'Non-partisan democracy' (also 'no-party democracy') is a system of
representative government or organization such that universal and periodic
elections (by
secret ballot) take place without reference to
political parties or even the speeches,
campaigns, nominations, or other apparatus commonly associated with
democracy.
A government is called nonpartisan if
★ the
law does not permit political parties,
★ government officials are not members of political parties,
★ government policies are decided by a
direct democracy,
★ officials are chosen in nonpartisan
election, or
★ no parties have arisen yet within a fledgling democracy.
Electioneering and even speaking about candidates may be discouraged, so as not to prejudice others' decisions or create an inharmonious atmosphere. Candidates to an office (or candidates to a
delegate position) are instead chosen strictly by the conscience of the individuals voting for them and familiarity with all potential candidates is not seen as a necessity or even a possibility. Non-partisan democracies can also possess indirect elections whereby delegates are chosen who in turn vote for the representative(s). The system works with
first past the post but is incompatible with
proportional representation systems other than
Single Transferable Vote.
A nonpartisan system differs from a
single-party system in that the governing faction identifies itself as a party. A single-party government often requires government officials to be members of the party, features a complex party
hierarchy as a key institution of government, forces citizens to agree to a partisan ideology, and may enforce its control over the government by making all other parties illegal. Members of a nonpartisan government may not share any ideologies (though in voluntary organizations, they of course may). Various
communist nations such as
China or
Cuba are single-party nations although the Members of Parliament are not elected as Party candidates. Non-partisan systems can also occur where there is a complete
separation of powers.
A direct democracy is considered nonpartisan since citizens vote on laws themselves rather than electing representatives.
In many nations, the
head of state is nonpartisan, even if the
prime minister and
parliament are chosen in partisan elections. The heads of state are expected to be neutral with regards to partisan politics.
Unless there are legal prohibitions against political parties, factions within nonpartisan governments generally evolve into political parties.
An
absolute monarchy, such as
Saudi Arabia, with no legislative branch, is not considered partisan or nonpartisan.
Advantages
★ All in the community (or at least perhaps those of a certain age, without a criminal record, etc.) are made eligible to
vote and can be voted for. Thus, it is believed that a non-partisan system also expands choice in elections beyond the limited range of choices as are otherwise presented to the public, who will at best have a limited role in partisan systems.
★ It is argued that the simple opportunity of being enabled to privately witness and assess the character and initiative of individuals within one's own community (especially where regular
town meetings occur at the local level or, in indirect election systems, where non-partisan delegates meet at a national level) provides a better picture of how capable a given individual is of providing future leadership and service.
★ Advocates argue that self-aggrandizement and promise-making inherent within partisan democracies would be minimized in such non-partisan systems (and possibly eliminated entirely in at least the public level for non-electioneering systems).
★ Appeals to limited loyalties and divisiveness surrounding partisan elections (and their social consequences beyond the elections) may be averted, especially in no-electioneering systems. This was one of the rationales advanced in favor of Uganda's previous no-party system.
★ In nonpartisan systems without electioneering, financial dependence on third parties may be averted by those elected, who are unencumbered with such alliances and can make decisions according to their own conscience rather than the party or lobbies that supported them.
★ Such a system is considered by some to be also compatible with
technocracy, whereby the solemn atmosphere may tend to elect candidates who may have great abilities and knowledge yet would not otherwise be inclined to participate in a media frenzy or take part in behind-the-scenes power-grabs.
★ Such systems are seen to invite a greater possibility of selection of traditionally-overlooked candidates from less self-promotional or less confrontation-accustomed populations, such as women or certain ethnic minorities.
Disadvantages
★ Political parties can provide poorer candidates greater resources and financing to compete against wealthier candidates. Standardized party rules may thus help equalize the campaigning field, insuring all candidates conform to certain standards.
★ Voters may find voting on a party basis more convenient than learning the platforms of innumerable candidates. It may be easier for voters to simply learn a broad, philosophical agenda (ie: a party platform) towards governance / politics and support candidates who share it. Time and effort may be wasted trying to learn the individual opinions of each separate candidate for each separate office when it would be simpler for them to just identify on a common platform. Critics will argue that during contentious elections parties will ''de facto'' emerge on this basis anyway. For example, if a community's most pressing public debate was over whether or not to build a new library, it would be expected that some candidates would support the idea, and others not. Voters may thus make their decisions bases solely on who is willing to identify as being on "their side" of the issue, even for officials whose office is not directly related to the decision, solely on the basis that "they think like me."
★ Many candidates may endorse the same or near identical policies so competing against each other wastes resources or splits the vote among them, thus allowing a more unpopular candidate with an unpopular agenda win on plurality. Supporters of parties argue it is more sensible for a group of like minded individuals to work together in favor of a commonly endorsed compromise candidate, rather than each person trying to get elected on their own.
★ In past non-partisan systems, such as
British Columbia prior to 1903, there was a certain level of regionalism and so-called pork barreling, where members would only support a bill if it somehow benefited their own local region.
Elections
In nonpartisan elections, each candidate for office runs on her or his own merits rather than as a member of a political party. No political affiliation (if one exists) is shown on the ballot next to a candidate. Generally, the winner is chosen from a runoff election where the candidates are the top two vote-getters from a primary election. In some elections, the candidates might be members of a national party, but do not run as party members for local office.
