Unionists suffer major losses in Northern Ireland
Irish unionists have suffered a near-disastrous election in Northern Ireland, losing 16 seats in the Assembly, and coming very close to conceding the post of First Minister to their main nationalist opponents, … Continue reading
Northern Ireland returns to the polls
Voters in Northern Ireland will drag themselves to the polls today, less than a year on from their previous election. Since 1998 the Northern Irish have elected a legislative Assembly … Continue reading
Is Trump’s ‘negative mandate’ the lowest ever?
An analysis in the New York Times has given Donald Trump’s selection as US president among the lowest ‘mandates’ of popular support in US history. Times’ writers Jugal Patel and … Continue reading
Hillary Clinton’s ironic undefeated vote record
Over the space of the past 16 years, US Democratic politician Hillary Clinton ran for five major public elections – including two party presidential nominations – in none of which was … Continue reading
Austrian presidential vote was a rejection of major party politics
Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen’s re-win in the re-run of the ballot for President of Austria has calmed European nerves, with his final victory over the far-right Freedom Party’s … Continue reading
Maine voters endorse preferential choice voting
Amidst the drama of the historic presidential election on November 8, voters in the US state of Maine endorsed a ballot measure to adopt preferential voting. Using a public referendum, Maine … Continue reading
Italians dump their Prime Minister’s electoral reform plan
A failed attempt at electoral reform by referendum has resulted in the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi. Italy’s constitutional system has the unique feature of the government … Continue reading
Americans are voting, perhaps in record numbers
Across America – and around the world – there is the clattering sound of dice rolling today. And the dice are loaded. All forecasters agree that Hillary Clinton is much more … Continue reading
More choices for US president – how easy it could be
American voters are this week facing a choice of president between two candidates that most voters reject – Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It doesn’t need to be that way. America’s voters could have … Continue reading
Americans have little control over their Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is the first institution described in detail in the text of the US Constitution, but it normally comes a distant third behind the presidency … Continue reading
On Elections 