A by-election , also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines , and a mother side argued as by-election or a bypoll in India , is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections .
65-653: Manuel García Prieto Liberal Democratic Antonio Maura Maurist The 1918 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 24 February (for the Congress of Deputies ) and on Sunday, 10 March 1918 (for the Senate ), to elect the 17th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period . All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in
130-509: A first-past-the-post system at the time, the conservative vote was split between the Country and Nationalists, allowing Labor candidate Edwin Corboy to come in first place and win the seat. The Swan by-election is cited as the reason for the introduction of preferential voting , to prevent Labor from benefiting from a divided opposition in the future. The 2018 Wentworth by-election was held after
195-518: A plurality in each constituency were elected. In constituencies electing ten seats or more, electors could vote for no more than four candidates less than the number of seats to be allocated; in those with more than eight seats and up to ten, for no more than three less; in those with more than four seats and up to eight, for no more than two less; in those with more than one seat and up to four, for no more than one less; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Additionally, in those districts where
260-521: A snap election . There was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate, nor for the elective part of the Senate to be renewed in its entirety except in the case that a full dissolution was agreed by the monarch. Still, there was only one case of a separate election (for the Senate in 1877) and no half-Senate elections taking place under the 1876 Constitution. The Cortes were officially dissolved on 10 January 1918, with
325-645: A by-election before the legislature's first session . Clark was successful and remained in government until 2017 . In the March 2018 Hong Kong by-elections , the pro-democracy camp lost their majority status for the first time in the Geographical constituency part of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong By-elections were held after six pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified by the High Court of Hong Kong during
390-470: A by-election should be called for any vacancy arising from a constituency - particularly Single Member Constituency - within a reasonable time period. Since the introduction of partial self-governance in 1955, 34 by-elections have been held, and some have been major upsets: A by-election held in Dublin South-West during 2014 provided a very surprising upset. The Sinn Féin candidate, Cathal King,
455-550: A by-election was in 1975, when Minister of Communications Pierre Juneau was appointed to Pierre Trudeau 's Liberal cabinet directly from the private sector, and tried to enter parliament through a by-election in Hochelaga . Juneau unexpectedly lost to the Progressive Conservative candidate and resigned from cabinet 10 days after his by-election defeat. In Alberta, Premier Don Getty lost his seat ( Edmonton-Whitemud ) in
520-661: A by-election. This is done, for example, in the Dáil of the Republic of Ireland (STV), in the Parliament of Vanuatu (SNTV), and in the Senate of the Philippines (Pl. AL). In those systems, alternatives to holding a by-election include: For the Australian Senate (in which each state forms a multi-member constituency elected via single transferable vote ), the state parliament appoints
585-580: A distinct name ( e.g. , supplementary election , as in Australia ). The procedure for filling a vacant seat in the House of Commons of England was developed during the Reformation Parliament of the 16th century by Thomas Cromwell ; previously a seat had remained empty upon the death of a member. Cromwell devised a new election that would be called by the king at a time of the king's choosing. This made it
650-520: A key role in the system of el turno pacífico (English: the Peaceful Turn ) by appointing and dismissing governments and allowing the opposition to take power. Under this system, the major political parties of the time, the conservatives and the liberals —characterized as elite parties with loose structures and dominated by internal factions led by powerful individuals—alternated in power by means of election rigging , which they achieved through
715-557: A minority party needs to gain one or more seats in order to gain official party status or the balance of power in a minority or coalition situation. For example, Andrea Horwath 's win in an Ontario provincial by-election in 2004 allowed the Ontario New Democratic Party to regain official party status with important results in terms of parliamentary privileges and funding. In 1996 in the Australian state of Queensland
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#1732884464750780-521: A motion of no confidence in the government. After the motion or no confidence Rob Borbidge the leader of the Nationals the senior partner in the coalition became premier until his government's defeat in the 1998 state election . Non-experts often interpret by-election results as a bellwether or early indicator of the results of the next general election, but political scientists generally caution against overinterpretation. The evidence suggests that while
845-453: A nearly perfect bicameral system. Both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate had legislative, control and budgetary functions, sharing equal powers except for laws on contributions or public credit, where the Congress had preeminence. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of compulsory , universal manhood suffrage , which comprised all national males over 25 years of age, having at least
