How does the UK run a general election?

(1) Election qualifications

1. Voter qualifications

Citizens or residents who have the right to vote according to the law are citizens. British law mainly imposes the following restrictions on voter qualifications:

First, nationality restrictions. Subjects with British nationality, including citizens of any Commonwealth country and the Republic of Ireland residing in the United Kingdom, have the right to vote. Other foreigners have no right to vote.

The second is the age limit. Current British law stipulates that 18 years of age is the minimum age qualification for voters, and those under the age of 18 are not eligible to vote.

The third is residence restrictions. The residence time limit for military voters in the constituency is at least one month, and the residence time limit for other ordinary voters is at least three months. As a result, a large number of seasonal workers without fixed jobs and homes lost their qualifications to vote.

Fourth, people who have lost their ability and qualifications to vote due to mental problems or criminal problems are not eligible to vote. Fifth, voters must pass the legal level to qualify as voters. In the UK, voters do not need to register themselves; voter registration is the responsibility of local registrars. They first used the original list compiled by house-to-house visits as the basis, and then continuously checked and revised it.

According to British law, the following categories of British people do not have the right to vote: the first is the nobility, but the 1963 Election Law also stipulates that anyone who gives up their status as a nobility has the right to elect members; the second is those who are serving sentences The third one is an inpatient receiving treatment in a mental hospital; the fourth one is a person who commits corruption during an election, and shall not be allowed to elect a member of the assembly within 5 years; a person who commits an illegal act during an election shall not be allowed to participate in the office where the act was committed within 5 years. constituency elections; the fifth is those who have not registered as voters before the election.

2. Candidate qualifications

Citizens who are qualified to be elected as national public officials according to the law are candidates. The law's qualification requirements for candidates are divided into positive conditions and negative conditions. Specifically, they mainly include the following aspects:

First, nationality restrictions. Candidates must have British citizenship, be a citizen of a Commonwealth country and be a citizen of Ireland. Other foreigners are not eligible as candidates.

The second is the age limit. Anyone who is 21 years of age or older and has the right to vote has the right to stand for election. British people under the age of 21, citizens of Commonwealth countries living in the United Kingdom, and citizens of the Republic of Ireland are not entitled to vote.

The third is residence restrictions. The UK does not impose any restrictions on the place of residence or time for candidates, because in the British concept, MPs do not represent the interests of local or constituencies, they represent national interests. Candidates can contest in any constituency in the country.

The fourth is occupation and identity restrictions. For example, bankrupts with unpaid debts; clergy of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland; nobles; certain officials who manage the proceeds of the monarch's property; judges; civil servants; officials of certain local governments; members of the regular armed forces; police; public officials ***Members of company boards and government committees are not eligible to be candidates for the House of Commons.

The fifth category is people who have lost their capacity and qualifications due to mental problems and criminal problems.

Sixth, only those who have registered as qualified citizens are eligible to be candidates.

Seventh, 10 voters must jointly nominate (1 proposer, 1 seconder, and 8 co-signers) in a constituency to be qualified as a candidate.

Eighth, you need to pay a deposit of 150 pounds to officially become a candidate. If the election results fall short of one-eighth of the votes cast, the deposit will be turned over to the state treasury.

In fact, those who are qualified to become candidates for public office must be nominated by a political party before they can be elected.

(2) Election method

The UK currently implements a direct election system, that is, voters directly elect members. This electoral system is highly transparent and can make the will of voters directly reflected in the creation of the highest authority.

In addition, British elections adopt the principle of voluntary voting. Candidates or political party organizations can canvass votes, but cannot exert pressure on voters.

The so-called election method mainly involves two aspects:

The first is the constituency delineation method. Before World War II in the UK, the ratio of population to number of MPs in each constituency varied greatly. In order to ensure that all constituencies enjoy equal representation, the Churchill government established four standing boundary commissions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their mission is to regularly review the constituencies and make necessary adjustments to the seat allocation based on changes in population or other circumstances. In the division of constituencies, in addition to the two factors of region and population, another very important factor is the number of MPs produced in each constituency. On this issue, the UK currently implements a small electoral district system (or single-member constituency system), that is, each district elects only one member of the parliament, and the electorate has one vote per person, or the candidate with a simple majority of the electoral district general office is elected. .

The second is the method of counting votes. There are two main methods for counting votes in modern countries: one is majority representation and the other is proportional representation. Majority representation can be divided into relative majority representation and absolute majority representation. The UK currently implements a relative majority representation system, which can also be called a simple majority system. The candidate who receives a relative majority of the total votes cast in the constituency is elected. This method of counting votes greatly favors major party candidates and disadvantages minor party candidates and independent candidates.

(3) Election process (procedure)

Compared with the United States, the election process in the UK is much simpler and lasts shorter. Generally speaking, there are the following links:

First, voter registration. The date of the UK general election is not fixed, so registration is required every year. Registration is conducted by a registrar appointed by the local government of each constituency and is conducted in January and July every year. There should be some registration stations when registering. The results of the registration must be compiled into an electoral register. Qualified voters after registration can be divided into three categories: first, ordinary household voters, that is, those who have a fixed residence and can exercise their right to vote locally; second, military voters, including military personnel serving overseas; third, tax-paying voters, who only Qualification to vote in local elections in accordance with tax conditions. Voters can check whether their names have been registered. Those who have objections to the registration results can also file a lawsuit with a lawyer who specializes in hearing the matter within a few days after the list is published.

