Snap election

A snap election is an election called earlier than expected.

Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required (either by law or convention), usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue. It differs from a recall election in that it is initiated by politicians (usually the head of government or ruling party) rather than voters, and from a special election in that the winners will serve an entire term as opposed to the remainder of an already established term.[1][2]

Since the power to call snap elections usually lies with the incumbent, they frequently result in increased majorities for the party already in power having been called at an advantageous time; however, there have been cases of snap elections backfiring and resulting in an opposition party's winning or gaining power. As a result of the latter cases there have been occasions in which the consequences have been the implementation of fixed term elections.

Generally speaking, the Prime Minister under such systems does not have the legal power to call an election, but rather must request the election be called by the head of state. In most countries, the head of state always grants such a request by convention.

Australia

There are three procedures in which elections can be held early in Australia:

Examples of early elections in Australia:

Bangladesh

After Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party five-year term ended in January 1996, the country went to the polls on February 15, 1996, where elections were boycotted by all major opposition parties including BNP'S arch-rival Sheikh Hasina's Awami League. The opposition had demanded a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls, but it was rejected by the incumbent government and the election went on as scheduled. The BNP won by default, grabbing all the 300 seats in the house of parliament and assumed power. The Awami League and its allies did not accept the results and called a month-long general strike and blockades to overthrow the BNP government. The general strike was marred by bloody violence including a grenade attack on Awami League's headquarters which killed scores of people. On the other hand, the Supreme Court annulled the election results which forced the BNP government to amend the constitution in a special parliamentary session by introducing the Caretaker government system as a part of the electoral reform. Eventually the BNP government was toppled and ousted when they resigned on March 31, 1996, and handed over power to the caretaker government. The caretaker government would stay in power for 90 days before new elections could be held. Finally a snap election was held in June 12, 1996, where Awami-League won a simple majority by beating its bitter rival BNP and would stay in power for the next five years.

Belize

According to Section 84 of the Constitution of Belize, the National Assembly must be dissolved "five years from the date when the two Houses of the former National Assembly first met" unless dissolved sooner by the Governor-General of Belize upon the advice of the prime minister.[3]

Since Belize gained independence from Great Britain in September 1981 snap elections have been called twice, in 1993 and 2012. In March 2015 Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow ruled out the possibility of a snap election later in the year. Belize is currently not required to hold general elections until early 2017.[4]

Canada

In Canada, snap elections at the federal level are not uncommon. During his 10 years as Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien recommended to the Governor General of Canada to call two snap elections, in 1997 and 2000, winning both times. Wilfrid Laurier and John Turner, meanwhile, both lost their premierships in snap elections they themselves had called (in 1911 and 1984, respectively). The most notable federal snap election is the Canadian federal election, 1958 where Prime Minister John Diefenbaker called an election just nine months after the previous one and transformed his minority government into the largest majority in the history of Canada up to that date.

A snap election was also called in the province of Ontario in 1990, three years into Premier David Peterson's term. Peterson was polling at 54% and expected to win a large majority. However, the snap election was interpreted as a sign of arrogance, so the tactic backfired. In the biggest upset in Ontario history, the New Democratic Party led by Bob Rae won an unprecedented majority government and Peterson lost his own seat to a rookie NDP candidate. A similar result occurred in Alberta in 2015 when Premier Jim Prentice of the governing Progressive Conservative party called a snap election after 11 opposition MLAs had crossed the floor to sit with the government. The resulting NDP majority victory unseated 13 cabinet ministers and ended 44 years of Progressive Conservative government in Alberta.

Czech Republic

Snap general elections were held in the Czech Republic on 25 and 26 October 2013, seven months before the constitutional expiry of the elected parliament's four year legislative term.