910-461: A primary will also be held to determine which candidates will represent the major parties. When one seat in a multi-member constituency becomes vacant, the consequences vary. For example, a by-election may be held to fill just the vacancy, all the seats in the constituency could be contested in the by-election, or the vacancy could be filled by other means. Typically, party-list proportional representation systems do not hold by-elections. Instead,
975-508: A replacement in the event of a vacancy; in 1977 a referendum amended the Constitution to require that the person appointed must belong to the same political party (if any) as the Senator originally elected to that seat. The states with an upper house elected via STV (NSW, Victoria, and South Australia) use the same method, except for Western Australia, which holds a recount of ballots to determine
1040-450: A result, with confidence in his government undermined, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King called the 1945 federal election several weeks later; originally he had intended to postpone the election until the war was clearly won. McNaughton sought a seat in the 1945 contest but was again defeated, and resigned shortly after. The most recent example of a cabinet minister appointed from outside parliament having to resign after losing
1105-462: A seat in the House of Representatives , state legislature , or local legislature becomes vacant. At the federal level, the U.S. Constitution requires that vacancies in the House of Representatives be filled with a special election (unlike the Senate , where it is up to law of the state involved to determine how the vacancy is filled). In most cases where a vacancy is filled through a special election,
1170-460: A simple matter to ensure the seat rewarded an ally of the crown. During the eighteen-year Cavalier Parliament of Charles II , which lasted from 1661 to 1679, by-elections were the primary means by which new members entered the House of Commons. By-elections are held in most nations that elect their parliaments through single-member constituencies , whether with or without a runoff round. This includes most Commonwealth countries, such as
1235-424: A switch from mixed single vote , where a single set of votes was used for both constituency and list seats, to a conventional two-vote mixed member proportional system - a change which granted constituency members an electoral mandate distinct from the party's list seats. By-elections are now only held if a vacancy arises in a constituency seat and there is no associated party list with which to fill it – typically, if
1300-639: A test of the Liberal government's popularity with a general election due in less than a year. In Hong Kong, in January 2010, five members of the Legislative Council from the Pro-democracy camp , one from each of Hong Kong's five geographical constituencies, resigned and stood in simultaneous by-elections, at which the entire electorate would participate, in an attempt to stage a de facto referendum on democratizing
1365-605: A test of this concept, and his upset victory convinced the CCF and the labour movement to launch the New Democratic Party (NDP). Gilles Duceppe 's 1990 upset landslide by-election victory in Laurier—Sainte-Marie with 66% of the vote on behalf of the newly formed Bloc Québécois was the first electoral test for what was initially a loose parliamentary formation created two months earlier after several Quebec MPs defected from
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#17328844647501430-450: A two-year residency in a municipality and in full enjoyment of their civil rights. Those older than 70, the clergy, first instance judges and public notaries were exempt from this obligation. For the Congress of Deputies, 98 seats were elected using a partial block voting system in 28 multi-member constituencies, with the remaining 311 being elected under a one-round first-past-the-post system in single-member districts. Candidates winning
1495-442: A vacancy may be filled by a method other than a by-election (such as the outgoing member's party nominating a replacement) or the office may be left vacant. These elections can be held anytime in the country. An election to fill a vacancy created when a general election cannot take place in a particular constituency (such as if a candidate dies shortly before election day) may be called a by-election in some jurisdictions, or may have
1560-402: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . By-election A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumbent dying or resigning, or when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office (because of a recall , a prohibited dual mandate , criminal conviction, or failure to maintain a minimum attendance), or when an election is invalidated by voting irregularities. In some cases
1625-472: The encasillado , using the links between the Ministry of Governance , the provincial civil governors and the local bosses ( caciques ) to ensure victory and exclude minor parties from the power sharing. Manuel Garc%C3%ADa Prieto Manuel García Prieto, 1st Marquis of Alhucemas (5 November 1859 – 8 March 1938) was a Spanish politician who served as prime minister several times in his life and as
1690-745: The 1989 Alberta general election despite his party winning a majority. To re-enter the Legislative Assembly, fellow caucus member Brian Downey of Stettler resigned so Getty could run in a by-election. Getty was elected, and remained MLA for that riding until resigning as premier and MLA in 1992. In Ontario , John Tory , leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario ran in a 2009 by-election in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock , after he convinced one of his caucus members to step down, in hopes of re-entering
