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A referendum on electoral reform was held in Botswana on 4 October 1997. The referendum had three separate proposals, and came following promises made by President Quett Masire after violent protests in 1995. [1] All three proposals were passed, although voter turnout was only around 17%. [2]
The first question asked voters whether they approved of amending the constitution, and replace the post of Supervisor of Elections, introduced following the 1987 referendum, and replacing it with an independent electoral commission. [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 45,122 | 73.16 |
| Against | 16,550 | 26.84 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 201 | – |
| Total | 61,873 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 370,173 | 16.71 |
| Source: African Elections Database | ||
The second question asked voters whether they approved of amending the constitution to allow Botswanans living abroad to vote. [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 43,555 | 70.42 |
| Against | 18,295 | 29.58 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 197 | – |
| Total | 62,047 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 370,173 | 16.76 |
| Source: African Elections Database | ||
The third question asked voters whether they approved of amending the constitution to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 36,275 | 58.74 |
| Against | 25,475 | 41.26 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 198 | – |
| Total | 61,948 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 370,173 | 16.73 |
| Source: African Elections Database | ||
National referendums are seldom used in Canada. The first two referendums in 1898 and 1942 saw voters in Quebec and the remainder of Canada take dramatically-opposing stands, and the third in 1992 saw most of the voters take a stand dramatically opposed to that of the politicians in power.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. It is a form of direct democracy.
A referendum, in the Italian legal system is a request directed to the whole electorate to express their view on a determined question. It is the main instrument of direct democracy in Italy.
Elections in Botswana take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a parliamentary system. The National Assembly is mostly directly elected, and in turn elects the President and some of its own members. The Ntlo ya Dikgosi is a mixture of appointed, hereditary and indirectly elected members.
Referendums have been held in Australia to approve parliament-proposed changes to the Constitution of Australia or to the constitutions of states and territories.
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had been approved by a half-elected, half-appointed Constitutional Convention held in Canberra in February 1998. The second question, generally deemed to be far less important politically, asked whether Australia should alter the Constitution to insert a preamble. For some years opinion polls had suggested that a majority of the electorate favoured a republic. Nonetheless, the republic referendum was defeated, partly due to division among republicans on the method proposed for selection of the president and dissident republicans opposed the president to have strong executive power.
The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitional National Council (1945–1946) and the Constituent Assembly (1946–1948). It is a bicameral legislature with 600 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The Italian Parliament is composed of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the Senate of the Republic.
A process model is, in the context of the republic debate in Australia, a model for the process by which the questions surrounding whether and how Australia should become a republic may be answered. A number of process models have been processed. Proposed process models are a subject of debate within the Republicanism movement. Such debate usually surrounds whether the people should be asked to choose between the current system and a general republican system of government, one specific republican system of government, or multiple alternative republican systems of government.
Referendums are held only occasionally by the Government of New Zealand. Referendums may be government-initiated or held in accordance with the Electoral Act 1993 or the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993. Nineteen referendums have been held so far. Fourteen were government-led, and five were indicative citizen initiatives.
The Moldovan referendum of 2010 was a nationwide referendum in Moldova held on 5 September on whether or not the country should amend the Constitution of Moldova to return to direct popular election of the president. Since 2001, the president had been indirectly elected by Parliament, with a supermajority of 61 seats required for election. The voters are asked to answer the following question "Would you agree with the Constitutional amendment, which would allow the election of the President of the Republic of Moldova by the entire population?", voting for one of the proposed options: “Yes (for)” or “No (against)”. Of those who had cast their vote, 87.83% chose "Yes". However, the referendum did not pass because only 30.29% of voters turned out, short of the necessary 33% for the referendum to be considered valid.
A fourteen-part referendum was held in Ecuador on 25 May 1997. Voters were asked whether they approved of the dismissal of President Abdalá Bucaram by the National Congress, the appointment of Fabián Alarcón as interim President for twelve months, the calling of a Constitutional Assembly, whether a Constitutional Assembly should be elected by direct elections or by appointment, whether spending limits should be introduced for election campaigns, whether voters should be able to modify electoral lists, whether National Assembly elections should be held alongside the first or second round of presidential elections, whether political parties that fail to cross the 5% threshold in two consecutive elections should be deregistered, whether the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) should reflect the political makeup of the National Congress, whether the National Congress should appoint managers of state-owned companies with a two-thirds majority, reforms to the justice system, allowing the Supreme Court to appoint judicial authority member, whether elected officials who commit a criminal offence should be removed from office, and whether the National Assembly should implement the 13 proposals. All eleven proposals were approved by voters.
Eleven national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2013. Voters approved six proposals related to spatial planning, executive pay, family policy, amendments to the laws on asylum and epidemics and an increase in the length of petrol station shop opening hours. The other five proposals on directly electing the Federal Council, abolishing compulsory military service, limiting salaries in a company to 12 times the lowest paid worker, tax credits for stay-at-home parents and an increase in road tax were rejected.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
A referendum on electoral reform was held in Jersey on 15 October 2014, alongside general elections. Voters were asked whether elected constables should continue to automatically become members of the States. Their continued automatic membership was approved by 62% of voters.
A constitutional referendum was held in Zambia on 11 August 2016 alongside general elections, a move designed to reduce the cost of the referendum. Voters were asked whether they approve of proposed amendments to the bill of rights and Article 79, which dictates the process of future amendments.
The 1970 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 3, 1970, the same day as the U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were four constitutional referendums to amend the Virginia State Constitution. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.
A referendum on reforming the electoral system was held in the Falkland Islands on 24 September 2020, after being postponed from 26 March 2020 following the Coronavirus pandemic. Voters were asked if they wanted to replace the two existing electoral constituencies with a single constituency for the whole of the Islands. Although a majority of those who voted supported the change, the required two-thirds majority in both of the islands' constituencies was not achieved.
The 2019 Uruguayan constitutional referendum, officially referred to as the Referendum for constitutional reform on security matters took place alongside general election of that year, on 27 October 2019, to ask the electorate whether a constitutional reform in public security should be approved. The proposed amendments to the Constitution would create a national guard, forbid early release for some serious crimes, introduce life sentences for crimes of rape, sexual abuse or homicide of minors as well as aggravated homicide of adults, and allow the police to conduct night raids. The referendum resulted in 46.8% of the votes cast in favor of amending the Constitution; however, not reaching the necessary 50%, the amendment was not approved, being rejected by 53.7% of the votes.
A two-part consultative referendum on changing the system of governance was held in Saint Helena on 17 March 2021. In the first question, voters were asked whether there should be a change. In the second, they were asked for their preference on the form of governance, choosing between a committee system and a ministerial system.
