Referendum in the context of "Representative democracy"

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.

In most democracies, eligible voters can vote in elections for representatives. Voting on issues by referendum (direct democracy) may also be available. For example, in Switzerland, this is permitted at all levels of government. In the United States, some states allow citizens the opportunity to write, propose, and vote on referendums (popular initiatives); other states and the federal government do not. Referendums in the United Kingdom are rare.

A popular initiative, or people's initiative (also citizens' initiative, or civic initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition.

In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite or referendum, also called a popular initiated referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.

In Japan, the governor (知事, chiji) is the highest ranking executive of a prefecture.

The governor is directly elected for a four-year term. Governors are subject to recall referendums. In each prefecture, between one and four vice governors are appointed by the governor with the approval of the prefectural assembly. In the case of death, disability, or resignation of the governor, one of the vice governors becomes either governor or acting governor.

The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Arabic: بعثة الأمم المتحدة لتنظيم استفتاء في الصحراء الغربية; French: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental; Spanish: Misión de las Naciones Unidas para la Organización de un Referéndum en el Sáhara Occidental; MINURSO) is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement Plan, which had paved way for a cease-fire in the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front (representing the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) over the contested territory of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara).

MINURSO's mission was to monitor the cease-fire and to organize and conduct a referendum in accordance with the Settlement Plan, which would enable the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara to choose between integration with Morocco and independence. This was intended to constitute a Sahrawi exercise of self-determination, and thus complete Western Sahara's still-unfinished process of decolonization (Western Sahara is the last major territory remaining on the UN's list of non-decolonized territories.)

The Free Zone or Liberated Territories (Arabic: المنطقة الحرة, romanized: al-minṭaqa al-ḥurra) is a term used by the Polisario Front government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a partially recognized sovereign state in the western Maghreb, to describe the part of Western Sahara that lies to the east of a 2,200-kilometre (1,400 mi) border wall flanked by a minefield, often referred as the Berm, and to the west and north of the borders with Algeria and Mauritania, respectively. It is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as opposed to the area to the west of the Berm, which is occupied by Morocco as part of its Southern Provinces. Both states claim the entirety of Western Sahara as their territory.

The zone was consolidated as a Polisario-held zone in a 1991 cease-fire between the Polisario Front and Morocco, which had been agreed upon together as part of the Settlement Plan. Morocco occupies the areas west of the Berm, including most of the territory's population. The cease-fire is overseen by the United Nations' MINURSO forces, charged with peacekeeping in the area and the organization of a referendum on independence.

An independence referendum was held in Montenegro on 21 May 2006. It was approved by 55.5% of voters, narrowly passing the 55% threshold. By 23 May, preliminary referendum results were recognized by all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, suggesting widespread international recognition if Montenegro were to become formally independent. On 31 May the referendum commission officially confirmed the results of the referendum, verifying that 55.5% of valid votes were in favor of independence. Because voters met the controversial threshold requirement of 55% approval, the referendum was incorporated into a declaration of independence during a special parliamentary session on 31 May. The Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro made a formal Declaration of Independence on Saturday, 3 June.

In response to the announcement, the government of Serbia declared itself the legal and political successor of Serbia and Montenegro, and that the government and parliament of Serbia itself would soon adopt a new constitution. The United States, China, Russia, and the institutions of the European Union all expressed their intentions to respect the referendum's results.

Schleswig-Holstein (/ˈʃlɛswɪɡ ˈhoʊlstaɪn/; German: [ˌʃleːsvɪç ˈhɔlʃtaɪn] ; Danish: Slesvig-Holsten [ˌsle̝ːsvi ˈhʌlˌste̝ˀn]; Low German: Sleswig-Holsteen; North Frisian: Slaswik-Holstiinj; occasionally in English Sleswick-Holsatia) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg. It covers an area of 15,763 km (6,086 sq mi), making it the 5th smallest German federal state by area (including the city-states). Historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County (Northern Schleswig; now part of the Region of Southern Denmark) in Denmark.

Schleswig, known as South Jutland at the time, had been under Danish control since the fifth century. In the 12th century, however, it became a duchy within Denmark due to infighting in the Danish royal house. It bordered Holstein, which was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning in 1460, the King of Denmark ruled both Schleswig and Holstein as their duke. Schleswig was still part of Denmark, while Holstein remained part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 19th century, both Danes and Germans believed they had a rightful claim to Schleswig-Holstein. While the population of Holstein and Lauenburg was entirely ethnically German, Schleswig had been predominantly Danish until the late 1700s and early 1800s, when extensive German influence led to the Germanization of South Schleswig. The resulting long-term political and territorial dispute was known as the Schleswig-Holstein Question. In 1848, Denmark tried to formally annex the area. Prussia responded by invading, thus beginning the First Schleswig War, which ended in a victory for Denmark. But in the Second Schleswig War (1864), Prussia and Austria won, and the territory was absorbed into Prussia in 1867. After the German defeat in World War I the Allies required that the question of sovereignty over the territory be submitted to plebiscites (the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites). They resulted in the return of the Danish-speaking North Schleswig to Denmark. The area was subsequently renamed South Jutland, restoring the historical name used before it was changed to Schleswig by Gerhard III of the House of Schauenburg. After World War II, Schleswig-Holstein took in over a million refugees.

