An independent or a nonpartisan politician is an individual politician who is not affiliated with any political party. There are many reasons why someone can run for independence.
- Independent may support a policy different from that of a major political party.
- In some parts of the world, voters may have an independent voting tradition, so standing for a political party is a disadvantage.
- In some countries (including Russia), political parties can only be registered if they have large numbers of members in more than one region, but in certain regions only a small proportion of voters support the big party.
- In some countries (including Kuwait), political parties violate the law and all candidates thus stand as independent.
- In some countries where politics are traditionally partisan, such as the United States, sub-national agencies and offices such as the Nebraska State Legislature and directly elected judicial and executive positions are nonpartisan and require politicians not to run for office as part of a political party, even if they may become members of one.
- In some countries where politics are traditionally partisan, like Mongolia, the ruling President must always be independent and unable to run for re-election as a member of a political party.
Some independent politicians may be associated with a political party, perhaps as a former member, or have a harmonious view of it, but choose not to stand on its name, or can not do so because the party in question has chosen another. candidate. Others may be members or supportive of political parties at the national level but believe they should not formally represent them (and thus subject to their policies) at other levels.
In nominating for public office, independent persons sometimes choose to form parties or align themselves with others who are independent, and can formally register their parties or alliances. Even when the word "independent" is used, such an alliance has much in common with political parties, especially if there are organizations that need to approve "independent" candidates.
Video Independent politician
Australia
Independent is a recurring feature of the Australian federal Parliament, and they are more often elected to declare parliament. There are up to five independent in every federal parliament since 1990, and independents have won twenty-eight times during the national elections at that time. A large number of independent are former members of one of Australia's four main parties, the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Liberal Party, the Australian Green Party or the Australian National Party. In 2013, a political party called Independent Australia is registered with the Australian Electoral Commission.
In 2017, two independent people sit in the House of Representatives of Australia, Andrew Wilkie of Denison in Tasmania (former Green Party candidate) and Cathy McGowan from Indi in Victoria.
Independent Senators are quite rare. In modern politics, independent Brian Harradine took office from 1975 to 2005 with considerable influence. Nick Xenophon has been the only Independent Independent Senator since his election to the Senate in the 2007 federal election. Xenophon was re-elected for another six-year term in federal elections 2013. DLP Senator John Madigan became independent Senator in September 2014, while Senator PUP Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus became an independent Senator in November 2014 and March 2015.
Maps Independent politician
Brazil
Independent politicians are not allowed to run for office in Brazil. The 1988 Constitution, in Article 14, §§3rd, item V, says that "What is the requirement for eligibility: V - party affiliation." However, the Amendment to the Constitutional Proposal (PEC) no. 6/2015, written by Senator JosÃÆ'  © Reguffe, will allow independent candidacy of individuals who get support at least 1% of voters may vote in territory (city, state or state, depending on election) where the candidate is running. Currently, legislative and executive members can leave their respective parties once elected, just like the Reguffe senator, who left the Democratic Workers Party (PDT) in 2016.
Bulgarian
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is an independent with support from the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Radev was elected in Bulgaria 2016 presidential election.
Canada
Many independent Parliament members in the last decades of the 19th century but diminished when the party system solidified. Nevertheless, it remains common to have a small number of Independent Conservative or Independent Conservative members in the 1950s.
Independent politicians have held great control in the House of Commons of Canada in recent years because Canada has been ruled by successive minority governments with Members of the Independent Parliament (MPs) sometimes sharing in the balance of power.
In the 2004 federal election, Chuck Cadman was elected to the federal parliament as an independent parliamentarian representing British Columbia riders in Surrey North. Cadman had previously stated that riding on behalf of the Canadian Reform Party and the Canadian Alliance, but after the Canadian Alliance joined the Canadian Progressive Conservative Party to form a new Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, Cadman lost nominations to represent the Conservative Party in riding to Jasbir Singh Cheema. Cadman then stood in the next election as an independent and defeated Cheema, as well as other Canadian party candidates, with a significant margin.