The government elected in May 2010 led by Prime Minister Petr Nečas was forced to resign on 17 June 2013, after a corruption and bribery scandal. A caretaker government led by Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok was then appointed by the President, but narrowly lost a vote of confidence on 7 August, leading to its resignation six days later.[5] The Chamber of Deputies then passed a motion dissolving itself on 20 August, with a call for new elections within 60 days after presidential assent.[6][7] The President gave his assent on 28 August, scheduling the elections for 25 and 26 October 2013.[8]

Denmark

In Denmark, Parliamentary elections take place every fourth year (Danish Constitution art. 32, sec. 1),[9] however the Prime Minister can choose to call an early election at any time, provided that any elected parliament has already been called into session at least once.(Danish Constitution art. 32, sec. 2).[9] If a government loses its majority in the Folketing, this is not automatically a vote of confidence, but such a vote may be called, and - if lost - the government calls a new election. Denmark has a history of coalition minority governments, and due to this system, a party normally providing parliamentary support for the sitting government while not being part of it, can choose to deprive the government of a parliamentary majority regarding a specific vote, but at the same time avoid calling new elections since any vote of no confidence takes place as a separate procedure.

Notably, Denmark faced a number of very short parliaments in the 1970s and the 1980s. Prime Minister Poul Schlüter lead a series of coalition minority governments calling elections in both 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1990. Likewise, his predecessors called elections in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1981. For more than 40 years, no Danish parliament has sat its full four-year term, in all cases, the Prime Minister has called elections at an earlier date.

Germany

In the Federal Republic of Germany, elections to the Bundestag must take place within 46–48 months after the first sitting of the previous chamber. The President of Germany may dissolve the chamber prematurely if the government loses a confidence motion (at the request of the Chancellor), or if no majority government can be formed.

Greece

In 2012, Greece held snap elections in two consecutive months. The government of George Papandreou, elected in the 2009 legislative election, had resigned in November 2011. Instead of triggering an immediate snap election, the government was replaced by a national unity government which had a remit to ratify and implement decisions taken with other Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a month earlier.[10] This government served for six months.

The May 2012 legislative election produced a deadlocked parliament and attempts to form a government were unsuccessful. The constitution directs the president to dissolve a newly elected parliament that is unable to form a government. Ten days after the election, the president announced that a second election would be held.[11] The June 2012 legislative election resulted in the formation of a coalition government.

India

On 17 April 1999, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) coalition government led by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed a to win a confidence vote in the Lok Sabha (India's lower house), falling short a single vote due to the withdrawal of one of the government's coalition partners – the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK). The leader of the ADMK, J. Jayalalitha, had consistently threatened to withdraw support from the ruling coalition if certain demands were not met, in particular the sacking of the Tamil Nadu government, control of which she had lost three years prior. The BJP accused Jayalalitha of making the demands in order to avoid standing trial for a series of corruption charges, and no agreement between the parties could be reached leading to the government's defeat.[13]

Sonia Gandhi, as leader of the opposition and largest opposition party (Indian National Congress) was unable to form a coalition of parties large enough to secure a working majority in the Lok Sabha. Thus shortly after the no confidence motion, President K. R. Narayanan dissolved the Parliament and called fresh elections. Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained caretaker prime minister till the elections were held later that year.[14]

Italy

In Italy, national snap elections have been quite frequent in modern history, both under the Monarchy and in the current republican phase. After the foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the first snap election occurred in 1972 and the latest one in 2008. After significant changes in the election system (in 1992–93), the frequency of snap elections has been slightly reduced since new regulations granted completion of two of four parliamentary terms. Nonetheless, snap elections still play a role in the political debate as tools considered by political parties and the Executive branch to promote their agenda or to seize political momentum. No recall election is codified in electoral regulations. The Italian President is not required to call for a snap election, even if the Prime Minister asks for it (President Scalfaro denied snap election to Prime Minister Berlusconi after the loss of confidence in 1994), provided that the Parliament is able to form a new working majority.

Japan

In Japan, a snap election is called when a Prime Minister dissolves the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The act is based on Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan, which can be interpreted as saying that the Prime Minister has the power to dissolve the lower house after so advising the Emperor. One such occurrence was the general election of 11 September 2005, called by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi after the Diet rejected his plan to privatize Japan Post. Koizumi won a resounding victory, and the privatization bill was passed in the next session.

