India is the most populous member, with a billion people at the 2001 census, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria each contain more than 100 million people; Tuvalu, by contrast, the smallest, has only 11,000 inhabitants. The land area of the Commonwealth nations equals about a quarter of the world's land area, with Australia, Canada (the world's second-largest nation by area) and India each having more than 1.5 million square miles. Membership is open to countries that accept the association's basic aims. Members are also required to have a present or past constitutional link to the United Kingdom or to another Commonwealth member. Not all members have had direct constitutional ties to the United Kingdom: some South Pacific countries were formerly under Australian or New Zealand administration, while Namibia was governed by South Africa from 1920 until independence in 1990. Cameroon joined in 1995 although only a fraction of its territory had formerly been under British administration through the League of Nations mandate of 1920–46 and United Nations Trusteeship arrangement of 1946–61. There is only one member of the present Commonwealth which has never had any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth member. Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony was admitted in 1995 on the back of the triumphal re-admission of South Africa and Mozambique's first democratic elections, held in 1994. The move was supported by Mozambique's neighbours, all of whom were members of the Commonwealth and who wished to offer assistance in overcoming the losses incurred as a result of the country's opposition to white minority regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. In 1997, amid some discontent, Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that Mozambique's admission should be seen as a special case and should not set a precedent.

Non-members

Tongue in cheek, Charles de Gaulle twice suggested that France, though it was never a member of the British Empire (even if for centuries English/British monarchs claimed the title 'King of France') should apply for Commonwealth membership; this idea was never realised, but may be seen as a follow-up to a proposal made by Churchill to join the British and French governments during World War II, instead of the puppet regime of Vichy France. David Ben-Gurion suggested that Israel join the Commonwealth, but this proposal was opposed by most Israelis for suggesting dependence upon the United Kingdom, and by the organisation as suggesting a firmer support for Israel than it actually offered. Egypt and Iraq have never shown an interest in joining the Commonwealth, despite their histories of British rule. Similarly Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman are not members. Nor is the United States, which was formed from former British colonies in 1776 and maintains close cultural ties with the United Kingdom. Hong Kong also did not join the Commonwealth following the end of British rule in 1997, as it became a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.

Suspension

In recent years the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for failure to uphold democratic government. Suspended members are not represented at meetings of Commonwealth leaders and ministers, although they remain members of the organisation. Fiji, which had ceased to be a member of the Commonwealth 1987–1997 as a result of a republican coup d'etat, was suspended 2000–2001, after a military coup, as was Pakistan from 1999 until 2004. Nigeria was suspended between 1995 and 1999. Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government, before withdrawing from the organisation in 2003.

Termination of membership

As membership is purely voluntary, member governments can choose at any time to leave the Commonwealth. Pakistan left the Commonwealth in 1972 in protest at Commonwealth recognition of breakaway Bangladesh, but rejoined in 1989. Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth in 2003 when Commonwealth Heads of Government refused to lift the country's suspension on human rights and governance grounds. Although Heads of Government have the power to suspend member states, the Commonwealth has no provision for the expulsion of members. However, Commonwealth Realms which become republics automatically cease to be members unless, like India in 1950, they obtain the permission of other members to remain in the organisation as a republic. The Republic of Ireland did not apply for re-admittance after becoming a republic in 1949, as the Commonwealth at the time did not allow republican membership. However the leader of its Opposition at the time, Eamon de Valera, believed the Republic of Ireland's decision not to apply to stay was a mistake. He and his successor as Taoiseach, Sean Lemass, both considered re-applying. Éamon Ó Cuív, a minister in the present Irish Government (and himself de Valera's grandson), raised the issue of the Republic's possible reapplication a number of times in the 1990s. However, the issue arouses both some hostility and indifference in Ireland, where some people still associate the Commonwealth with British imperialism, even though the majority of member states are now republics. The Republic of Ireland was the first nation ever to leave the Commonwealth and not rejoin. South Africa was effectively prevented from continuing as a member after it became a republic in 1961 as a result of hostility from many members, particularly those in Africa and Asia as well as Canada, to its policy of apartheid. The South African government withdrew its application to remain in the organisation as a republic when it became clear at the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference that any such application would be rejected. South Africa was re-admitted to the Commonwealth in 1994, after the end of apartheid in 1990. The declaration of a republic in the Fiji Islands in 1987, after military coups designed to deny Indo-Fijians in Fiji political power, was not accompanied by application to remain. Commonwealth membership was held to have lapsed until 1997, after racialist provisions in the republican constitution were repealed and reapplication for membership made.