In the spring of 2005, Cadman cast a binding vote in favor of a budget backed by the Liberal Party administration of Paul Martin as well as the New Democratic Party (NDP), but was opposed by the Conservative opposition and the Quà © Å © bà © Å © cois. Two other independent also voted on the budget. Carolyn Parrish, an independent lawmaker for Mississauga - Erindale, was recently kicked out of the Liberal Party for criticizing US President George W Bush, but still side with the Liberals on a budget vote. Independent lawmaker David Kilgour for Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont, has previously resigned from the Liberal caucus and voted to opposition parties against the budget. The ballot required House Speaker Peter Milliken to cast a decisive vote, and he did so for the budget, allowing the government to survive.
Cadman was seriously ill with cancer when he was casting an important vote, and he died later in 2005. In the 2006 federal election, his ride was won by NDP candidate Penny Priddy. Both Parrish and Kilgour (or Pat O'Brien, MP for London - Fanshawe, who withdrew from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent after the 2005 budget vote) stood for reelection in 2006.
Another independent candidate, Andrà © Å © Arthur, was elected to the Quebec rider at Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier in 2006, and the only independent who won the seat in the election. He was re-elected to the federal election on October 14, 2008. Former Conservative Conservative and Conservative MP Bill Casey, who was expelled from the Conservative Party to vote against the 2007 Federal Budget, also ran as independent in the 2008 election, easily defending his position.
Candidates in federal elections who are not affiliated with the party have two choices: independent or no affiliation. In the first case, they appear on the ballot with "Independent" following their name; in the second case, they appear with their names only. Both options are equal.
The territorial legislative body of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is a consensus government without a political party, so all members sit as independent. There are some independent members of other sub-national legislatures, which are principally similar to the federal House of Commons; for example, in the 2009 election in British Columbia, independent candidate Vicki Huntington narrowly defeated Attorney General Wally Oppal as MLA for Delta South.
Persons who are truly independent should not be equated with party members without official status in the legislature. Most legislatures state that a party must have a certain number of seats to enjoy certain benefits in terms of staffing, budgets, the ability to ask questions in the Question Period, and the like. Although members whose party does not hold this status may not have more privileges than independent members, they remain representatives of political parties.
Also, members who are excluded from or elect to abandon their party caucus may sit as "Independent" with some appointments, eg, "Independent Liberals" or "Independent Conservatives", to show their affiliation to that party even if it is not officially recognized.
Elections as independent are much more common at the municipal level. Many municipalities have no tradition of political parties.
Croatian
After an unconvincing election in 2015 Tihomir Ore? Kovi? was named after the first non-partisan Prime Minister of Croatia.
Finnish
After serving six years in his first tenure as President of Finland in the National Coalition Party from 2012 to 2018, Sauli NiinistÃÆ'¶ was elected for a second term in 2018 after running as an independent candidate.
French
In France, independent politicians are often categorized as sans ÃÆ'  © tiquette ("without labels") in municipal or district elections. However, there are rarely independent politicians at the national level, especially Josà © à © BovÃÆ' © in the 2007 presidential election. Emmanuel Macron is an independent politician as Minister but is forming his own party to stand in the 2017 presidential election.
In 1920, Alexandre Millerand was elected president of the Republic under the "unlabeled" flag.
From 2001 to 2008 "no label" is no longer used in the nomenclature of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Candidates and lists that present themselves as "unlabeled" are classified in DVG (various left), DVD (right variety), DVC (various centers) or AUT (other) according to their political sensitivity. Therefore, from 2008 onwards, DIV (miscellaneous) or LDIV codes for "other" lists have been created to classify interests that can not be classified or categorical and, by default, mayors without labels claiming No political sensitivity , be it left, center or right. The AUT (other) level replaces the DIV class without changing its definition.
German
Joachim Gauck, President of Germany from March 2012 to March 2017 and the first Federal President without party affiliation, is a leading independent politician today. In the 2010 German presidential election he is a Social Democratic and Green candidate, in 2012 a candidate of all major parties except The Left. His presidency - despite his limited authority - is an exception, since Independent politicians rarely hold high office in German history, at least since World War II. Nevertheless it has happened that a presidential candidate without the possibility of election by the Federal Convention is not a party member: for example, when in 1984, the Green Party came up with writer Luise Rinser.
