Lok Sabha Poll: Astonishing global facts about elections

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Various shades of elections from all around world

By Pradeep Kumar Panda

Bhubaneswar, April 10: Election for pope is oldest poll system in the world. There are instances of animals nominated in elections as well. Technology has also been accepted as a way to vote in elections.

Here are some astonishing facts:

In some countries like Australia, Belgium, and Brazil, voting is compulsory, and eligible citizens are required to vote in elections.
In some local elections around the world, there have been instances where animals have been ‘nominated’ or symbolically elected to office, often as a statement by the voters.

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The election of a new Pope by the College of Cardinals in the Vatican is one of the oldest ongoing electoral systems in the world.
Even in the remote and inhospitable environment of Antarctica, countries like Australia and New Zealand make provisions for their citizens to vote in national elections.
Estonia became the first country to hold legally binding general elections over the internet with their national parliamentary election in 2007.

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The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency, is recognized for having the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, the Tynwald, established in 979 AD.
Around the world, there are numerous self-declared micronations—small entities that claim to be independent nations but are not recognized by world governments.
In some countries, like India, ballots include a None Of The Above (NOTA) option, allowing voters to express their dissatisfaction with all the candidates.

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Astronauts in space don’t miss out on their democratic rights. Countries like the United States have made provisions for astronauts to vote from space.
Different countries and regions have experimented with various voting methods to improve fairness and representation.
In ancient Athens, citizens had the power to exile or ‘ostracise’ a person from the city-state for ten years through a process that involved scratching names onto pottery shards (ostraka).
India takes the accessibility of voting to an extreme level to ensure every citizen can vote.