Election silence
Encyclopedia
An election silence, or alternatively pre-election silence, electoral silence, or campaign silence, is a ban on political campaigning prior to a presidential
or general election
. Legally it is a restriction of freedom of speech. For this reason it is considered unconstitutional in many western democracies. Election silence is, however, quite common in young democracies where limitation of political debate is justified by the legitimate aim of conflict prevention.
is also banned. The silence is generally legally enforced, though in some countries it is just a "gentlemen's agreement
" between leading parties.
There is no phrase commonly used in English
to describe this silence, due to the phenomenon's lack of observation in English-speaking countries. It is however used in many of the world's democracies "in order to balance out the campaigning and maintain a free voting environment".
In Bulgaria, the constitutional court ruled in 2009 that both electoral silence and ban on opinion polls before the election day represented a violation of freedom of speech. Constitutional Court of Hungary in 2007 ruled that ban on opinion polls was unconstitutional, but upheld electoral silence (Decision 6/2007 (II. 27.) AB on 26. February 2007). Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled in 2011 that ban on opinion polls was unconstitutional (Decision U-I-67/09 on 24 March 2011). Supreme Court of the US ruled that campaigning can only be limited on the election day in a small area around the polling station. Any broader ban on speech would be unconstitutional (Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191 (1992)).
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is president.- United States :The United States has elections on the state and local levels...
or general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Legally it is a restriction of freedom of speech. For this reason it is considered unconstitutional in many western democracies. Election silence is, however, quite common in young democracies where limitation of political debate is justified by the legitimate aim of conflict prevention.
Description
An election silence operates in some countries to allow a "cooling-off" period for voters to reflect on events before casting their votes. During this period no active campaigning by the candidates is allowed. Often pollingPolling
Polling is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria in Germany....
is also banned. The silence is generally legally enforced, though in some countries it is just a "gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...
" between leading parties.
There is no phrase commonly used in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
to describe this silence, due to the phenomenon's lack of observation in English-speaking countries. It is however used in many of the world's democracies "in order to balance out the campaigning and maintain a free voting environment".
In Bulgaria, the constitutional court ruled in 2009 that both electoral silence and ban on opinion polls before the election day represented a violation of freedom of speech. Constitutional Court of Hungary in 2007 ruled that ban on opinion polls was unconstitutional, but upheld electoral silence (Decision 6/2007 (II. 27.) AB on 26. February 2007). Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled in 2011 that ban on opinion polls was unconstitutional (Decision U-I-67/09 on 24 March 2011). Supreme Court of the US ruled that campaigning can only be limited on the election day in a small area around the polling station. Any broader ban on speech would be unconstitutional (Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191 (1992)).
Distribution
Election silences are observed in the following countries, amongst others. Their duration, prior to the election, is given in brackets:- Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
(24 hours) - CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) - HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day), polling banned from 15 days before elections, it is prohibited to tell the names of candidates on television the month before elections (except for TV news programs and regulated electoral advertisings) - SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
- MontenegroMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
(48 hours) - PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) - PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(24 hours) - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(24 hours) called "cooling-off day" first implemented on 2011 - SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) called "reflection day" - SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day) - Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
(from 00:00 on the preceding day)