In the parliament Bundestag almost all the deputies belong to political parties. The personalized proportional representation voting system (since 1949) allows individuals to exercise the passive right to choose to stand for direct mandate in electoral districts - half the seats in parliament are distributed by the districts under a pluralist electoral system. Such candidates must present 200 signatures in favor of his candidacy, similar to the party candidates who did not have previous parliamentary presentations. The first Bundestag election in 1949 saw the three independents elected; since then, no independent party candidate has won the seat. At the state level, the situation is more or less the same: only party members have real opportunities to be elected to Landtag legislatures, and state ministers without party membership are as scarce as at the federal level. However, in local elections it can happen that an independent politician is elected as deputy of district, city and municipal councils, as well as members of city council or even mayor, especially in North Germany. In recent years, independent has formed Free Voters association to enter the Landtag parliament, so far only succeeded in Bavaria.
The independent MP, who is also not a member of the voting association, holds the status of being non-inscrit (German: frilltionsloser Abgeordneter ) not affiliated with any parliamentary group. A representative who leaves his party (and his parliamentary group) and does not join the other becomes independent and non-insecure . In 1989, Bundestag MP Thomas WÃÆ'¼ppesahl, who had left the Green Party in 1987 and was expelled from the Green parliamentary group the following year, gained more rights as non-insecure, for example more talk time and representation in the subcommittee, when the Federal Constitutional Court decided some of his favor.
After the German unification of 1871, the first Reich Chancellors (head of government) de jure served as executive officers of the German Imperial states as non-partisan, usually recruited from traditional, aristocratic and/or military elite bureaucracies. In the fierce political conflict during the Weimar period after World War I, some chancellors and Reich Ministers also had no party affiliations: these chancellors were Wilhelm Cuno (1922-1923), Hans Luther (1925-1926), former central politician Franz von Papen (1932), and Kurt von Schleicher (1932-1933). The last two cabinets appointed by President Reich Paul von Hindenburg, a non-partisan (though very Conservative) person, are regarded as apolitical cabinets in connection with the rise of the Nazi Party; many of the ministers are not party members.
Since World War II, only two cabinet ministers of the (non-party) Germany (West) are not party members, despite the "on the ticket" of the big party in the coalition, Social Democrats: Minister of Education Hans Leussink (1969-1972), and Minister of Economy Werner Müller (1998-2002 ). Justice Minister Klaus Kinkel was shortly after his appointment to join the Free Democratic Party in 1991. A special case was former Federal Minister and Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) not conclusively established: although he served as Minister of Economy from From 1949 to 1963 and as Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966, and even elected chairman of the CDU party in 1966, it appears he never signed a membership form or paid dues. The research by Der Stern magazine has revealed records on the CDU party archive that was made only in 1968, with a fake date of early March 1949.
Hong Kong
More than half of the Hong Kong Legislative Council consists of independent people, or members whose political group is represented by a single member in the legislature. They are common in functional constituencies, and not infrequently among geographic constituencies.
Iceland
The President of Iceland (currently GuÃÆ' Â ° ni Th. JÃÆ'³hannesson) is independent.
India
Selection of independent contest candidates on the basis of their personal attractiveness or to promote a different ideology from any party. Some are also run as independent candidates after being ruled out by political rivals in their own party, or to ensure that competing candidates are not elected. While some are original candidates, others have been criticized as stupid candidates proposed by political parties to deal with the expenditure ceilings imposed by the Electoral Commission, or to confuse voters by using party names similar to other candidates.
ireland
After the Irish elections in 2016, there are 19 independent TDs (Members of Parliament) at DÃÆ'¡il (lower house of the Irish parliament), representing 12% of the total. 4 TDs also sit for a registered party named Independents4Change. An independent group, the Independent Alliance has agreed to support the minority government with a number of other independent individuals who both approve and accept cabinet positions.
There are fourteen independent senators in the 25th Seanad (upper house of the Irish parliament), representing 23% of the total. Three of them were selected by graduates of the National University of Ireland and two from the University of Dublin. There are also five independent senators nominated by Taoiseach and four are selected by the technical panel.
