Casual vacancy

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In politics, a casual vacancy (casual in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualification of the sitting member, or for other reasons.

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Casual vacancies have the effect of eliminating or reducing the representation for the member's constituency. Accordingly, many jurisdictions provide by law for the speedy filling of vacant seats.

Casual vacancies can also occur in non-governmental assemblies, such as boards of directors and committees of voluntary organisations.

Methods of filling a casual vacancy to an elected body include:

Australia

The method used to fill casual vacancies vary between jurisdictions.

On the federal level, casual vacancies in the Australian House of Representatives are filled using by-elections. [1] Casual vacancies for the Australian Senate are required to be filled by someone of the same party as the departing senator, and a joint sitting of the departing senator's state/territory parliament decides the person who will fill the vacancy. [2]

Casual vacancies in the Tasmanian House of Assembly, [3] Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly [4] and Western Australian Legislative Council [5] are filled by countbacks. Casual vacancies in the Tasmanian Legislative Council, [3] Queensland Legislative Assembly, [6] Western Australian Legislative Assembly, [5] Victorian Legislative Assembly [7] South Australian House of Assembly, [8] and New South Wales Legislative Assembly [9] are filled by-elections. Casual vacancies in the New South Wales Legislative Council, [10] South Australian Legislative Council [11] and Victorian Legislative Council. [12] are filled by election in a joint sitting of both chambers of the respective state parliament; the elected member must be from the same party as the previous member at the time of the previous member's election (or an independent, if the previous member was elected as an independent).

Canada

Vacancies in the House of Commons of Canada are filled by the scheduling of a by-election in the affected district. The writ for a by-election must be 'dropped' (issued) no sooner than 11 days and no later than 180 days after the Chief Electoral Officer is officially notified of a vacancy via a warrant issued by the Speaker. Under the Canada Elections Act, the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days between dropping the writ and election day. [13] A seat can, in some cases, be vacant for even longer; prior to the 2015 federal election, for example, Stephen Harper had to call three by-elections in 2015. However, as the length of time the seats were vacant required that a byelection be called but the length of time remaining before the general election campaign began was too short to justify actually holding one, he scheduled the by-election dates as the date of the general election itself — a technical formality which essentially meant that a by-election was scheduled but would never actually be held. The by-elections were superseded by the general election at the dissolution of parliament on August 2, 2015 and the dropping of the federal election writ. [14]

As the Senate of Canada is an appointed rather than elected body, vacancies in that body are simply filled with a new appointment.

By-elections are also held to fill vacancies in Canada's provincial or territorial legislatures.

India

Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates the Election Commission to fill the casual vacancies in the Parliament of India and State Legislatures through by-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. [15]

Singapore

A by-election is usually called when an incumbent member of the Parliament of Singapore vacates his or her seat in a SMC or when all MPs vacates their seat together in a GRC.

In a recent case according to then Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing, a by-election need not be called if a GRC MP resigns or is incapacitated in any way. The reason is the GRC scheme is meant to achieve two purposes: Ensure there are enough minority members in the House and ensure no political campaigning is done on issues of race and religion. These goals would not be affected if one member of the GRC left, Mr Chan added. However it did not cater for instances where the minority race MP vacates their seat hence the SDP filed a suit to clarify the matter. [16] The High Court judge rejected the bid to hold a by-election and SDP withdraws the suit after a thorough explanation by the Deputy AG. [17]

New Zealand

Since 2020, the New Zealand House of Representatives has 72 seats whose members represent geographical constituencies, and at least a further 48 seats selected from party lists. A vacancy in any of the 72 "electorate seats" is filled through a by-election. The writ for the by-election must, in most circumstances, be issued within 21 days of the notification of the vacancy. A by-election is not required if Parliament's three-year term is due to expire within six months. [18]

"List seats" supplement electorate seats for proportional representation following a general election. However, if an electorate seat changes parties after a by-election, it disrupts Parliament's proportionality. [18] By contrast, a vacancy in a list seat is filled by the next available candidate on the list submitted by the party entitled to that seat, so proportionality is unaffected.

United States

The term "casual vacancy" is not commonly used in the United States. A vacancy in the United States House of Representatives is filled by a special election. The Constitution requires the executive authority (i.e. the governor) of the state concerned to issue writs of election.

The seventeenth amendment provides that vacancies in the United States Senate filled by an appointment by the governor unless the legislature of the state concerned has passed a law providing some other means to fill the vacancy, such as a popular election.

Related Research Articles

The electoral system of Australia comprises the laws and processes used for the election of members of the Australian Parliament and is governed primarily by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The system presently has a number of distinctive features including compulsory enrolment; compulsory voting; majority-preferential instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the House of Representatives; and the use of the single transferable vote proportional representation system to elect the upper house, the Senate.

Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories are broadly similar to the electoral system used in federal elections in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian Legislative Assembly</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly</span> Unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory

The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city of Canberra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian House of Assembly</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart.

