On Elections

How people elect parliaments

Pro-EU government survives in Bulgaria

The Bulgarians have snuck an early election into the 2017 calendar, after their governing party lost control of the nation’s presidency and parliament late in 2016. The Bulgarian Narodno Sabranie (National … Continue reading

March 28, 2017 · Leave a comment

German state swings right, but not far-right

Voters in the small German state of Saarland have swung behind national Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party. The centre-right CDU party will fall just short of a majority in … Continue reading

March 27, 2017 · Leave a comment

First German test for the far-right

Elections in Germany during 2017 begin this weekend with the poll for the state assembly of Saarland. All eyes will be on the performance of the far-right Alternative for Germany … Continue reading

March 26, 2017 · 1 Comment

Anti-immigrant revolt fails to fire in the Netherlands

The results of yesterday’s election in the Netherlands have seen several realignments, but did not see the rise of the populist anti-immigrant political right that had been predicted for several … Continue reading

March 16, 2017 · 1 Comment

Dutch first to vote on populist challenge

Voters in the Netherlands will tomorrow elect their national parliament, possibly making the nationalist and populist Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders the largest faction in a deeply divided chamber. … Continue reading

March 15, 2017 · 2 Comments

Removal from elected office takes out innocent colleague

A Melbourne City Councilor, one of nine originally elected in last year’s election under the single transferable vote system (STV), has been removed from office after a technical – and … Continue reading

March 15, 2017 · 1 Comment

Australian electoral review baulks at clean foreign donations reform

The Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters today released another part of its report on the conduct of the 2016 election. The multi-partisan panel, formed after every election … Continue reading

March 10, 2017 · Leave a comment

Struggle over Melbourne City election countback

A complex legal dispute is underway about the proper manner to replace a Melbourne City Councillor, initially declared to be elected in 2016 but later to discovered to be ineligible to run. The … Continue reading

March 10, 2017 · Leave a comment

Unfair voting system in Australia’s West

Voters in the Australian state of Western Australia are about to elect a Legislative Council using a built-in mechanism to bias the election in favour of non-urban voters. Voters go … Continue reading

March 9, 2017 · 2 Comments

Northern Irish well-represented

The Northern Ireland Assembly, re-elected last week, is one of the most representative legislatures in the world, with over 82% of those who voted represented by their preferred political party. … Continue reading

March 9, 2017 · 2 Comments