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. In modern politics, the most high-profile political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of state or head of government, often a president or prime minister.

In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place legislation on the ballot for a referendum or popular vote, either enacting new legislation, or voting down existing legislation. Citizens, or an organization, might start a popular initiative to gather a predetermined number of signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. The measure is placed on the ballot for the referendum, or actual vote.

Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, were signature reforms from the Progressive Era (1896–1917) when people sought to moderate the power of parties and political bosses. These powers are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. Initiatives and referendums constitute a form of direct democracy. Since 1955, states have increasingly rescinded rights to initiatives and referendums; "the strongest predictor of anti-direct-democracy proposals is Republican control of the state legislature."

A referendum on merging the posts of Chancellor and President was held in Nazi Germany on 19 August 1934, seventeen days after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg. The German leadership sought to gain approval for Adolf Hitler's assumption of supreme power. The referendum was associated with widespread intimidation of voters and significant electoral fraud.

Hitler used the resultant large "yes" vote to claim public support to succeed Hindenburg as the de facto head of state of Germany, though he had assumed presidential powers in addition to his own powers as Chancellor immediately upon Hindenburg's death. The referendum was meant to legitimise that move and allowed Hitler to take the title Führer und Reichskanzler (Führer and Reich Chancellor).

The Constitution of Ireland (Irish: Bunreacht na hÉireann, pronounced [ˈbˠʊnˠɾˠəxt̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ]) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executive president, a bicameral parliament, a separation of powers and judicial review.

It is the second constitution of the Irish state since independence, replacing the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State. It came into force on 29 December 1937 following a statewide plebiscite held on 1 July 1937. The Constitution may be amended solely by a national referendum. It is the longest continually operating republican constitution within the European Union.

In late September 2022, in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian-installed officials in Ukraine staged so-called referendums on the annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine by Russia. They were widely described as sham referendums by commentators and denounced by various countries. The validity of the results of the referendums has only been accepted by North Korea.

The votes were conducted in four areas of Ukraine – the Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, and the Russian-appointed military administrations of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, captured and occupied in the first week of the 2022 invasion – as well as in Russia. At the time of the referendums, Russia did not fully control any of the four regions, where military hostilities were ongoing. Much of the population had fled since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The referendums were illegal under international law and have been condemned by the United Nations as violations of the United Nations Charter.

A disputed referendum concerning the status of Crimea was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) on March 16, 2014, after Russian forces seized control of Crimea.

The referendum was a step in the process of Russia annexing Crimea. The referendum asked voters whether they wanted to rejoin Russia as a federal subject, or if they wanted to restore the 1992 Crimean constitution and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine. The final date and ballot choices were set only ten days before the referendum was held. Before, during and after the referendum was proclaimed, the Crimean peninsula saw Russian soldiers take over public buildings and Ukrainian military installations. When the referendum was proclaimed, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People called for a boycott of the referendum.

Autonomous okrugs, (Russian: автономный округ, romanized: avtonomnyy okrug) which are also referred to as "autonomous districts" or "autonomous areas" are a type of federal subject of the Russian Federation and simultaneously an administrative division type of some federal subjects. As of 2024, Russia has four autonomous okrugs of its 83 federal subjects. The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is the only okrug which is not subordinate to an oblast. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are parts of Tyumen Oblast.

According to the Constitution of the Soviet Union, in case of a union republic voting on leaving the Soviet Union, autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs had the right, by means of a referendum, to independently resolve whether they will stay in the USSR or leave with the seceding union republic, as well as to raise the issue of their state-legal status.

A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls appear in the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy. Even where they are legally available, recall elections are only commonly held in a small number of countries including Peru, Ecuador, Taiwan, and Japan. They are considered by groups such as ACE Electoral Knowledge Network as the most rarely used form of direct democracy.

Kamchatka Krai (Russian: Камча́тский край, romanized: Kamchatskiy kray, IPA: [kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj]) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East. It is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center and largest city is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, home to over half of its population of 291,705 (2021 census).

Kamchatka Krai was formed on 1 July 2007, as a result of the merger of Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug, based on the voting in a referendum on the issue on 23 October 2005. The okrug retains the status of a special administrative division of the krai, under the name of Koryak Okrug.