Organisation and objectives

Queen Elizabeth II is the nominal Head of the Commonwealth. Some members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth Realms, also recognize the Queen as their head of state. However, the majority of members are republics, and a handful of others are indigenous monarchies. The Queen's position as Head of the Commonwealth is not hereditary, and when and if the present Prince of Wales becomes King, it will be for Commonwealth Heads of Government to decide whether he assumes the role of Head of the Commonwealth. Since 1965 there has been a London-based Secretariat. The current (2005) Commonwealth Secretary-General is Don McKinnon, a former Foreign Minister of New Zealand. The organisation is celebrated each year on Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March. The Commonwealth has long been distinctive as an international forum where highly developed economies (the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) and many of the world's poorer countries seek to reach agreement by consensus. This aim has sometimes been difficult to achieve, as when disagreements over Rhodesia in the 1970s and over apartheid South Africa in the 1980s led to a cooling of relations between the United Kingdom and African members. The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where Commonwealth presidents or prime ministers assemble for several days to discuss matters of mutual interest. CHOGM is the successor to the Prime Ministers' Conferences and earlier Imperial Conferences and Colonial Conferences dating back to 1887. There are also regular meetings of finance ministers, law ministers, health ministers, etc. The most important statement of the Commonwealth's principles is the 1991 Harare Declaration, which dedicated the organisation to democracy and good government, and allowed for action to be taken against members who breached these principles. Before then the Commonwealth's collective actions had been limited by the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other members.

Benefits of membership and contemporary concerns

The Commonwealth has often been likened to an English gentlemen's club, and the issue of membership - who is and who is not a member of the organisation - often seems to be more important, and certainly attracts much more attention, than what the organisation actually does. This is because the main benefit of membership is the opportunity for close and relatively frequent interaction, on an informal and equal basis, between members who share many ties of language, culture, and history. In its early days, the Commonwealth also constituted a significant economic bloc. Commonwealth countries accorded each others' goods privileged access to their markets ("Commonwealth Preference"), and there was a free or preferred right of migration from one Commonwealth country to another. These rights have been steadily eroded, but their consequences remain. Within most Commonwealth countries, there are substantial communities with family ties to other members of the Commonwealth, going beyond the effects of the original colonization of parts of the Commonwealth by settlers from the British Isles. Furthermore, consumers in Commonwealth countries retain many preferences for goods from other members of the Commonwealth, so that even in the absence of tariff privileges, there continues to be more trade within the Commonwealth than might be predicted. On the United Kingdom's entry to the European Union, the Lomé Convention preserved some of the preferential access rights of Commonwealth goods to the UK market. In more recent decades there has been a mutual decline of interest in maintaining active inter-Commonwealth relations, and the organisation's direct political and economic importance has declined. Realist critics have argued that in the 21st Century the organisation is an inherently arbitrary alliance with members that are united only through a historical accident of British colonialism. They argue that the organisation lacks a balanced membership, and point out that it is very unusual for any international organisation to exclude highly important regions of the world such as most of Western Europe and South America from membership. Indeed, many Commonwealth members look increasingly to regional partners, non-Commonwealth as well as Commonwealth, to form their most important alliances. The United Kingdom has forged closer relationships with other European countries through the European Union; the UK's entry was widely felt as a betrayal by citizens of the "Old Commonwealth" whose economies had been developed on the assumption of access to British markets. Similarly, former British colonies have forged closer relationships with non-Commonwealth trading partners and closer geographic neighbours. Reaction to immigration from the new Commonwealth countries into the United Kingdom in the 1950s and early 1960s led to the restriction of the right of migration. The Commonwealth today mainly restricts itself to encouraging community between nations and to placing moral pressure on members who violate international laws, such as human rights laws, and abandon democratically-elected government. Key activities today include training experts in developing countries and assisting with and monitoring elections. Some Commonwealth countries give Commonwealth citizens privileges that are not accorded to aliens: for example, in the United Kingdom, the right to vote is given to all Commonwealth citizens resident in that country. This is reciprocated mainly in the Commonwealth Caribbean, even to the point where in some of the countries (including the UK) resident Commonwealth citizens may even be elected or appointed to the national legislature. However, these privileges are largely not on a reciprocal basis, and it is up to each country to decide what privileges it accords to Commonwealth citizenship, with the exception of the Commonwealth Scholarship. Other privileges that the United Kingdom grants Commonwealth citizens include access to immigration programmes such as the working holidaymaker visa. Some of the privileges offered by the individual countries have eroded over the last few decades, although most countries continue to afford special treatment in the area of immigration (e.g. right of abode in UK for some) and visas.

