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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 modern 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. Image File history File links Votingwomen. ...
Politics is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ...
This is a list of politics articles available for every country. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ...
Political science is a social science discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ...
Political philosophy is the study of the fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, property, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should...
An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ...
The history of democracy traces back from its origins in prehistoric times to its reemergance from the 17th century to the present day. ...
Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty was lodged in the assembly of all citizens. ...
Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representants. ...
Participatory democracy is a broadly inclusive term for many kinds of consultative decision making which require consultation on important decisions by those who will carry out the decision. ...
Soviet democracy is a form of democracy in which workers elect representatives in the organs of power called soviets (councils). ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...
The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Liberal democracy History of democracy Representative democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by ideology Representative...
Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion—usually as a final step following discussions or debates. ...
Announcement of elections in Brunate (near Como), Italy A voting system is a process that allows a group of individuals to choose between a number of options, and determines the preferred or winning option based on the number of votes each option receives. ...
Elections by country gives information on elections. ...
This electoral calendar lists the national/federal direct elections in the countries listed in the list of countries. ...
A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ...
This is a list of political parties around the world. ...
Welcome to the index of political parties, an alphabetical list of (mainly) present-day political parties listed in the list of political parties. ...
This is a list of political parties around the world by ideology. ...
This is an overview of the ideologies of parties. ...
Decision making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. ...
Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion—usually as a final step following discussions or debates. ...
A politician is an individual involved in politics to the extent of holding or running for public office. ...
A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ...
A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ...
The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of the system of courts of law for the administration of justice and to its principals, the justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ...
Subnational entity is a generic term for an administrative region within a country — on an arbitrary level below that of the sovereign state — typically with a local government encompassing multiple municipalities, counties, or provinces with a certain degree of autonomy in a varying number of matters. ...
Local governments are administrative offices of an area smaller than a state. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ...
A club is generally an association of people united by a common interest or goal, as opposed to any natural ties of kinship. ...
A voluntary association (also sometimes called just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ...
It has been suggested that Incorporation (business) be merged into this article or section. ...
The universal acceptance of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies is in sharp contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens, where elections were considered an oligarchic institution and where most political offices were filled using sortition. A view of the Acropolis of Athens during the Ottoman period, showing the buildings which were removed at the time of independence The history of Athens is the longest of any city in Europe: Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years. ...
Oligarchy is a political regime where most or all political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, family, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ...
Sortition is the method of random selection, particularly in relation to the selection of decision makers also known as allotment. ...
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). Electoral reform projects seek to change the way that public desires are reflected in elections through electoral systems. ...
Psephology is the statistical study of elections. ...
A graph of a bell curve in a normal distribution showing statistics used in educational assessment, comparing various grading methods. ...
Definitions of democratic elections In political 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. Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. ...
In politics, authority generally refers to the ability to make laws, independent of the power to enforce them, or the ability to permit something. ...
 A poster for the European Parliament election 2004 in Italy, showing party lists 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." Download high resolution version (1760x1168, 561 KB) A husting in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, 2005-02-04 File links The following pages link to this file: Election Oxford United Kingdom general elections Political campaign Elections in the United Kingdom Husting Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom...
Download high resolution version (1760x1168, 561 KB) A husting in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, 2005-02-04 File links The following pages link to this file: Election Oxford United Kingdom general elections Political campaign Elections in the United Kingdom Husting Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom...
Husting (Old English: hiesting; Old Norwegian: hzesthing), the thing or ting, i. ...
Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
Download high resolution version (553x678, 61 KB)announcement of elections in Brunate (near Como), Italy, 2004-06-07. ...
Download high resolution version (553x678, 61 KB)announcement of elections in Brunate (near Como), Italy, 2004-06-07. ...
Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick (born November 19, 1926) is an American conservative political scientist and member of the neoconservative movement. ...
An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ...
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that describes itself as a global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...
This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
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." Democracy Watch (International) is a service organization founded in 2003, based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA with offices in the Washington D.C., area. ...
In politics, an electorate is the group of entities entitled to vote in an election. ...
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth- or other countries with an Anglosaxon type of justice, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, the Supreme...
Image:Chief Justice Gleeson. ...
High Court entrance The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. ...
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. The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure. ...
An Administrator in Commonwealth constitutional practice is a person who, while acting in a gubernatorial capacity, is not accorded a gubernatorial title. ...