Luxembourg

Early general elections were held in Luxembourg on 20 October 2013.[15] The elections were called after Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, at the time the longest serving head of government in the European Union, announced his resignation over a spy scandal involving the Service de Renseignement de l'Etat (SREL).[16][17] The review found Juncker deficient in his control over the service.[17]

After a spy scandal involving the SREL illegallly wiretapping politicians, the Grand Duke and his family, and allegations of paying for favours in exchange for access to government ministers and officials leaked through the press, Prime Minister Juncker submitted his resignation to the Grand Duke on 11 July 2013, upon knowledge of the withdrawal of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party from the government and thereby losing its confidence and supply in the Chamber of Deputies. Juncker urged the Grand Duke for the immediate dissolution of parliament and the calling of a snap election.[16]

Netherlands

A snap general election was held in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012[18] after Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix on 23 April. The 150 seats of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands were contested using party-list proportional representation. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) received a plurality of the votes, followed by the Labour Party (PvdA).

Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government fell after the Party for Freedom (PVV), which had supported the government from outside, refused to sanction the austerity measures the government sought in April 2012.[19] This called for a new early election to be held in September 2012. It is the fourth early election in a row since the Second Kok cabinet fell very near the end of its mandate, which allowed that government to keep the election date to be held as scheduled by the term in May 2002. Early elections were subsequently held in January 2003, November 2006, June 2010 and September 2012. And during that time a total of five governments ended prematurely, as it was possible for the Third Balkenende cabinet (July–November 2006) to be formed without a new election.

New Zealand

Although New Zealand elections must be held about every three years, the exact timing is determined by the Prime Minister, and elections are sometimes held early if the Prime Minister loses the ability to command a majority of parliament or feels the need for a fresh mandate.

New Zealand has had three snap elections, in 1951, 1984 and 2002.

1951 election

The 1951 snap election occurred immediately after the 1951 waterfront dispute, in which the National Party government sided with shipping companies against a militant union, while the Labour opposition equivocated and thus annoyed both sides. The government was returned with an increased majority.

1984 election

The 1984 snap election occurring during a term in which the National Party government had a majority of only one seat. An election was called by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon after he lost patience with his less obedient MPs. Announcing the election to national television while visibly drunk, Muldoon's government subsequently lost and the Labour Party took power.

2002 election

On 12 June 2002 the Labour Party Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that the country would have a general election on 27 July 2002. Clark claimed that an early poll was necessary due to the collapse of her junior coalition partner, the Alliance, but denied it was a snap election.

The early election caused considerable comment. Critics claimed that Clark could have continued to govern, and that the early election was called to take advantage of Labour's strong position in the polls.[20] Some commentators believe that a mixture of these factors was responsible.

The National Party was caught unprepared by the election and suffered its worst ever result (20.9% of the party (popular) vote), and the government was returned with an increased majority.

Pakistan

Khan and Sharif then began to battle for control of Pakistan for the next two months. They both attempted to secure control over the regional assemblies and in particular, Punjab. In Punjab this saw a staged kidnapping and the moving of 130 members of the Punjab Assembly to the capital to ensure they stayed loyal to Sharif. Meanwhile, the leader of the main opposition party Benazir Bhutto threatened to lead a march on Islamabad unless new elections were called.[22]

Finally on the 18 July, under pressure from the army to resolve the power struggle, Sharif and Khan resigned as Prime Minister and President respectively. Elections for the National Assembly were called for the 6 October with elections for the regional assemblies set to follow shortly afterwards.[22][25]

A former speaker and member of the PPP Miraj Khalid was appointed interim prime minister. The National Assembly and provincial assemblies were dissolved and elections called for 3 February 1997.[29] Bhutto denied all the charges against herself and petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse her dismissal. However, the court ruled in January that there was sufficient evidence for the dismissal to be justified legally.[30]

Philippines

In the Philippines, the term "snap election" usually refers to the 1986 presidential election, where President Ferdinand Marcos called elections earlier than scheduled, in response to growing social unrest. Marcos was declared official winner of the election but was eventually ousted when it was alleged that he cheated in the elections.

