Discover

(Redirected from Dissolution of Parliament)
In parliamentary systems, a 'dissolution of parliament' is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.
Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time. Early dissolutions are allowed in many jurisdictions.
== The Commonwealth of Australia ==
The House of Representatives, but not the Senate can be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General. The House expires 3 years after its first meeting if not earlier dissolved. The Senate can be dissolved by the Governor-General only when the double dissolution provisions are invoked. The convention is that the Governor-General must act on the advice of the Prime Minister. Although to fulfill this 'convention' during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, the Governor-General dismissed the elected Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in order to precipitate an early General Election.
== Canada ==
The House of Commons, but not the Senate, can be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. When the government is denied supply or the confidence, the Prime Minister must either resign and permit another member to form a government, or else advise the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament. Also, a House of Commons that sits for a full 5 years would be automatically dissolved, although this has never occurred.
The Provincial legislatures may also be dissolved at any time for the same reasons, by the Lieutenant-Governor on the advise of the Premier. British Columbia and Ontario have established fixed election dates, to which the federal 5-year rule would apply.
== France ==
The French National Assembly can be dissolved only one year after an election by the French President.
== The Federal Republic of Germany ==
According to the German constitution, the Bundestag can be dissolved by the federal president if the Chancellor loses a vote of confidence, or if a newly elected Bundestag proves unable to elect a chancellor with absolute majority. The second possibility has never occurred yet but the Bundestag has been dissolved in 1972, 1982, and 2005 when the then-ruling chancellors Brandt, Kohl, and Schröder deliberately lost votes of confidence in order that there could be fresh elections. On the last two occasions the decree of dissolution was challenged
without success before the Constitutional Court.
The second federal legislative body, the Bundesrat, cannot be dissolved.
== The Republic of Ireland ==
Dáil Éireann (the Irish House of Representatives) can be dissolved by the President if there is a vote of no confidence in the Taoiseach, but the president may refuse to dissolve it thus preventing an election and allowing the opposition leader to form a government. The president must dissolve the Dáil at any time when asked to do so by a Taoiseach who enjoys the confidence of the Dáil. This usually happens when the Dáil has neared the end of its five-year term, precipitating a general election. It may, although as of 2007 has never, be dissolved if the Dáil fails to elect a Taoiseach after a general election.
One feature of the Irish system is that although the Dáil is dissolved, Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate) is not, and may continue to meet during an election campaign for the Dáil. However as many members of the Seanad are typically involved in election campaigns for the Dáil, the Seanad does not typically meet often, if at all, once the Dáil is dissolved. A general election for the Seanad must take place within 90 days of the election of the new Dáil.
== Japan ==
The House of Representatives, but not the House of Councillors, can be dissolved at any time by the Emperor on the advice of the Prime Minister.
== New Zealand ==
The Parliament can be dissolved or prorogued at any time in its 3-year term by the Governor-General, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister.
== The United Kingdom

Contents

Scottish Parliament

National Assembly for Wales

Italy

See also

==

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister may ask the monarch to dissolve Parliament at any time, though it must be dissolved five years after the last general election as that is the maximum term a parliament may sit by virtue of the Septennial Act 1715, as amended by the Parliament Act 1911, which reduced the Septennial Act's seven-year limit.

Scottish Parliament

Under the Scotland Act 1998, ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May every four years (1999, 2003, 2007 etc.) The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the monarch on the proposal of the Presiding Officer.
If the Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved (with at least two-thirds of the Members voting in favour), or if the Parliament fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within certain time limits, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary general election and the Parliament is dissolved by the monarch by royal proclamation.

National Assembly for Wales

Under the Government of Wales Act 2006, ordinary general elections for the National Assembly are held on the first Thursday in May every four years.
==Romania==
According to the Romanian Constitution, voted in 1991 and revised in 2003, the President may dissolve the Parliament only if the Parliament rejects two consecutive candidates proposed by the President for the function of Prime Minister. Both houses can be dissolved. No dissolution of the Parliament has taken place in Romania since 1991.

Italy

In italy the dissolution of parliament (which last, accordingly to the 1948 Constituition, 5 years) and the calling of new general election is made by the President of the Republic, although the parliament may be extendend by ordinary legislation.
Since the Italian President is a no-responsible institutional figure, the actual power of dissolution is practically in the hand of the Government (for example in 2005 the former president of the Council of Ministes, Silvio Berlusconi decided the date of elections instead of the president of the Republic).

See also

★ Snap election