1755-642: The Conscription Crisis of 1944 . A by-election was arranged in Grey North which the opposition Progressive Conservative party contested. The major campaign issue became the government's policy of "limited conscription" during World War II, which McNaughton supported, and which the Conservatives rejected. They called, instead, for "full conscription". McNaughton was defeated in the February 5, 1945 by-election. As
1820-569: The House of Representatives of Japan (elected under parallel voting). If a vacancy arises in a party list seat, it would be filled in the manner usual for party-list proportional systems; for example, on the resignation of Darren Hughes from the Parliament of New Zealand in March 2011, Louisa Wall filled the seat after all the five candidates above her on the New Zealand Labour Party 's list declined it. Exceptions to this rule exist: In
1885-654: The Massachusetts special election to the United States Senate . Coakley, a Democrat , had been widely expected to win, but Brown unexpectedly closed the gap and won, a shocking result in the heavily-Democratic state of Massachusetts. This eliminated the Democratic Party's filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes. Another upset occurred in the 2017 special election in Alabama , one of the most heavily Republican states in
1950-467: The Ontario legislature . His by-election defeat resulted in his resignation as party leader. In British Columbia , sitting Premier Christy Clark lost her seat in the 2013 British Columbia general election . In order to remain in the legislature , she convinced her fellow caucus member Ben Stewart of Westside-Kelowna to resign as an MLA twenty-two days after the general election, so Clark could run in
2015-738: The United Kingdom , Canada , Australia and New Zealand , as well as non-Commonwealth countries such as France and Italy (until 2006). However, in some cases, such as the French National Assembly , by-elections are only used to fill some vacancies, with the others being filled by the assumption of a seat by a running mate nominated by the vacator. In the United States, these contests have been called "special elections" because they do not always occur on Election Day like regular congressional elections. Special elections are held when
1918 Spanish general election - Misplaced Pages Continue
2080-516: The oath-taking controversy . The pro-democracy camp was considered safe in the de facto first past the post by-election because both pro-democracy camp and pro-Beijing camp would only nominate one candidate to fill in the by-election. However, the pro-democracy camp lost twice in Kowloon West , which had been considered a safe seat for them. Under Article 49(1) of the Constitution of Singapore ,
2145-542: The 30th Solicitor General of Spain . He was a member of the Liberal Party . During his last term, he was deposed by Miguel Primo de Rivera . Born on 5 November 1859 in Astorga , province of León . Formed in the law firm of Eugenio Montero Ríos , García Prieto entered the former's cacique network and married one of his daughters, María Victoria. Following the assassination of Prime Minister José Canalejas in 1912, and
2210-614: The Conservatives' Arthur Meighen (who had already served as Prime Minister during the 1920s) sought to re-enter the House of Commons of Canada through a by-election in York South . His surprise defeat at the hand of Joseph Noseworthy of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation ended his political career, and may also have been a factor in the Conservative Party's decision to move to the left and rebrand itself
2275-479: The German Bundestag , which uses mixed-member proportional representation, by-elections were originally held upon the vacancy of any constituency seat. This was changed in January 1953, since which time vacancies in constituency seats have been filled by the next candidate on the state list of the party which won the seat, in the same manner as vacancies among list seats. Confusingly, this change occurred alongside
2340-682: The Hong Kong political system. The effect of the manoeuvre was blunted when the Pro-Beijing camp refused to stand candidates against them. The 1918 Swan by-election was held following the death of John Forrest . The seat was traditionally a safe seat for the Nationalist Party against the Labor Party , but the emergence of the Country Party lead to a "three-cornered contest" . As Australia used
2405-503: The Progressive Conservative Party under Meighen's replacement. Noseworthy's victory was also a significant breakthrough for the CCF giving it credibility as a national party where it has previously been seen as a Western Canadian regional protest party. On November 1, 1944, General Andrew McNaughton was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Defence without having a seat in parliament, after his predecessor resigned during
2470-621: The Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties to protest the failure of the Meech Lake Accord and provided the first indication that the party could be a serious force in the province of Quebec. On the strength of the by-election victory, the BQ went on to be officially formed as a party in 1991 and win 54 seats in the 1993 federal election, enough to form the Official Opposition. By-elections may occur singly or in small bunches, especially if
2535-720: The Senate. The election was held in the wake of the Spanish crisis of 1917 , a series of events that threatened the government and the Restoration system by posing a three-way challenge: military (the Defence Juntas , a military union movement created without the approval of the Spanish legislature), political (the Assembly of Parliamentarians in Barcelona demanding a recognition of regional autonomy) and social (the 1917 general strike in response to