Both are the highest record for the independent
Italy
Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1993-1994), Lamberto Dini (1995-1996), Giuliano Amato (2000-2001), Mario Monti (2011-2013) and Giuseppe Conte (2018-present) were independent when they were in office. Ciampi was also President of the Italian Republic between 1999 and 2006.
Kosovo
In Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga was elected the first woman and the Independent President of Kosovo. He is also the first and independent female leader to be elected throughout the Balkans.
Malaysia
Independents are seldom elected to the People's Council and the state legislature. In elections in Malaysia, many independent candidates lose election deposits because they fail to secure at least 12.5% ​​or one-eighth of the total votes cast. Independent Senators are quite rare.
In 2010, a group of independent MPs who were sacked from the People's Justice Party formed a political block called the Independent Consensus . The members were Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru), Wee Choo Keong (Ampang), Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Kota Bharu), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai). It did not last beyond the 12th General Elections.
In 2017, an independent politician sits on the People's Council, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim from Bandar Tun Razak, the highest registered voter constituency in Kuala Lumpur (former PKR candidate).
Mexico
Jaime Heliodoro RodrÃÆ'guez CalderÃÆ'³n (born in 1957), sometimes referred to by his nickname "El Bronco", is a Mexican politician who is the current governor of the northern state of Nuevo LeÃÆ'³n and has no political party affiliation. On June 7, 2015 was elected Governor of Nuevo LeÃÆ'³n, making history the first independent candidate to win in the country.
New Zealand
Initially, no party was recognized in the New Zealand parliament, although loose groups did exist informally (initially between supporters of central government versus provincial government, and later between liberal and conservative). The foundations of formal political parties, beginning in the late 19th century, greatly reduced the number of unaffiliated politicians, although a small number of independent candidates continued to be elected until the 1940s. Since then, however, there are relatively few independent politicians in Parliament. No independent candidate has won or sealed in elections since 1943, although two independent candidates have been successful in elections (in all cases after holding the chair in question as partisan candidates until then). Other politicians have become independent within the timeframe of parliament, but are not elected to such offices.
The last person elected directly to Parliament as independent in New Zealand is Winston Peters, who won the 1993 election in Tauranga voters as independent after previously holding him as a member of the National Party. At the time of the next general election, he has formed his own party (New Zealand First), and thus no longer stands as independent. Since then, the only independent people in Parliament have been those who have been discharged or expelled from their original party but retained their seats without interruption. Some have gone to discover or find their own parties, with varying degrees of success - examples include Peter Dunne, Taito Phillip Field, Gordon Copeland, Tau Henare, and Alamein Kopu. Others have joined parties later outside Parliament, such as Frank Grover and Tuariki Delamere.
There are two independent MPs in the last Parliament; Chris Carter and Hone Harawira. Carter became independent after his criticism of the Labor leadership resulted in him being removed from the Labor caucus, while Harawira resigned from Party M? Ori and, after a brief period as an independent, also resigned as a member of parliament to force the 2011 interim elections when he was re-elected as the representative of his new political party, Mana and defend his seat in the 2011 General Election. There are also two other parties who only have one MP United Future with Peter Dunne and ACT with David Seymour. Both Dunne and Seymour are not classified as independent parties - Dunne's presence in Parliament is due to personal votes in his voters at home, and Seymour's presence is the only elected member of parliament due to the collapse of their support in the 2011 elections. In the 50th Parliament of New Zealand there is an independent lawmaker: Brendan Horan, former New Zealand Member of Parliament who was expelled from his party for alleged misappropriation of family assets.
Peter Dunne effectively became an Independent Member of Parliament for a short time after his future political party was delegated on June 25, 2013 by the Electoral Commission, because the party no longer has at least 500 members required. The party was then re-registered.
Niue
In Niue, there has been no political party since 2003, when the Niue People's Party was dissolved, and all politicians are independent de facto. Governments rely on informal coalitions.
Pakistan
Pakistan is a Democratic country and also has an Independent politician who stands in the election. Parliament of Pakistan has Elections, 2008 Selected 30 Members. In the 2011 election has won 4 candidates in the National Assembly. In the 2013 General Election, 9 seats were won by an independent.