The reasons for the calling of the snap election are because of political and economic crisis, political instability in the country and deteriorating peace and order situation.

In the current constitution, a snap election will be held for the positions of president and vice president on the condition that both positions are vacant and the next scheduled presidential election is more than 18 months away.[31]

As the Philippines uses the presidential system with fixed terms, Congress can't be dissolved. This means "snap elections" as understood under the parliamentary system cannot be invoked.

Slovakia

A snap general election took place in Slovakia on 10 March 2012 to elect 150 members of the Národná rada. The election followed the fall of Prime Minister Iveta Radičová's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party-led coalition in October 2011 over a no confidence vote her government had lost because of its support for the European Financial Stability Fund. Amidst a major corruption scandal involving local center-right politicians, former Prime Minister Robert Fico's Direction – Social Democracy won an absolute majority of seats.

Slovenia

A parliamentary election for the 90 deputies to the National Assembly of Slovenia was held on 4 December 2011.[32] This was the first early election in Slovenia's history. 65.60% of voters cast their vote.[33] The election was surprisingly won by the center-left Positive Slovenia party, led by Zoran Janković. However, he failed to be elected as the new Prime Minister in the National Assembly,[34] and the new government was formed by a right-leaning coalition of five parties, led by Janez Janša, the president of the second-placed Slovenian Democratic Party.[34][35][36] he National Assembly consists of 90 members, elected for a four-year term, 88 members elected by the party-list proportional representation system with D'Hondt method and 2 members elected by ethnic minorities (Italians and Hungarians) using the Borda count.[37]

The election was previously scheduled to take place in 2012, four years after the 2008 election. However, on 20 September 2011, the government led by Borut Pahor fell after a vote of no confidence.[38]

As stated in the Constitution, the National Assembly has to elect a new Prime Minister within 30 days and a candidate has to be proposed by either members of the Assembly or the President of the country within seven days after the fall of a government.[39] If this does not happen, the president dissolves the Assembly and calls for a snap election. The leaders of most parliamentary political parties expressed opinion that they preferred an early election instead of forming a new government.[40]

As no candidates were proposed by the deadline, the President Danilo Türk announced that he would dissolve the Assembly on 21 October and that the election would take place on 4 December.[32] The question arose as to whether the President could dissolve the Assembly after the seven days, in the event that no candidate was proposed. However, since this situation is not covered in the constitution, the decision of the President to wait the full 30 days was welcomed by the political parties.[41] The dissolution of the Assembly, a first in independent Slovenia, took place on October 21, a minute after midnight.[42]

Spain

The 2011 Spanish general election took place on Sunday, 20 November, to elect the 10th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. At stake were all 350 seats to the Congress of Deputies and 208 of 266 seats to the Senate. The Cortes were dissolved and the general election called by King Juan Carlos I on 26 September,[43] at the request of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who had already announced his intention to call for a snap election on 28 July.[44]

Sweden

The Instrument of Government (Regeringsformen) in the Constitution of Sweden allows an "extra election". The wording is used to make clear it does not change the period to the next ordinary election, and the Members of Parliament (riksdagsledamöter) elected merely serve out what remains of the four-year parliamentary term.

Elections are called by the government. Elections are also to be held if the parliament fails to elect a prime minister in its fourth attempt. Elections may not otherwise be called during the first three months of the parliament's first session after a general election. Elections may not be called by a prime minister who has resigned or been discharged.

Thailand

Ukraine

In Ukraine a snap poll must have a voter turnout higher than 50%.[46]

United Kingdom

The conditions for when a snap election can be called have been significantly restricted by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 to occasions when the government loses a confidence motion or when a 2/3 majority of MPs vote in favour. Prior to this, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had the de facto power to call an election at will by requesting a dissolution from the monarch. There was no fixed period for holding elections, although since 1997 there has been a convention that the government should hold elections alongside the local elections on the first Thursday of May. Since World War II, no election has been held at the latest possible date.

The following elections were called by a voluntary decision of the government less than four years into their term:

The following elections were forced by a motion of no confidence against the will of the government:

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