Senators will allocate terms of office to themselves
In August, when the newly elected Australian Senate first meets, the senators will face a task with an unusual degree of political and personal seat-interest. A decision must be made dividing … Continue reading
New senators will have unequal voter support
Some of the newly elected Australian Senators will need to brace themselves for a new form of abuse: being denounced as “unrepresentative ‘below-quota’ swill”, to paraphrase Paul Keating’s famous quote. … Continue reading
Independents could win in divided communities
With polling suggesting that Australians will vote for minor parties and independents at record levels in today’s election, records may also fall for the lowest first preference vote that goes … Continue reading
Only 1 in 3 Australians will influence election of House
Australian voters will elect their national House of Representatives and their Senate this weekend. In electing the House – where governments are formed – around two-thirds of voters will have virtually … Continue reading
Brexit may lead to higher political engagement
The UK Brexit vote looks set to become one of the major world democratic events of the decade. While the event has dramatically divided the nation along lines of geography … Continue reading
It’s Clinton
As was widely expected, Hillary Clinton has wrapped up the Democratic party nomination for US president, winning four of the final six state contests – including the ballot in California – … Continue reading
Australians rush to enrol, but not all are equal
Nearly 15.7 million Australians are enrolled to vote at the July 2 federal election, according to the final official tally after enrolment closed on 23 May. The voters’ names make … Continue reading
Independent wins Austrian presidency
Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen has been elected as the next President of Austria by a slim 31,000 votes over the anti-immigrant Freedom Party’s Norbert Hofer. The result – … Continue reading
Austrian presidential vote a virtual tie
Yesterday’s presidential election in Austria is hanging in the balance, with the leading broadcaster projecting a virtual 50/50 tie. The result will either bring in Europe’s first far-right nationalist elected head of … Continue reading
Could senators lose a year of their terms?
A reader of this site – Reg Jones – has sent in a comment/query suggesting that there may be some defect in the Australian government’s calculation that the state senators … Continue reading
On Elections 