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.