In the Parliament of Australia, a casual vacancy arises when a member of either the Senate or the House of Representatives:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of South Australia</span> Bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia

The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly and the 22-seat Legislative Council. General elections are held every 4 years, with all of the lower house and half of the upper house filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government with the executive branch required to both sit in parliament and hold the confidence of the House of Assembly. The parliament is based at Parliament House on North Terrace in the state capital of Adelaide.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1977, was a successful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 21 May 1977. After being approved in the referendum, it received the royal assent and became law on 29 July 1977.

A referendum concerning reform of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 25 May 1991. The referendum coincided with that year's New South Wales general election. The change passed comfortably. The text of the question was:

Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act:

(a) to reduce the number of politicians in the Legislative Council and to reduce their maximum term of office; and

(b) to apply to the Legislative Council the same method of filling casual vacancies as applies to the Senate ?

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly who served in the 25th parliament of New South Wales held their seats from 1920 to 1922. They were elected at the 1920 state election on 20 March 1920. The Speaker was Daniel Levy with the exception of 13–20 December 1921 when he was replaced by Simon Hickey.

The 1981 New South Wales referendum was held on 19 September 1981, the same day as the state election. The referendum contained two questions:

  1. Do you approve a Bill for an Act to extend the maximum period between general elections for the Legislative Assembly from 3 years to 4 years?
  2. Do you approve a Bill for an Act to require Members of Parliament to disclose certain pecuniary interests and other matters?
<span class="mw-page-title-main">By-elections in Singapore</span>

By-elections in Singapore are elections held to fill seats in the Parliament of Singapore that fall vacant in between general elections, known as casual vacancies. In the past, the Government of Singapore took the position that the Prime Minister had discretion whether or not a by-election should be called to fill a casual vacancy in a Single Member Constituency, and could leave a parliamentary seat unfilled until the next general election. However, in the case of Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v. Attorney-General (2013), which arose from a vacancy in Hougang Single Member Constituency, the Court of Appeal held that the Constitution of Singapore obliges the Prime Minister to call a by-election unless a general election is going to be held in the near future. However, a by-election need only be called within a reasonable time, and the Prime Minister has the discretion to determine when it should be held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meegan Fitzharris</span> Australian politician

Meegan Fitzharris is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Yerrabi electorate from October 2016 to July 2019, and before that, member for the electorate of Molonglo after she won a countback to fill the Legislative Assembly seat vacated by former Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, in January 2015. She was the Minister for Transport and Municipal Services, Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research and Minister for Health until her resignation from politics in July 2019.

The Kurrajong electorate is one of the five electorates for the unicameral 25-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It elected five members at the 2016 ACT election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yerrabi electorate</span>

The Yerrabi electorate is one of the five electorates for the unicameral 25-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It elected five members at the 2016 ACT election.

<i>Blundell v Vardon</i> Judgement of the High Court of Australia

Blundell v Vardon, was the first of three decisions of the High Court of Australia concerning the 1906 election for senators for South Australia. Sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, Barton J held that the election of Anti-Socialist Party candidate Joseph Vardon as the third senator for South Australia was void due to irregularities in the way the returning officers marked some votes. The Parliament of South Australia appointed James O'Loghlin. Vardon sought to have the High Court compel the governor of South Australia to hold a supplementary election, however the High Court held in R v Governor of South Australia; Ex parte Vardon that it had no power to do so. Vardon then petitioned the Senate seeking to remove O'Loghlin and rather than decide the issue, the Senate referred the matter to the High Court. The High Court held in Vardon v O'Loghlin that O'Loghlin had been invalidly appointed and ordered a supplementary election. Vardon and O'Loghlin both contested the supplementary election, with Vardon winning with 54% of the vote.

Cumberland, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1920 and abolished in 1927.

Eastern Suburbs, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1920 and abolished in 1927.

References

  1. ↑ "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT - SECT 33 Writs for vacancies". classic.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT - SECT 15 Casual vacancies [see Note 8]". classic.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 "View - Tasmanian Legislation Online". www.legislation.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Electoral Act 1992" (PDF). ACT Legislation Register. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Electoral Act 1907". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Queensland By-Elections" (PDF). Parliament of Queensland. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Electoral Act 2002" (PDF). Victorian Legislation. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Electoral Act 1985" (PDF). www.legislation.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Electoral Act 2017 No 66". legislation.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Constitution Act 1902". www6.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Constitution Act 1934" (PDF). www.legislation.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  12. ↑ Section 27A of the Constitution Act 1975 (Vic, No. 8750 of 1975) .
  13. ↑ "Journalists vying for seat in Commons shows politics changing: Spector". The Hill Times. August 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  14. ↑ "By-elections called for October 19, 2015 – What you need to know". Elections Canada. Elections Canada. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act 1951 mandates ECI to fill casual vacancies". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  16. ↑ "SDP files lawsuit challenging decision not to call by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC - Channel NewsAsia". www.channelnewsasia.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13.
  17. ↑ "Bid to hold by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee rejected by High Court". 9 April 2018.
  18. 1 2 "What is a by-election?". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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