The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament.
The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a country. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government, led by the first minister of Scotland, the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland, dealing with Scots law, is independent of the legislature and the Scottish Government, and is headed by the Lord Advocate who is the principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares limited executive powers, notably over reserved matters, with the Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from 1997 until his murder in 2021. He previously served as MP for Basildon from 1983 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Catholic with socially conservative political views, and was in favour of Britain leaving the European Union.
Southend West and Leigh is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. In the 2024 general election the seat was won by David Burton-Sampson for Labour. It was previously held by Anna Firth who won the 2022 by-election, following the murder of the incumbent MP, David Amess.
The Provincial Assembly ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan, having a total of 145 seats, with 115 general seats, 26 seats reserved for women and 4 reserved for non-Muslims.
Dame Elizabeth Rebecca Scott Harris is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Castle Point since 2010. She was the Comptroller of the Household from 2022 to 2024. In that role, she took part in the 2023 Coronation. In November 2024 she assumed the role of Opposition Chief Whip, replacing Stuart Andrew in the role.
In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.
A police and crime commissioner is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally overseeing both police and fire services. Commissioners replaced now-abolished police authorities. The first were elected on 15 November 2012.
Sikandar Sultan Raja is a retired Pakistani civil servant who has been the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan since January 2020. Raja belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service and is batchmates with Rizwan Ahmed, Hussain Asghar and Fawad Hasan Fawad.
General elections, originally scheduled to be held in 2023, were held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the 16th National Assembly. The Election Commission of Pakistan announced the detailed schedule on 15 December 2023.
Nadia Edith Whittome is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham East since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was previously the youngest MP upon her election at the age of 23. She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan that had toppled the partially recognized Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, on 15 August 2021, the country was recaptured by the Taliban, which marked the end of the 2001–2021 war, the longest war in US history. This led to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, led by President Ashraf Ghani, and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate under the control of the Taliban. While the United Nations still recognizes the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, this toppled regime controls no portion of the country today, nor does it operate in exile; it effectively no longer exists. The Islamic Emirate is the de facto ruling government. The US–Taliban deal, signed on 29 February 2020 in Qatar, was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
A by-election was held on 3 February 2022 in the parliamentary constituency of Southend West following the murder of the Conservative MP Sir David Amess on 15 October 2021. Amess had been the MP for the constituency since 1997, and previously represented the nearby seat of Basildon from 1983 to 1997. Similarly to the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election—held after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered—the major opposition parties declined to stand out of respect for Amess. The Conservative candidate Anna Firth won the by-election with 86% of the vote, with a turnout of 24%. No other candidate reached the 5% threshold to save their election deposit.
Annalissa Firth is a British politician and former barrister who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she was also a councillor on Sevenoaks District Council between 2011 and 2022.
Provincial elections were held in the Pakistani province of Punjab on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, the results of the 2023 digital census were approved by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Therefore, elections have been delayed for several months, as new delimitations will be published on 14 December 2023, as announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). On 2 November 2023, the ECP announced, in agreement with the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, that the elections will be held on 8 February 2024. The election was held concurrently with nationwide general elections and other provincial elections.
Provincial elections were held in Sindh on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, after the approval of the results of the 2023 digital census by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, elections have been delayed for several months, as new delimitations will be published on 14 December 2023. On 2 November 2023, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced, in agreement with the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, that the elections should be held on 8 February 2024. This election was held concurrently with nationwide general elections and other provincial elections.
The Toshakhana reference case was a 2022 legal case against Imran Khan, the 19th prime minister of Pakistan, that disqualified him for five years. It was filed by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asserting that Khan concealed gifts from the Toshakhana, a department directed by the Cabinet Division of the Pakistani federal government.