Philippines
Noli de Castro, a former vice president of the Philippines, ran for senator in 2001 without political party affiliation. He is a prospective guest of the opposition coalition Pwersa ng Masa but he never joins their campaign. He won the senate race with the highest vote (then) in the history of the Philippines. In 2004, he ran for a vice-president as a prospective guest of the K-4's administrative coalition and won by just under the majority of votes.
Beginning in 2001, several senators also resigned from their respective parties to become independent; at the start of the 15th Congress, there were more independent senators than other single political parties. However, in an election, all independently elected members are members of the government or opposition coalition, until the 2007 Senate election when Gregorio Honasan (former senator) was elected an independent while not a coalition member. Honasan was previously elected in 1995 as an independent candidate and was adopted by the coalition of Nationalist People's Coalition leaders to become the first independent senator to be elected since Magnolia Antonino in 1967, although Antonino was a prospective guest of the then Liberal Party.
At the local level, former imam Eddie Panlilio was elected Pampanga governor in 2007, defeating two candidates for administration. When Panlilio was eventually transferred to the Liberal Party in time for the 2010 election, it was decided that he was beaten in the 2007 elections; in 2010, he was defeated.
In the 2010 House of Representatives elections, seven independents were elected, although all but two joined the political parties after the election.
In the general election, independent candidates are required by law to spend less than candidates nominated by a party.
Poland
The Polish Sejm is elected by the party-ordination list, which does not allow a single candidate to run, although since 2001 it has been possible to make non-partisan voters of the Voters Committee (pol. KWW , comitet wyborczy wyborcÃÆ'³w ); they are almost identical to the party list, but no party is officially listed behind them. They can be unlisted parties, e.g. Kukiz'15, or non-partisan movements, although the latter never reached the 5% threshold. National minority candidates also formed the Electoral Selection Committee (such as the German Minority Selection Committee, represented in the Sejm since 1991), but they did not have to reach the national threshold. However, during the term of Sejm many members switched sides or became independent.
Tickets like the Civic Platform during the 2001 election were officially impartial, the Civic Platform was widely seen as a de facto political party, as it is today.
The situation in the Senate is different, because the voting system allows independent candidates to run for single candidates and some are elected in their own right. In the last parliamentary election (2015) four independents won seats in the Senate.
Three Presidents since 1990 have been technically independent. Lech Wa? Sa is not a candidate supported by any party, but chairman of Solidarity and he is elected without the full support of this unity (Solidarity vote is divided between him and Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki). Aleksander Kwa? Niewski is the leader of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, but officially resigned from the party after he was elected, as did Lech Kaczy? Ski, who is the first leader of Law and Justice, Bronis? Aw Komorowski (PO) and Andrzej Duda (PiS). This resignation is necessary because the Constitution says that the president will not have another office or public function discharge. The presidents mentioned above often participate in their party campaigns (eg Andrzej Duda in the Justice and Justice campaign three months after his resignation from the party).
Russian
All Russian Presidents are independent. Former president Dmitry Medvedev has rejected an offer to join United Russia, saying he believes the president must be independent so he serves the interests of the country rather than his political party.
Vladimir Putin, current Russian president, is the head of the United Russia party until 26 May 2012, but even then it is not a member, thus formally still independent.
Taiwan
After the last local elections in Taiwan on November 29, 2014, there were three independent local heads:
- Chen Fu-hai, Kinmen County Judge
- Fu Kun-chi, Hualien County Judge
- Ko Wen-je, Mayor of Taipei City
United Kingdom
The registration of the Political Party Act 1998 establishes the first special rule in the UK relating to the use of the term 'independent' by the election candidates. The law is repealed with much of its contents covered by Section II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000. Candidates running for local elections of the United Kingdom and parliamentary elections The United Kingdom, including the devolution assemblies, may use registered political names, or the term 'Independent' (or an equivalent Welsh language annibynol ) or no description of the ballot paper at all (this last resort is used, for example, by David Icke at Haltemprice and Howden by elections, 2008).
Some groups in the United Kingdom who are not affiliated with any national or regional party have registered locally based political parties. Some examples of English are Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Care, Epsom and Ewell Residents Association, Devizes Guardians, Derwentside Independents, and East Yorkshire Independents.