Cultural Links

The Commonwealth is also useful as an international organisation that represents significant cultural and historical links between wealthy first-world countries and poorer developing nations with diverse social and religious backgrounds. The common inheritance of the English language and literature, the common law, and British systems of administration all underpin the club-like atmosphere of the Commonwealth. Mostly as a result of their history of British rule, many Commonwealth nations share certain identifiable traditions and customs that are elements of a shared Commonwealth culture. Examples include common sports such as cricket and rugby, driving on the left, parliamentary and legal traditions, and the use of British rather than American spelling conventions (see Commonwealth English). None of these is universal within the Commonwealth countries, nor exclusive to them, but all of them are more common in the Commonwealth than elsewhere. The Commonwealth countries share many links at non-governmental levels, with over a hundred non-governmental organisations that are organised on a Commonwealth wide basis, notably in the areas of sport, culture, education, and other charitable sectors. A multi-sports championship called the Commonwealth Games is held every four years, two years after each Olympic Games. As well as the usual athletic disciplines, the games include sports popular throughout the Commonwealth such as bowls. The Association of Commonwealth Universities is an important vehicle for academic links, particularly through offering scholarships, principally the Commonwealth Scholarship, for students to study in universities in other Commonwealth countries. There are also many non-official associations that bring together individuals who work within the spheres of law and government, such as the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. In recent years the Commonwealth model has inspired similar initiatives on the part of France and Portugal and their respective ex-colonies, and in the former case, other sympathetic governments: the organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese-speaking countries).

Literature

The shared history of British rule has also produced a substantial body of writing in many languages - Commonwealth literature. There is an Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies ([http://www.aclals.org ACLALS]) with nine chapters worldwide. ACLALS holds an international conference every three years. The [http://aclals.org/events/2k4/participants.htm 13th Triennial] was held in Hyderabad, India, in August 2004; the next will be held in 2007 in Calgary, Canada. In 1987, the Commonwealth Foundation established the [http://www.commonwealthwriters.com/ Commonwealth Writers Prize] "to encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin." Caryl Phillips won the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2004 for A Distant Shore. Mark Haddon won the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2004 Best First Book prize worth £3,000 for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Although not affiliated with the Commonwealth in an official manner, the prestigious Booker Prize is awarded annually to an author from a Commonwealth country. This honour is one of the highest in literature.

