Snap election

Encyclopedia : S : SN : SNA : Snap election

In the Westminster parliamentary system a snap election is an early election called when the Prime Minister (or Premier) dissolves the legislature mid-way in a government's mandate.

Generally it refers to an election called when no one expects it, usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue. In Canada, the most notable case is the Canadian federal election, 1958 where Prime Minister John Diefenbaker called an election just nine months after the previous one and transformed his minority government into the largest majority in the history of Canada.

In Japan, a snap election is called when a Prime Minister dissolved the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The act is based on Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan, which can be interpreted as saying that the Prime Minister has the power to dissolve the lower house after so advising the Emperor.

In 2006, the general election called by Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, can also be categorised as a snap election. Despite winning a majority of votes, he stepped down.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.