House House of Commons
Before the 20th century, it was quite common for independent men to be elected to the lower house of the British Empire, but only slightly since 1945.
S. O. Davies, MP Veteran worker holding Merthyr Tydfil's seat in the 1970 General Elections, stood as an independent, after he was not elected by the Labor Party.
Journalist Martin Bell was elected at Tatton in the 1997 Election, after standing on an anti-corruption platform. He was the first independent individual recently elected to the Council since 1951. He did not succeed in a different constituency in 2001.
In the 2001 General Election, Dr Richard Taylor of the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and the Health Care Party was elected to the Wyre Forest constituents.
Two independent MPs (or local parties) were elected in the 2005 elections, although both lost five years later.
In the same election, Peter Law was elected an independent in Blaenau Gwent. The law died on 25 April 2006: election results by elected Dai Davies of the local Blaenau Gwent People's Voice party. The general election was unusual because it was the first time in more than eighty years that an independent had occupied a seat previously occupied by another independent.
Also in the 2005 General Election Richard Taylor was re-elected to Wyre Forest. This is important for the fact that he is the only independent in recent times to be elected for a second term.
Only one independent is elected to Commons in the 2010, 2015 and 2017 elections, Sylvia Hermon, Member for the North Down, a Unionist who left the Unionist Ulster Party for her relationship with the Conservatives.
There are also some examples of politicians elected to the Assembly as representatives of political parties, then withdraw from party whips, or uproot them. Examples of this in the 2010-2015 parliament include Mike Hancock (formerly a Liberal Democrat), Eric Joyce (former Labor) and Nadine Dorries, a Conservative whip drawn for parts of parliament and thus sitting as an independent during that time..
Independent candidates often stand in UK parliamentary elections, often with platforms on certain local issues, but usually unsuccessfully. An example of the 2001 election was Aston Villa's supporters, Ian Robinson, who stood as independent in Sutton Coldfield's constituency in protest over the way chairman Doug Ellis runs the football club. Another example, an independent candidate, in the Salisbury election area, is Arthur Uther Pendragon, a local activist and self-reincarnation of King Arthur.
Other independent candidates are associated with political parties and possibly former members, but can not stand under the label. For example, after being expelled from the Labor Party but before the Respect Coalition was established, British MP MP George Galloway described himself as an "Independent Worker".
On March 23, 2005, the Independent Network was established to support independent candidates in the General Election. The Independent Network still supports Independent candidates in local, regional, national and European elections. It has a set of organic principles known as the Bell Principles and is closely related to Lord Nolan's Public Life Standard. The Independent Network does not impose any ideology or political influence on their candidates.
In March 2009, multi-millionaire Paul Judge formed the Jury Team, an umbrella organization dedicated to increasing the number of independent candidates standing in the UK, both in national and European elections.
Independent and No Candidate description
Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 allows individuals who wish to become candidates for all parliaments and assemblies in the UK, including the House of Commons, the right to use any of the three voicemail descriptions. The description is the name of the registered political party; the word "independent" or the Welsh equivalent; or no description at all, leaving the blank blank description box.
Unless a candidate stands as an "independent" candidate or as "No Description" leaving the blank blank description box, their nomination must be confirmed with a signed certificate from the relevant official of the registered political party, as defined in Article 52 of the Administrative Act Election 2006.
House of Lords
House of Lords, including a large number of peers independent of political parties. Some simply are not affiliated with any grouping, while another group, bigger, grouped given the official designation of crossbenchers. In addition, the Lords Spiritual (bishop of the Church of England) has no party affiliation.
Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly
In the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary elections, three MSP were chosen as Independent: Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West), Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) and Margo MacDonald (Lothians). In 2004 Campbell Martin (Western Scotland) left the Scottish National Party to become independent and in 2005 Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) left the Conservative Party to become independent. At the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election, Margo MacDonald once again returned as an independent MSP and was elected independently for the third time four years later. He died in 2014 while still serving as a Member of Parliament. Since he was elected an independent regional MSP, there can not be elections and seats remain vacant until the 2016 election.