Commonwealth Business Council

The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was formed at the Edinburgh CHOGM in 1997. The aim was to utilise the global network of the Commonwealth more effectively for the promotion of global trade and investment for shared prosperity. The CBC acts as a bridge for cooperation between business and government, concentrating efforts on these specific areas:
- Enhancing Trade
- Mobilising Investment
- Promoting Corporate Citizenship
- Facilitating ICT for Development
- Public Private Partnerships Commonwealth countries are major stakeholders in the process and success of the Doha Development Agenda. Together the Commonwealth’s 53 member countries account for 30 per cent of the world’s population and about 25 per cent of its international trade and investment. Commonwealth countries account for 40 per cent of WTO membership. CBC’s trade development objectives include encouraging trade facilitation and further liberalisation of services; encouraging developing countries to play an active role in the WTO, and in new trade rounds, by maximising their negotiating strength through cooperative action. The CBC helps to mobilise investment into Commonwealth countries through measures including ensuring access to international capital markets; strengthening 26 domestic capital markets; encouraging regional integration; committing the private sector to work together with governments to help achieve a successful market economy for generating investment. A key feature of CBC is its global membership, comprising corporate members from both developed and developing countries. This gives CBC the capacity to make a special contribution to the debate on corporate citizenship, dominated by developed countries. The CBC has been working to involve private sector engagement in facilitating the implementation of an Information Communications Technologies for Development programme. The CBC programme enhances collaborative partnerships between the various stakeholders including governments, private sector, donor agencies and civil society. Major goals include:
- Bridge the digital divide for both social and economic development.
- Promote ICT for development in Commonwealth countries.
- Promote an experience exchange among stakeholders in Commonwealth countries.
- Promote business and government cooperation for development.
- Create awareness and enhance the knowledge of policy makers regarding economic, technical and legal aspects of implementation of ICT for development.
- Provide and facilitate training and capacity building. CBC believes that there remains a significant gap for independent support to emerging market governments in the structuring and transacting of ICT infrastructure opportunities. The key CBC objectives are:
- Examine how support from highly experienced individuals can assist through the creation of an infrastructure technical advisory unit.
- Provide senior-level government support to provide focused advice.
- Provide mechanisms that will help governments leverage the huge capacity of the private sector to address the demand for better infrastructure. The CBC has a dedicated team, CBC Technologies, based in London focused on the international technology and global services industry throughout the Commonwealth.

List of Commonwealth members

- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by continent
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by date joined
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by name

References

- The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth, by K C Wheare. Clarendon Press, 1960. ISBN 0313236240

External links

- [http://www.thecommonwealth.org The Commonwealth Secretariat]
- [http://www.commonwealth.org.uk/ The Commonwealth Institute, London]
- [http://www.rcsint.org The Royal Commonwealth Society]
- [http://rcs.ca/ The Royal Commonwealth Society (of Canada)]
- [http://empiremuseum.co.uk/ British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, England]
- [http://www.acu.ac.uk/ Association of Commonwealth Universities]
- [http://sas.ac.uk/commonwealthstudies/index.htm University of London Institute of Commonwealth Studies]
- [http://aclals.org Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies]
- [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21707 The Commonwealth as a popular club]
- [http://www.globaled.org.nz/schools/pdfs/factsheets/Commonwealth.pdf What is the Commonwealth]
- [http://www.cpahq.org The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association]
- [http://www.chogm2005.mt The Commonwealth Meeting in Malta, 2005] Category:International organizations Category:Foreign relations of the United Kingdom Category:British Empire Category:Current British colonies Category:Former British colonies ko:영국 연방 ms:Negara-negara Komanwel ja:イギリス連邦

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the

By-election

See also

Election

Definitions of democratic elections

Characteristics of elections

Who can vote

Who is voted for

Types of election

Electoral systems

Scheduling

Election campaigns

Difficulties with elections

Show elections

Bias and limited options

Corruption of democracies

Elections around the world

See also

External links

Resign

List of notable resignations

Recall election

Representative recall

Recall in the Venezuelan constitution of 1999

List of recall elections

See also

Constituencies

Australia

Canada

France

Germany

Hong Kong

Republic of Ireland

Singapore

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

Others

Synonyms

See also

Runoff voting

Voting

An example

Potential for tactical voting

Impact of scattered voting on two-round systems

Impact on factions and candidates

See also

Runoff (election)

Voting

An example

Potential for tactical voting

Impact of scattered voting on two-round systems

Impact on factions and candidates

See also

Commonwealth of Nations

Origins

Membership

Non-members

Suspension

Termination of membership

Organisation and objectives

Benefits of membership and contemporary concerns

Cultural Links

Literature

Commonwealth Business Council

List of Commonwealth members

See also

References

Further Reading

External links

Canada