general election

general election
   An election that is usually held throughout the country on the same day, to elect representatives to serve in the nation’s primary legislative body. In Britain, at least every five years, the voters elect who they want to be their Member of Parliament by placing a cross against the name of a candidate on the ballot paper. The candidate with the most votes wins a seat in the House of Commons and the political party that wins the most seats forms the Government.
   General elections are held to provide a competition for public office and a means of holding the winners to account. They also promote a dialogue between voters and candidates, between society and the state. Free elections are the defining feature of any state claiming to be a democracy. gerrymandering A form of electoral corruption in which electoral boundaries are drawn to the advantage of a particular party or interest. The term derives from a constituency designed by Governor Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812, whose long, narrow shape inspired one observer to say that it reminded him of a salamander, a type of lizard. A journalistic wag retorted: ‘Say rather a gerrymander.’ The practice of devising boundaries in favour of one party was a feature of Unionist rule in the days of the Stormont Parliament, with boundaries being designed to maximise Protestant and minimise Catholic voting strength.

Glossary of UK Government and Politics . 2013.

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