Peter Law was expelled from the Labor Party after opposing the Labor Party official candidate in Blaenau Gwent in the 2005 UK general election and became independent in the National Assembly and the British Parliament. In 2006 Peter Law died of a brain tumor and his wife Trish Law campaigned and took the chair as an independent candidate in successive mid-term elections and re-seats in the Welsh Assembly election in 2007.
In 2016, Nathan Gill as UKIP Wales leader defected from the group to sit as an independent after a fight with Neil Hamiliton who was elected chairman of the UKIP Assembly group. Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru's group in 2016 after falling several times with Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood. Dafydd Elis-Thomas says the reason for leaving Plaid Cymru is that he is not serious about working with the Wales Labor Government. Neil McEvoy was expelled from Plaid Cymru on January 16, 2018 and now sits as an independent AM. Nathan Gill quit on December 27, 2017 and was replaced by Mandy Jones. Mandy Jones left the UKIP group on January 9, 2018 due to the fall of his staff.
Local selection
The introduction of directly elected mayors in parts of the UK has witnessed independent elections to run councils in Stoke-on-Trent, Middlesbrough, Bedford, Hartlepool and Mansfield. The first mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was first elected as an independent, after opposing the official Labor Party candidate, Frank Dobson. He was then accepted back to the Labor Party in December 2003 before the first re-election campaign.
Independent candidates often stand and are elected to local councils. There is a Special Independent group of Local Government Associations to serve them. A number of local authorities have been entirely or almost entirely comprised of independent members, such as the City of London Corporation, the Isles of Scilly Council, the Orkney Islands Council, the Shetland Islands Council and the Eilean Siar (Western Islands Board) Chamber of Commons outside the Hebrides.
About a quarter of the police and criminal commissioners elected in England and Wales in the 2012 election are independent.
United States
President
George Washington is the only elected president as independent, as he is not officially affiliated with any party during his tenure.
John Tyler was expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841, and remained effective as an independent for the rest of his presidency, then returned to the Democrats. He briefly sought re-election in 1844 as National Democrat, but resigned for fear he would divide the Democratic vote.
Since 1900, a prominent candidate running for president has included Republican John Anderson in 1980, Ross Perot in 1992, and former Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in the 2004 and 2008 elections. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders ran for nomination Democrats, but ultimately did not appear in the vote, in the 2016 elections, although he received 5% of the vote as a candidate who wrote at his home in the state of Vermont.
In 2008, Nader formed an Independent Party in New Mexico, Delaware, and elsewhere to gain access to voting in several states. This strategy has been pursued by several other candidates for the Federal race, including Joe Lieberman (Connecticut to Lieberman).
Governor
Illinois, Maine, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Alaska and Minnesota have elected independent candidates officially as governors: Illinois's first two governors, Shadrach Bond and Edward Coles; James B. Longley in 1974 as well as Angus King in 1994 and 1998 from Maine; Lincoln Chafee in 2010 from Rhode Island; Julius Meier in 1930 from Oregon; Sam Houston in 1859 from Texas; and Bill Walker in 2014 from Alaska. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. is sometimes referred to as an independent governor, although this is not technically correct; he ran as a Connecticut Party candidate (which gave him better placement of votes than unaffiliated candidates would accept), defeating the Democratic and Republican nominations. Another former governor who is sometimes referred to as independent is Jesse Ventura, who actually ran as a member of the Minnesota Reform Affiliation affiliate, who was later affiliated of the party and returned to the original name of the Minnesota Independence Party.
In 1971, State Senator Henry Howell of Virginia, a former Democrat, was elected lieutenant governor as an independent. Two years later, he campaigned for the governor as an independent but lost 15,000 votes.
There were some unsuccessful independent governor candidates in 2006 affecting their elections. In Maine, state legislator Barbara Merrill (formerly a Democrat) received 21% of the vote. In Texas, country music singer and mystery novelist Kinky Friedman received 12.43% of the vote, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn State Supervisor received 18.13%. The presence of Strayhorn and Friedman in the race resulted in a four-way split between them and two major parties.