Nonpartisan elections are generally held for
municipal and county offices, especially
school board, and are also common in the election of judges. In some nonpartisan elections, it is common knowledge which candidates are members of and backed by which parties; in others, parties are almost wholly uninvolved and voters make choices with little or no regard to partisan considerations.
While non-partisan democracies can allow for a wide selection of candidates (especially within a no-nomination system whereby voters can choose any non-restricted person in their area), such systems are not incompatible with indirect elections (such as for large geographical areas), whereby delegates may be chosen who in turn elect the representatives.
Legislatures
In nonpartisan legislatures, there are no typically formal party alignments within the legislature; even if there are caucuses for specific issues. Alliances and causes with a nonpartisan body are often temporary and fluid since legislators who oppose each other on some issues may agree on other issues. Despite being nonpartisan, legislators typically have consistent and identifiable voting patterns. Decisions to investigate and enforce ethics violations by government officials are generally done on the basis of evidence instead of party affiliation. Committee chairs and other leaders within the legislature are often chosen for seniority and expertise, unlike the leaders in a partisan legislature who are often chosen because of loyalty to a party.
Examples
Governments
At the international level, election of the
Secretary-General and other posts within the
United Nations occur without reference to any political party, although blocs of nations might be seen as a partisan equivalent at the intergovernmental level.
Very few national governments are nonpartisan, but there are several examples of nonpartisan
state or
provincial governments. The nonpartisan system is also used in many US states for the election of judges, district attorneys and other officials, and many towns also have a completely non-partisan government.
Tuvalu,
Micronesia and
Palau have nonpartisan legislatures, although this is not defined by law.
A nonpartisan democracy might take root in sovereign nations, such as occurred in
Uganda in 1986, whereby political parties were restricted by a constitutional referendum endorsed by the people of the country (this system does not have all of the features described above). During a subsequent
referendum in 2005, over 92% of Ugandan citizens voted for the return of a multiple party system.
Some
Swiss Cantons are also nonpartisan, direct democracies.
Constitutional monarchies have non-partisan monarchs as their head of state.
Parliamentary republics generally have non-partisan, figurehead presidents.
The
Canadian territories of the
Northwest Territories and
Nunavut have nonpartisan democracies. The populace votes for individuals to represent it in the territorial assembly without reference to political parties. After the election, the assembly selects one of its number to form a government and act as
premier.
The municipal government of the City of
Toronto,
Ontario (
Canada) is the fifth largest government in the country, governing a population of more than 2.7 million. It consists of a nonpartisan, directly elected council. The public may have a general idea of the candidates' political affiliations, but their parties have no official recognition or privilege in the functioning of City Council.
Councilors are free to vote on each motion individually, freeing them from
party discipline.
Until the mid-20th century, a Canadian politician's political affiliation was not shown on
ballots at any level of government. The expectation was that citizens would vote according to the merit of the candidate, but in practice, party allegiance played an important role. Beginning in
1974, the name of the candidate's political party was shown on the ballot.
The state of
Nebraska in the
United States also uses the nonpartisan system when electing its
legislature. However, its
executive branch is elected on a partisan basis. It is the only state in the United States which has a nonpartisan legislature.
Non-government organizations
A system of non-partisan, democratically elected councils has fully governed the
Bahá'í Faith since
1963. These councils are formed at
local and national, as well as
international levels. Some such local "assemblies" were elected as early as the late
19th century but were overseen at that time by a single leader of the Faith.
History
The democracy of
Ancient Greece was a nonpartisan, direct democracy where eligible citizens voted on laws themselves rather than electing representatives.
Historians have frequently interpreted
Federalist No. 10 to imply that the
Founding Fathers of the
United States intended the government to be nonpartisan.
James Madison defined a faction as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." As political parties had interests which were adverse to the rights of citizens and to the general welfare of the nation, several Founding Fathers preferred a nonpartisan form of government.
The administration of
George Washington and the first few sessions of the
US Congress were nonpartisan. Factions within the early US government coalesced into the
Federalist and
Democratic-Republican parties. The
Era of Good Feeling, when the Federalist party collapsed, leaving the Democratic-Republican party as the sole political faction, was the United States' only experience with a single-party system.
The
Non-Partisan League was an influential
socialist political movement in the
United States, especially in the Upper
Midwest, particularly during the
1910s and
1920s. It also contributed much to the ideology of the former
Progressive Party of Canada. It went into decline and merged with the
Democratic Party of
North Dakota in
1956. The
Progressive Party of Canada and the
United Farmers movement (which formed governments in the provinces of
Alberta,
Manitoba and
Ontario) also acted on a similar philosophy. In the case of the
United Farmers of Ontario while in power (
1919-
1923) the administration of
Ernest Drury suffered lots of infighting as the result of conflicting views.
Because of their non-partisan ideology the
Progressive Party of Canada refused to take the position of the
official opposition after the
election of 1921 when they came in second place. Four years later they lost that position and their rural supporters began to move to the Liberal Party and CCF.
Eventually the
Progressive Party of Canada and the
United Farmers movement faded into obscurity with most of their members joining the
Liberal Party of Canada and the
democratic socialist,
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF, or present day
New Democratic Party.)
External links
★
Nebraska Unicameral History
See also
★
List of democracy and elections-related topics
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
