The Reformer

Romania Palace of the Parliament

A Mayor for the Bucharest of Us

Bucharest, Romania’s largest city and capital, has had a rocky four years since the 2012 local elections. The city is...

Australian Senate reform

Obvious Route for Australian Senate Reform Ignored

Interest in the Australian political system has been building over the last couple of weeks over a proposal to make...

Canadian Election

Canada heads to the polls

Of all the former colonies to which Britain has left behind the Westminster model of democracy perhaps none so obviously...

Switzerland

What is the plural of referendum? Political disengagement…

Switzerland. A land of chocolate, neutrality and a surprisingly well-armed population. Switzerland is also home to a unique democratic system, the...

Greek temple

Taking advantage of the Greek electoral law

Greece will return to the polls on September 20th. This is the third nationwide poll this year, after an earlier...

Kiwi Laser

The New Zealand Flag Referendum

For many years the New Zealand flag has been the subject of much debate. Adopted when New Zealand was still...

Canadian Election

The Canadian Senate – A second-rate second chamber

In the current debate about Lords reform it can often be tempting to look for easy solutions which broadly keep...

Istanbul, Turkey

Crossing the threshold – the Turkish election

There was a fair deal of shock in Turkey last weekend as the Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its...

Greek temple

‘Reinforcing’ Syriza

Much excitement in the European press today as Greece’s left-wing, Eurosceptic and anti-austerity Syriza has come two seats short of an absolute...

Romania Palace of the Parliament

Friends, Romanians, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Votes…

Turnout has been in the news once again, with a report from the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee advocating bank holidays on...

Nelson Mandela

A true democrat

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Rivonia trial, and the sentencing of Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment...

Pyongyang North Korea Bronze statue

North Korean elections: The veneer of democracy

This weekend the North Korean ‘election’ took place. Of course, it wasn’t exactly democratic; it wasn’t really even an election....