In 2010, Florida governor Charlie Crist left the Republican party and became Independent (he later became a Democrat) instead of facing former home country Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republicans (Rubio won, though Crist came before Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek).
In 2014, former mayor Honolulu Mufi Hannemann ran for independent candidate for the governor of the State of Hawaii after previously campaigning in the country's primary Democrats. As a result, Democratic candidate David Ige was elected governor with 49%.
There are several independents elected to the United States Senate throughout history. Key examples include David Davis of Illinois (former Republican) in the 19th century, and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. of Virginia (who had been elected for his first term as a Democrat) in the 20th century. Some officials have been elected as party members but become independent when in office (without such election), such as Wayne Morse of Oregon. Nebraska senator George W. Norris was elected to four periods as a Republican before turning independent after Republicans lost their majority in Congress in 1930. Norris won re-election as independent in 1936, but later lost his last re-election attempt for Republican Kenneth S. Wherry in 1942. Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become independent in 2001. Jeffords party status change is very important because it shifts the Senate's composition from 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats (with Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, who may be sever all ties for Republican interests), to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats and one Independent. Jeffords agreed to vote for Senate Democratic control in exchange for being appointed chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Democrats took control of the Senate until Congressional elections in 2002, when Republicans regained their majority. Jeffords retired at the end of his term in 2007. Wayne Morse after two years as an independent became a Democrat. Dean Barkley of the Minnesota Independence Party was appointed the day before the 2002 election to fill Paul Wellstone's senate seat which, when running for re-election, died a few weeks earlier. Barkley rejects the caucus with either party.
Senator Bernie Sanders is the longest independent member of Congress in American history. He was an independent member of the United States House of Representatives for Vermont-at-large from 1991 to 2007. Sanders then won the open Senate seat of Jim Jeffords as an independent. Joe Lieberman is a former Democrat who, like Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., ran under a third party (Connecticut for Lieberman Party) in the 2006 election. Although the two representatives are technically independent politicians, they often coalesce with the Democrats. In 2006, Sanders and Lieberman were two independent candidates who won for Congress. In 2012 Angus King was elected to the US Senate as Independent of Maine. In 2016, he usually jostles with Democrats.
The United States House of Representatives has also seen several independent members. Examples include Bernie Sanders from Vermont, Virgil Goode of Virginia, Frazier Reams of Ohio, and Victor Berger of Wisconsin.
State and local offices
As of August 2008, there were 12 independent holding offices in the state legislature. There are four state senators, one from Kentucky, one from Oregon, one from Tennessee, and one from New Mexico. Representatives are from the states of Louisiana (two), Maine (two), Vermont (two), and Virginia (two). In the 2008 general election, Wisconsin State Assembly Member Jeffrey Wood left the Republican Party and won re-election as an independent. After the 2008 election, New Mexico State Sen. Joseph Carraro left the Republican Party and registered as Independent. He does not run for re-election.
In November 2005, Manny Diaz was elected Mayor of Miami, Florida as an independent. On June 19, 2007, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg transferred his party affiliation from the Republic into an independent. Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada transformed his affiliate into an Independent from Democrats in December 2009. And Hollingsworth has won four consecutive elections since 1998 for the mayor of the small town of Ruston, Louisiana, home of Louisiana Tech University.
The Nebraska Legislature is unique because it is the only nonpartisan state legislature. In the Legislature (which is unique in that it is the only unicameral state legislature), there is no partiality of formal parties or groups and its members are nominated in non-partisan primary elections. Members are allowed to register with a political party but choose not to disclose their affiliation while sitting, as professional courtesy. However, the political affiliation of party-affiliated members is regarded as an open secret and the parties are in the legislature informally. Some members, such as Ernie Chambers of Omaha, are independent of the official party, while others have not publicly expressed their affiliation.
See also
- Backbencher
- Benjamin Franklin
- Sentrisme
- Electoral reform
- Independence Party (disambiguation page)
- Independent Party (disambiguation page)
- Independent (selector)
- Non-partisan democracy
- Radical centralism
- Swing Sound
- Syncretic politics
- Third party (United States)
- Nonpartisanism
Notes and references
Note:
Reference:
External links
- The Independent Political Candidate Directory
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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