Second, candidate nomination. In the UK, there are two ways to nominate candidates: one is for social organizations and citizens to propose independent candidates. The necessary conditions and procedures for this kind of candidate nomination are: 1 person from the constituency proposes, 1 second, and 8 co-signers , the nominee can be called a candidate for membership in the House of Commons. The other is for political parties to nominate candidates. Each political party nominates candidates in different ways. The Labor Party's parliamentary candidates are selected by local party organizations. However, before nominating candidates, the local party must obtain the consent of the national executive committee and party leaders, and only confirm their candidate qualifications after obtaining a deposit of corresponding election funds. Since 1935, the Conservative Party has selected candidates through an eight-member National Standing Advisory Committee on Parliamentary Candidates. Previously, candidates had to fill out resumes in accordance with relevant requirements. After obtaining the approval of the constituency association, they could generally be called the official Conservative candidates for the constituency approved by the National Standing Advisory Committee. Whether it is a candidate nominated by a political party or nominated by organizations and citizens, once the candidate is determined, the political party or social organization and citizens need to formally submit a candidate application to the authority’s election nomination committee. After reviewing the qualifications, a deposit of 150 pounds is required. . At this point, the candidate's qualifications are officially established.

Third, organize a campaign team. Usually organizing campaign teams is a matter for political parties. Political party elections implement a special party election agent system. Election agents are divided into non-staff organizers, staff members, and non-staff agents and staff agents. Among them, staff agents and organizers are professional agents. Their duties are usually performed by the general offices of the party's central organs in various places (especially local organizations). In many constituencies, the agent's duties are performed by full-time secretaries of local party organizations, each of which has considerable funding.

The agent's responsibility is to try his best to ensure that the party's candidates win the election and to guide the entire party in its campaign. He directs the organization members to the most important places to supervise the plans and activities of the opposition party, study voter sentiment, and prevent possible unexpected events. All activities of a candidate, such as convening voters' meetings, collecting and supervising the collection of signatures, filling out registration forms for elections, printing and distributing documents, notices, etc., all depend on agents.

Fourth, carry out campaign activities. Candidates can begin formal campaign mobilization activities from the day the order to dissolve Parliament is announced, and this activity can continue until 10 o'clock in the evening on the polling day. Election campaigns are divided into constituency campaigns and national campaigns. Constituency campaigning includes introducing and promoting oneself to voters through radio, television, newspapers, magazines, letters, posters, slogans and other methods and means. Candidates can also tour various constituencies, deliver speeches to voters, introduce and explain their political opinions, talk to voters or mobilize voters to participate in voting, etc. In addition, there are national campaigns, which mainly refer to the campaign activities conducted by the party's central organization and party leaders, including publicizing the party's program and policies, formulating campaign strategies, and arranging campaign schedules.

Fifth, vote. There are three specific voting methods: first, attendance voting, that is, the voter goes directly to the polling station to vote; second, proxy voting, according to British law, voters serving in the military or warships can entrust others to vote on their behalf; third, correspondence voting , generally voters who serve in the military or warships and those who serve overseas use this method to vote. During general elections, there is a unified voting day across the country; during by-elections, the constituency also has a unified voting day. Each constituency has a number of polling stations, usually located in churches, schools and other places.

Sixth, vote counting and announcement of election results. Voter voting will be suspended as soon as the last time for voters to vote on election day arrives (10 p.m.). The vote counters and supervisors among the election staff work together to count the voting results, and specialized personnel write the voting results report. After the voting results are confirmed and summarized by the Election Committee, the royal secretary is responsible for announcing the election results and their validity.

(4) Election Supervision

Regarding the issue of election supervision, there are mainly two aspects:

First, who will supervise. According to British law, any social organization (including political parties, interest groups, etc.) and individual citizens can supervise elections. The government has also established an election committee to specifically supervise the election process.

Second, what to supervise. The first is the supervision of electoral qualifications (including supervision of voter qualifications and candidate qualifications), mainly to determine whether voters and candidates meet the legal age, have reached the residence period, have nationality restrictions permitted by law, and have been registered in advance. , whether the nomination procedure is legal, whether a deposit has been paid, whether there are incompatible occupations, and whether there are major legal and moral issues that would disqualify the candidate from the election; secondly, the supervision of the election process. It mainly includes the supervision of the election process and its actions, the sources and use of election funds, the time, place, method and behavior of the election, the conduct of the election committee and its results, and whether there are any illegal activities. Specifically, for example, whether there is profiteering, bribery, bribery, etc. in the election; whether there is discrimination in terms of ethnicity, race, gender, occupation, etc.; whether there is any discrimination in election announcements, constituency divisions, polling station settings, voting methods, etc. Unlawful conduct, etc.

Whether it is a social organization or an individual citizen, if they discover any illegal behavior during the above-mentioned election process, they can file a lawsuit with the relevant authorities. In the UK, such disputes are typically handled by lawyers responsible for amending electoral rolls. Every year after the new voter registration list is published, lawyers hold a court session to accept disputes regarding voter qualifications and make legal rulings. If there is any objection to the qualifications of a candidate, it can be submitted to the authority's election nomination committee or the court. Initially, the jurisdiction over election disputes belonged to Parliament, but later it was transferred to independent courts for arbitration. The "Parliamentary Elections Act" enacted in 1879 increased the number of judges to two and determined that they would be appointed by the Queen's Bench Division of the British High Court.

Election dispute cases are heard in accordance with ordinary judicial procedures. If it is verified by the court that illegal and unfair behavior has indeed occurred, the election results of the constituency can be declared invalid.