2600-822: The Sinn Féin candidate in attracting transfers. Murphy then took his seat in the 31st Dáil . As a direct result of this defeat in the by-election, Sinn Féin hardened their stance against Irish Water and called for the complete abolition of water charges in Ireland. In 1965, the British Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker stood in the Leyton by-election for election to the UK Parliament , having been defeated in controversial circumstances in Smethwick at
2665-408: The authority responsible for calling them has discretion over the timing and can procrastinate. They are sometimes bunched to save money, as holding multiple by-elections is likely to cost more than holding a by-election to fill the vacancies all at once. In Canada, in 1978, 15 by-elections were held on a single date , restoring the House of Commons to 264 members. The media called it a "mini-election",
1918 Spanish general election - Misplaced Pages Continue
2730-578: The by-election was independent candidate Kerryn Phelps . A huge 17.7% two-party-preferred swing was required for the Liberal Party to lose the seat. Ultimately, the Liberals suffered a 19.0% swing to Phelps, the largest by-election swing in Australian history, which won her the seat. This loss deprived the Liberal Party of its majority in federal Parliament, forcing them into a minority government . In 1942,
2795-517: The dissolution decree setting the election dates for 24 February (for the Congress) and 10 March 1918 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 18 March. The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a constitutional monarchy , awarding the monarch power to name senators and to revoke laws, as well as the title of commander-in-chief of the army. The monarch would also play
2860-466: The effect of presidential approval on special election outcomes has increased in magnitude from 1995 to 2014, with the 2002 midterm representing an important juncture in the nationalization of special elections." Seats which have unexpectedly changed hands in by-elections often revert to the former party in the next general election. One reason for this is that voter turnout at by-elections tends to be lower and skewed toward highly motivated supporters of
2925-488: The elective part of the Senate—expired five years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 9 April and 23 April 1916, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 9 April and 23 April 1921, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call
2990-573: The ensuing factional division within the Liberal Party, García-Prieto led the so-called demócrata ("democratic") minority, rival of the romanonista majority. On 27 November 1912, he and French ambassador to Spain Léon Geoffray signed the Treaty between France and Spain regarding Morocco , which established de jure Spanish zones of influence in northern and southern Morocco , both zones already under de facto Spanish control, while France remained
3055-1118: The first class; Captain Generals of the Army and the Navy Admiral ; the Patriarch of the Indies and archbishops ; and the presidents of the Council of State , the Supreme Court , the Court of Auditors , the Supreme War Council and the Supreme Council of the Navy, after two years of service—as well as senators for life (who were appointed by the Monarch). The term of each chamber of the Cortes—the Congress and one-half of
3120-403: The former member was elected as an independent . This is referred to as a substitute election ( Ersatzwahl ). Since no independents have been elected to the Bundestag since the first legislative period, no such substitute election has ever taken place. By-elections can be crucial when the ruling party has only a small majority. In parliamentary systems , party discipline is often so strong that
3185-507: The governing party or coalition can only lose a vote of no confidence after losing enough supporters, whether by floor-crossing or through losing by-elections, for it to become a minority government . Examples are the Labour government of James Callaghan 1976–1979 and Conservative government of John Major 1992–1997 . In the United States Senate , Scott Brown's election in 2010 ended the filibuster -proof supermajority formerly enjoyed by Democrats . By-elections can also be important if
3250-427: The margin of victory relative to the district's normal performance may be relevant, other indicators generally provide stronger evidence with a larger sample size. A 2016 study of special elections to the United States House of Representatives found "that while candidate characteristics affect special election outcomes, presidential approval is predictive of special election outcomes as well. Furthermore, we find that
3315-456: The most successful unelected candidate named on the vacator's list fills the vacancy automatically. However, Turkey is an exception, as it holds by-elections when too many seats become vacant in the parliament (as in 1986 ) or a repeat vote has to be held (as in 2003 ). In multi-member district systems that do not employ party lists – single transferable vote , single non-transferable vote and plurality at-large – vacancies may be filled by
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#17328844647503380-448: The new winner, with sitting members retaining their seats. Mixed-member proportional representation , additional member , and parallel voting systems, in which some members are chosen by party lists and some from single-member constituencies, usually hold by-elections to fill a vacancy in a constituency seat; for example, the assassination of Shinzo Abe resulted in a by-election in Yamaguchi's 4th district , which Abe represented in
