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A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required (either by law or convention), usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue. It differs from a recall election in that it is initiated by politicians (usually the head of government or ruling party) rather than voters, and from a special election in that the winners will serve an entire term as opposed to the remainder of an already established term. Since the power to call snap elections usually lies with the incumbent, they frequently result in increased majorities for the party already in power having been called at an advantageous time; however, there have been cases of snap elections backfiring and resulting in an opposition party's winning or gaining power. Generally speaking, the Prime Minister under such systems does not have the legal power to call an election, but rather must request the election be called by the head of state. In most countries, the head of state always grants such a request by convention. ==Australia== There are three procedures in which elections can be held early in Australia: * The maximum term of the Australian House of Representatives is 3 years. However, the chamber can wait several months after the election to make its first sitting, while a campaign period of at least 33 days is needed between the dates that the election is called and held. It is the norm for the chamber to be dissolved early by the Governor-General before its term expires, which is done on the advice of the Prime Minister. * Half of the Australian Senate (excluding the seats representing territories) changes over every three years in July. An election for the half about to change over must take place up to a year before this is due, on a date determined by the government. By convention, the elections of both chambers have usually been held on the same day. If the previous Senate election was held close to the changeover, the next Senate election can be held significantly earlier. * A Double dissolution may be called to resolve conflict between the two chambers, in which case the entire membership of both chambers comes up for election. This requires at least one bill that originated in the House of Representatives (often called a "trigger") to be rejected twice by the Senate under certain conditions. In this case, the next Senate changeover is due in the second month of July after the election, while the House of Representatives begins a new 3-year term. Examples of early elections in Australia: * 1963 election: Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies called an early election for the House of Representatives because the government were struggling to govern with their narrow 2-seat majority in the chamber. The government succeeded in gaining 10 seats. The election left the House and Senate elections out of synchronization until 1974. * 1974 election: The double dissolution election focused on Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's first one-and-a-half years in office and whether the Australian public was willing to continue with his reform agenda, and also to break a deadlock in the Senate after Opposition Leader Billy Snedden announced that the opposition would block the Government's supply bills in the Senate following the Gair Affair. The Whitlam government was subsequently returned with a reduced majority in the House of Representatives but increased presence (but no majority) in the Senate, allowing the government to pass six reform bills in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Australian parliament. * 1975 election: The election followed the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr in the 1975 constitutional crisis and the installation of Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister. Labor believed it had a chance of winning the elections, and that the dismissal would be an electoral asset for them but the Coalition attacked Labor for the economic conditions they presided over, resulting in the Coalition winning a record victory, with 91 seats in the House of Representatives to the ALP's 36 and a 35–27 majority in the expanded Senate. * 1984 election: This election was held 18 months ahead of time in order to bring the elections for the House of Representatives and Senate back into line. They had been thrown out of balance by the double dissolution of 1983. It was widely expected that the incumbent Hawke Labor government would be easily re-elected, but an exceptionally long 10-week campaign, confusion over the ballot papers and a strong campaign performance by Liberal leader, Andrew Peacock, saw the government’s majority reduced (although this was disguised by the increase in the size of the House from 125 to 148). * 1998 election: The election on 3 October 1998 was held six months earlier than required by the Constitution. Prime Minister John Howard made the announcement following the launch of the coalition's Goods and Services Tax (GST) policy launch and a five-week advertising campaign. The ensuing election was almost entirely dominated by the proposed 10% GST and proposed income tax cuts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「snap election」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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