Characteristics of elections
Who can vote
 Campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004 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. campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004-06-10. ...
campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004-06-10. ...
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. The first country in the world to allow women to vote was New Zealand, and the second was Finland. An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black), is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...
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Carved mask in Vancouver First Nations is a term for ethnicity used in Canada to replace the word Indian. It refers to the Indigenous peoples of North America located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are not Inuit or Métis. ...
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. A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ...
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. Compulsory voting is a practice that requires citizens to vote in elections or to attend a polling place and get their name crossed off the electoral roll. ...
Who is voted for 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. The separation of powers (or trias politica, coined by French political thinker Montesquieu) is a model for the governance of the state which requires the division of political power between an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. ...
However, there are some counterexamples. In the United States some judges are elected, and in ancient Athens military generals were elected.
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. An elector can be: In the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, the collegiate of seven Electors (eight since 1648) (Kurfürsten) consisted of those lay or clerical princes who had the right to vote in the election of the king or Holy Roman Emperor; see prince-elector. ...
The presidential seal was first used by president Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...
The United States Electoral College is the electoral college that chooses the President and Vice President of the United States at the conclusion of each Presidential election. ...
Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ...
The Westminster System - also called Parliamentary System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the British parliament. ...
Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ...
Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State in many Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Bahamas and many more, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ...
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: 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. This article is about the political process. ...
A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ...
The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...
A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ...
Rules for, and experience with, local elections vary widely across jurisdictions. ...
A co-option or more often co-optation is an election where members of a committee (or similar group) vote in order to fill a vacancy on that committee or group. ...
A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...
In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizens initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance. ...
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. Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty was lodged in the assembly of all citizens. ...
Consensus decision-making is a decision process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also to resolve or mitigate the objections of the minority to achieve the most agreeable decision. ...
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. Announcement of elections in Brunate (near Como), Italy A voting system is a process that allows a group of individuals to choose between a number of options, and determines the preferred or winning option based on the number of votes each option receives. ...
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. There exist various methods through which the ballots cast at an election may be counted, prior to applying a voting system to obtain one or more winners. ...
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. ...
Proportional representation, also known as full representation, is an electoral system in which the overall votes are reflected in the overall outcome of the body or bodies of representatives. ...
Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. ...
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems used in multiple-winner elections (e. ...
The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system in which some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ...
The First Past the Post electoral system, is a voting system for single-member districts. ...
Absolute majority is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority. ...
On an approval ballot, the voter can vote for any number of candidates. ...
This STV ballot for the Australian Senate illustrates group voting tickets. ...
When the single transferable vote voting system is applied to a single-winner election it is sometimes called instant-runoff voting (IRV), as it is much like holding a series of runoff elections in which the lowest polling candidate is eliminated in each round until someone receives majority vote. ...
Any election method conforming to the Condorcet criterion is known as 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. Accountability has several meanings. ...
The Polling by William Hogarth (1755); Before the secret ballot was introduced voter intimidation was commonplace Wikisource has original text related to this article: A History of the Australian Ballot System in the United States The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voters choices are confidential. ...
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. In politics, a mandate is the authority granted by an electorate to act as its representative. ...
The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as...
The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ...
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 (parliamentary system) 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. In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election. ...
A Motion of No Confidence, also called a Motion of Non Confidence, is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ...
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. A political campaign is an effort to reach a certain political goal. ...
In politics, campaign advertising is the use of paid media (newspapers, radio, television, etc. ...
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. Dictatorship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...
A show election or a sham election is an election that is held purely for show, that is, without any significant political purpose. ...
Electoral fraud is the deliberate interference with the process of an election. ...
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 - See also: Criticisms of electoralism.
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. In the U.S., socialist Victor L. Berger was twice denied a seat in the House of Representatives in 1919 because of his anti-war views. Although highly controversial at various points in history, representative democracy (and electoral systems in general) have become the modern civics global-standard. ...
(Redirected from 2004 Iranian parliamentary elections) Elections to the Majlis of Iran were held on February 20, 2004. ...
The Guardian Council of the Constitution (شورای نگهبان قانون اساسی in Persian) is a high office within the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which has the authority to interpret the constitution and to determine if the laws passed by the parliament are in line with the constitution of Iran. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Protestors take to the street in support of Ayatollah Khomeini. ...
Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic...
The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ...
Victor Berger, photograph and caption from a 1920 Literary Digest article Victor Louis (Luitpold) Berger (February 28, 1860 – August 7, 1929) was a United States politician and a founding member of the Socialist Party of America. ...
House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ...
Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ...
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. A public demonstration Freedom of speech is often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies, where it is understood to outlaw censorship. ...
Freedom of assembly is the freedom to associate with, or organize any groups, gatherings, clubs, or organizations that one wishes. ...
Election monitoring is the observing of an election by non-partisan, usually international observers. ...
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. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: ВладиÌмир ВладиÌмирович ПуÌтин, (help· info), VladÃmir VladÃmirovich Pútin; born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician, and the current President of the Russian Federation. ...
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, statistically, only lets preordained views be heard by the public and excludes third parties and alternative viewpoints. They point out that in the U.S., the two big political parties are both sponsored by essentially the same large corporations (such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonnell-Douglas, ...), thereby representing the interests of a tiny minority of citizens (the richest few percent) and no political parties representing the vast majority of relatively poor citizens have any realistic chance of having their political platforms presented to the public through the corporate controlled media. In this sense, they argue that the U.S. has what is in practice a one-party political system. Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...
In any two-party system of politics, a third party is a party other than the two dominant ones. ...
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, SEHK: 4338) is a U.S. software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, with 2005 global annual sales of close to $40 billion USD and about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ...
The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ...
A DC-10, a McDonnell Douglas airplane design McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ...
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. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ...
The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. ...
The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: (help· info)), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ...
A plurality (or relative majority) is the largest share of something, which may or may not be a majority. ...
A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...
Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotelēs 384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, who studied with Plato and taught Alexander the Great. ...
Most democracies have some form of separation of powers mandated by the constitution. This is a device limiting the power of any specific elected body with the aim of preventing elected representatives from changing some of the characteristics of the government. Changing the constitution is made difficult in various ways, such as by requiring a 2/3 majority in two consecutive elected governments for the change to take effect—the actual requirements vary by each constitutional system. The separation of powers (or trias politica, coined by French political thinker Montesquieu) is a model for the governance of the state which requires the division of political power between an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. ...
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 from getting a seat in government. The plurality voting system, also known as first past the post, is a voting system used to elect a single winner in a given election. ...
Proportional representation, also known as full representation, is an electoral system in which the overall votes are reflected in the overall outcome of the body or bodies of representatives. ...
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to get any seats in the parliament. ...
Elections around the world - Further information: List of election results, and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]]
Elections by country gives information on elections. ...
See also The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Liberal democracy History of democracy Referenda Representative democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by ideology...
Bipartidism is a repartition of political power among only two parties or organisations. ...
Demarchy is a term coined by Australian philosopher John Burnheim to describe a political system without the state or bureaucracies, and based instead on randomly selected groups of decision makers. ...
Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. ...
Electoral fraud is the deliberate intentional interference with the process of an election. ...
Although highly controversial at various points in history, representative democracy (and electoral systems in general) have become the modern civics global-standard. ...
Electoral reform projects seek to change the way that public desires are reflected in elections through electoral systems. ...
Foreign governments often have vested interests in other countries. ...
The Garrat Elections were a carnival of mock elections in 18th century Surrey, England. ...
A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by a small clique of leaders, in which the oldest hold the most power. ...
Meritocracy is, as the suffix -cracy implies, a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth, race or other determinants of social position. ...
Pluralism is, in the general sense, the affirmation and acceptance of diversity. ...
A political campaign is an effort to reach a certain political goal. ...
Political science is a social science discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ...
A polling station situated inside a suburban library in the north of Cambridge during the United Kingdom general election, 2005. ...
Sortition is the method of random selection, particularly in relation to the selection of decision makers also known as allotment. ...
Look up allotment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Appointment may refer to a number of things, including the following: An appointment is a time reserved for something such as a doctor visit, much like a reservation. ...
Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. ...
No Voting system can guarantee a clear result all the time, even FPTP. Some close elections, where the winner won a bare majority, or where a third party or independents hold the balance of power include: // Australia 1901-1913 party system yet to crystalise. ...
The European Election Law Association (EURELA) is an international network of scholars dedicated to the study of elections, voting systems and election law. ...
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