3445-454: The number of candidates was equal or less than the number of seats up for election, candidates were to be automatically elected. The Congress was entitled to one member per each 50,000 inhabitants, with each multi-member constituency being allocated a fixed number of seats. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated throughout the legislature. As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency
3510-535: The opposition conservative bloc under Eduardo Dato beinge able to muster a parliamentary majority. Amid growing unstability, the feeling that no one was willing or able to seize power and the threat of a possible abdication of King Alfonso XIII , a national unity government was formed between the Conservative , Liberal Democratic , Liberal , Liberal Left , Maurist and Regionalist League parties with Antonio Maura as new prime minister. The Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on
3575-411: The opposition party. By-election upsets can have a psychological impact by creating a sense of momentum for one party or a sense of impending defeat for a government. For example, in Canada, Deborah Grey 's 1989 by-election victory in Beaver River was seen as evidence that the newly formed Reform Party of Canada would be a serious political contender and that it posed a serious political threat for
3640-475: The previous year's general election . His appointment as a senior minister while not a member of either house of Parliament was against convention, and he therefore sought to regularise the position by standing in the first available by-election, which was at Leyton in January 1965. However a strong swing against Labour resulted in Gordon Walker's defeat: as a result, he resigned as Foreign Secretary. In 2010, Republican Scott Brown defeated Martha Coakley in
3705-423: The primary colonial power as the sole non-Moroccan state signatory of the 1912 Treaty of Fes . Within the cadres of the Liberal party, the Marquis of Alhucemas espoused just like Miguel Villanueva the policy of neutrality of Spain during World War I , forcing pro-ally Romanones to resign as Prime Minister in 1917. He died in San Sebastián on 8 March 1938. This Spanish diplomat-related article
3770-496: The remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 150. The remaining 30 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each—the archdioceses of Burgos , Granada , Santiago de Compostela , Seville , Tarragona , Toledo , Valencia , Valladolid and Zaragoza ; the Royal Spanish Academy ; the royal academies of History , Fine Arts of San Fernando , Exact and Natural Sciences , Moral and Political Sciences and Medicine ;
3835-437: The resignation of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull , who had served as the member for Wentworth since 2004. Wentworth was considered an exceptionally safe seat for the Liberal Party , as it had only ever been held by the Liberal Party and its predecessor parties since its creation in 1901. Former Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma was preselected as the Liberal Party's candidate for the by-election. The major challenger in
3900-409: The ruling Progressive Conservatives . Similarly, the upset 1960 by-election victory of Walter Pitman in Peterborough as a " New Party " candidate was a significant boost for the movement to replace the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation with an unnamed "New Party" which would be integrated with the labour movement. Pitman's candidacy in a riding in which the CCF was traditionally weak was seen as
3965-400: The seat of Mundingburra where in the 1995 state election Wayne Goss and his Labor Party won by a slim 45-seat majority in a 89-seat parliament. The seat was decided by 16 votes but due to difficulties and irregularities in the voting led to a by-election where the rival Liberal Party won the seat pushing Goss' government in minority and with Independent Liz Cunningham teaming up to push
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#17328844647504030-404: The universities of Madrid , Barcelona , Granada , Oviedo , Salamanca , Santiago , Seville , Valencia , Valladolid and Zaragoza ; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, León , Seville and Valencia. An additional 180 seats comprised senators in their own right—the Monarch 's offspring and the heir apparent once coming of age ; Grandees of Spain of
4095-464: The worsening living conditions of the working classes). These three challenges were aggravated by the rising cost of living and high inflation rates resulting from the economic boom sparked by Spain's neutrality in World War I and an uneven redistribution of national income. The resulting parliament was the most fragmented since the approval of the 1876 Constitution , with neither the ruling liberal bloc of Prime Minister Manuel García Prieto nor
4160-468: Was entitled the following seats: For the Senate, 180 seats were indirectly elected by the local councils and major taxpayers, with electors voting for delegates instead of senators. Elected delegates—equivalent in number to one-sixth of the councillors in each local council—would then vote for senators using a write-in , two-round majority voting system. The provinces of Barcelona , Madrid and Valencia were allocated four seats each, whereas each of
4225-401: Was the favourite to take the seat. Sinn Féin had done extremely well in the area during that year's local elections . Sinn Féin captured high percentages of the first preference vote across the constituency. However, the Anti-Austerity Alliance candidate, Paul Murphy , was elected on the eighth count. Although Murphy had received a lower first preference total than Cathal King, he outperformed
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