By-election

A by-election is an election in a sub-area (typically a constituency ) at a later date or on a different schedule than the main election.

General

A by-election may be necessary for various reasons. The most common international case is that during the legislative period a member of parliament dies, resigns or for other reasons is no longer able to exercise his or her mandate. Since 1953, this election is no longer called a by-election , but a substitute election in German federal electoral law , and only takes place if the MP was not elected for a party that also participated in the election with a list ( Section 48 (2) Federal Election Act ); however, since 1953 there has not been a single such independently elected MP, and thus never a replacement. Otherwise the seat will be filled with a replacement from the party list; if this is exhausted, the seat will not be filled again ( Section 48 (1) Federal Election Act).

Other arrangements are also possible, in Tasmania, for example, the votes of the last election are counted again, whereby the votes cast by the departed MPs are not taken into account.

In most countries with majority voting rights, however, vacant seats are filled by by-election. Such elections are often considered unimportant, as they usually do not result in a shift in the majority. They are given supra-local importance by those who see them as a test choice between the normal elections. If there is a tight majority or if several vacant seats need to be filled at the same time, a by-election can also be decisive. In 1978, for example, 15 by-elections were held in Canada in a single day, a mini-election that met with great media coverage.

By-elections are only held if the next general election is not expected too soon. In many countries, including Germany, this period is six months. If the next general election is scheduled earlier, the seat remains vacant.

Seats that were filled by by-election usually have a shortened legislative period so that the next election coincides with the general election. This does not apply to newly elected mayors or district administrators in Bavaria: They are elected for the full term of office, which means that all subsequent elections in the communities concerned take place later than the general local elections.

Germany

German Bundestag

According to Section 43 of the Federal Election Act , a by-election takes place in two cases:

If the election was not held in a constituency or constituency,
If a constituency applicant, i.e. a direct candidate , dies after the nomination has been approved but before the election is carried out.

In the first case the election has to take place no later than three weeks, in the second case no later than six weeks after the main election. This means that the regulation for federal elections differs from that in Bavaria , for example , where a dead direct candidate can still be elected; if he is elected, the next one on the list moves up for him.

Such a by-election can even take place on the same day as the normal election, if there is enough time between the death of the candidate and the election day for the proper process.

There have been such by-elections in five Bundestag elections so far :

Main choice	By-election	Constituency	reason	victorious party
09/17/1961	10/01/1961	151 Cochem	Death of the candidate Fritz Klein ( SPD )	CDU
09/19/1965	10/03/1965	135 Obertaunuskreis	Death of candidate Erich Henz ( AUD )	CDU
09/19/1965	10/03/1965	236 Schweinfurt	Death of the candidate Ernst Meier ( DFU )	CSU
01/25/1987	02/01/1987	141 Gross-Gerau	Destruction of the ballot box on election day at 5:45 p.m. by eight strangers in black with the help of a Molotov cocktail	CDU
09/22/2002	09/22/2002	295 Sigmaringen	Death of the candidate Dietmar Schlee ( CDU )	CDU
09/22/2002	09/22/2002	230 Passau	Death of the candidate Maic-Roland Muth ( PDS )	CSU
09/18/2005	10/02/2005	160 Dresden I	Death of the candidate Kerstin Lorenz ( NPD )	CDU

First German Bundestag

In the first German Bundestag , there were fourteen by-elections for members who left the parliament during the legislative period in accordance with Section 15 old version of the electoral law for the first Bundestag. The electoral law was changed in January 1953 and replaced by the now customary replacement regulation.

By-election	Constituency	previously elected member of the Bundestag	Reason for by-election	newly elected MdB
May 14, 1950	29 Kulmbach	Friedrich Schönauer ( SPD )	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on April 2, 1950	Johannes Semler ( CSU )
November 19, 1950	63 Arnsberg - Soest	Heinrich Lübke ( CDU )	State Minister, resigned on September 29, 1950	Ernst Majonica (CDU)
03/11/1951	2 Kassel	Georg-August Zinn (SPD)	Prime Minister, resigned on January 21, 1951	Ludwig Preller (SPD)
04/15/1951	1 Hofgeismar - Waldeck - Wolfhagen	Karl Rüdiger ( FDP )	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on February 20, 1951	Hans Merten (SPD)
05/06/1951	18 Hanover North	Bruno Leddin (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on March 25, 1951	Egon Franke (SPD)
05/27/1951	44 Donauwörth	Martin Loibl (CSU)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on April 16, 1951	Wilhelm Niklas (CSU)
09/23/1951	12 Neustadt an der Weinstrasse	Ernst Roth (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on May 14, 1951	Willy Odenthal (SPD)
12/02/1951	33 Nuremberg - Fürth	Wilhelm Fischer (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on October 21, 1951	Johann Segitz (SPD)
March 16, 1952	31 resin	Hermann Stopperich (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on January 6, 1952	Hans-Joachim Fricke ( DP )
03/30/1952	4 Heilbronn	Georg Kohl (FDP)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on January 31, 1952	Adolf Mauk (FDP)
05/04/1952	11 Friedberg - Büdingen	Wilhelm Knothe (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on February 20, 1952	Kurt Moosdorf (SPD)
05/04/1952	10 Segeberg - Neumünster	Carl Schröter (CDU)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on February 25, 1952	Walter Bartram (CDU)
05/18/1952	3 Bremerhaven - Bremen-North	Bernhard Lohmüller (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on March 2, 1952	Philipp Wehr (SPD)
11/09/1952	19 Hanover South	Kurt Schumacher (SPD)	Death of the Member of the Bundestag on August 20, 1952	Ernst Winter (SPD)

Namibia

In Namibia elections (Find English by-elections ) for the office of president (not yet happened in history) as well as regional and local level instead. They must be held within three months of the vacancy of a seat.

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Electoral Act 5 of 2014. Republic of Namibia, Section 63 and references. Retrieved March 3, 2020.

[1] Electoral Act 5 of 2014. Republic of Namibia, Section 63 and references. Retrieved March 3, 2020.