Election boycott
Encyclopedia
An election boycott is the boycott
ing of an election
by a group of voters, each of whom abstains
from voting.
Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud
is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity
organizing the election lacks legitimacy
. In jurisdictions with compulsory voting
, a boycott may amount to an act of civil disobedience
; alternatively, supporters of the boycott may be able to cast blank votes or vote for "none of the above
". Boycotting voters may belong to a particular regional
or ethnic group
. A particular political party
or candidate may refuse to run in the election and urges its supporters to boycott the vote.
In the case of a referendum
, a boycott may be used as a voting tactic
by opponents of the proposition. If the referendum requires a minimum turnout to be valid, the boycott may prevent this quorum
being reached.
In general elections, individuals and parties will often boycott in order to protest the ruling party's policies with the hope that when voters do not show up the elections will be deemed illegitimate by outside observers. This tactic, however, can prove disastrous for the boycotting parties. Lack of participation rarely nullifies election results and the distorted voting is likely to further detach boycotting groups from the organs of power, leaving them susceptible to political irrelevance.
, the three largest independent social movements boycott the vote under the banner of the No Land! No House! No Vote!
Campaign.
Other social movements in other parts of the world also have similar campaigns or non-voting preferences. These include the Naxalites in India, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
in Mexico and various Anarchist oriented movements. In Mexico's mid term 2009 elections there was strong support for 'Nulo' - a campaign to vote for no one. In India poor people's movements in Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh have rejected parliamentary politics (as well as the NGO and Maoist alternatives).
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
ing of an election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
by a group of voters, each of whom abstains
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
from voting.
Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity
Polity
Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...
organizing the election lacks legitimacy
Legitimacy (political science)
In political science, legitimacy is the popular acceptance of a governing law or régime as an authority. Whereas “authority” denotes a specific position in an established government, the term “legitimacy” denotes a system of government — wherein “government” denotes “sphere of influence”...
. In jurisdictions with compulsory voting
Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...
, a boycott may amount to an act of civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
; alternatively, supporters of the boycott may be able to cast blank votes or vote for "none of the above
None of the above
None of the Above or against all is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in a voting system...
". Boycotting voters may belong to a particular regional
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
or ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
. A particular political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
or candidate may refuse to run in the election and urges its supporters to boycott the vote.
In the case of a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
, a boycott may be used as a voting tactic
Tactical voting
In voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
by opponents of the proposition. If the referendum requires a minimum turnout to be valid, the boycott may prevent this quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
being reached.
In general elections, individuals and parties will often boycott in order to protest the ruling party's policies with the hope that when voters do not show up the elections will be deemed illegitimate by outside observers. This tactic, however, can prove disastrous for the boycotting parties. Lack of participation rarely nullifies election results and the distorted voting is likely to further detach boycotting groups from the organs of power, leaving them susceptible to political irrelevance.
Major instances of electoral boycotts
| Election | Turnout (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jamaican general election, 1983 Jamaican general election, 1983 Early general elections were held in Jamaica on 15 December 1983. The election was boycotted by the main opposition party, the People's National Party, in protest at the refusal of the ruling Jamaican Labour Party to update the electoral roll... |
2.7 | |
| Slovak referendum, 1997 Slovak referendum, 1997 A referendum in Slovakia was held on 23 May and 24 May 1997. Voters in Slovakia were asked four separate questions: on whether the country should join NATO, whether nuclear weapons should be allowed in Slovakia, whether foreign military bases should be allowed in Slovakia, and whether the... |
9.5 | |
| Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005 The 2005 Venezuela parliamentary election took place on 4 December 2005. The election sent 167 deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela, 12 deputies to the Latin American Parliament and 5 deputies to the Andean Parliament... |
25.3 | |
| Burkinabé presidential election, 1991 Burkinabé presidential election, 1991 Presidential elections were held in Burkina Faso on 1 December 1991. They were the first since 1978, but were boycotted by the opposition parties. Ultimately the result was a victory for the only candidate, incumbent President Blaise Compaoré, although voter turnout was just 27.3%.-Results:... |
27.3 | |
| Ghanaian parliamentary election, 1992 Ghanaian parliamentary election, 1992 The Ghanaian parliamentary election was held on 29 December 1992. This were the first parliamentary elections since the 1979 election, 13 years earlier. Presidential elections were held earlier on 3 November 1992. Only 28.1% of the registered voters turned out for the parliamentary elections... |
28.1 | |
| Malian presidential election, 1997 Malian presidential election, 1997 Presidential elections were held in Mali on 11 May 1997. They were boycotted by the main opposition parties, and as a result featured only two candidates; incumbent president Alpha Oumar Konaré of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali and Mamadou dit Maribatrou Diaby of the Party for Unity, Democracy... |
29.0 | |
| Trinidad and Tobago general election, 1971 Trinidad and Tobago general election, 1971 General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 24 May 1971. The result was a victory for the People's National Movement, which won all 36 seats. However, due to an boycott by all major opposition parties protesting at fraud related to the voting machines used in previous elections, voter... |
33.2 | |
| Togolese presidential election, 1993 Togolese presidential election, 1993 Presidential elections were held in Togo on 25 August 1993. They were the first presidential elections in the country to feature more than one candidate. However, the major opposition parties boycotted the election, and only two minor candidates ran against incumbent President Gnassingbé Eyadéma,... |
36.2 | |
| Ivorian presidential election, 2000 Ivorian presidential election, 2000 A presidential election was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 22 October 2000. Robert Guéï, who headed a transitional military regime following the December 1999 coup d'état, stood as a candidate in the election. All of the major opposition candidates except for Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivorian Popular Front ... |
37.4 | |
| Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum, 1973 | 58.1 | Less than 1% amongst Catholics |
| Gambian parliamentary election, 2002 Gambian parliamentary election, 2002 Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 17 January 2002. They were boycotted by several opposition parties, including the United Democratic Party... |
56.4 | Voting only took place in 15 of the 48 seats |
| Algerian presidential election, 1999 Algerian presidential election, 1999 The 1999 Algerian presidential election took place on 15 April 1999 to elect the President of Algeria. Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected with 73.8% of the vote after the other six candidates withdrew on the eve of the election.-Background:... |
60 | Boycotting candidates claimed that it was only around 25% |
| Guinean presidential election, 2003 Guinean presidential election, 2003 A presidential election was held in Guinea on 21 December 2003. Incumbent Lansana Conté won over 95.6% of the vote after most opposition parties boycotted the election.... |
86 | Opposition estimates were less than 15% |
Boycott campaigns
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the three largest independent social movements boycott the vote under the banner of the No Land! No House! No Vote!
No Land! No House! No Vote!
No Land! No House! No Vote! is the name of a campaign by a number of poor people's movements in South Africa that calls for the boycotting of the vote and a general rejection of party politics and vote banking...
Campaign.
Other social movements in other parts of the world also have similar campaigns or non-voting preferences. These include the Naxalites in India, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
in Mexico and various Anarchist oriented movements. In Mexico's mid term 2009 elections there was strong support for 'Nulo' - a campaign to vote for no one. In India poor people's movements in Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh have rejected parliamentary politics (as well as the NGO and Maoist alternatives).
See also
- abstentionAbstentionAbstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
-- an individual not voting - abstentionismAbstentionismAbstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
-- running in an election to a deliberative assemblyDeliberative assemblyA deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
but refusing to take any seats won