Parliamentary Electoral System
Elections to the House of Commons (parliamentary elections) form the basis of Britain’s democratic system. The Prime Minister is not directly elected by voters, the Prime Minister depends on the support of a majority of his or her fellow elected representatives in the House of Commons. These MPs back the Government because they are members of the party which the Prime Minister leads. General elections, for all seats in the House of Commons, take place every five years. The decision on when to hold a general election is made by the Prime Minister. The procedure involves the Queen, acting on the Prime Minister’s advice, dissolving Parliament and calling a new Parliament. The Prime Minister usually announces the dissolution of Parliament and explains the reasons for holding the election. Voting takes place within 17 days of the dissolution, not including Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays; election campaigns last for three to four weeks. For elections Britain is divided into 659 constituencies, each constituency returns one member to the House of Commons. Elections are by secret ballot. British citizens together with citizens of other Commonwealth countries and citizens of the Irish Republic resident in Britain, may vote if they are aged 18 or over, included in the annual register of electors and not subject to any disqualification. British citizens and citizens of other Commonwealth countries, together with citizens of the Irish Republic, may stand for election as MPs if they are aged 21 or over and are not disqualified. Those disqualified include undischarged bankrupts; people sentenced to more than one year’s imprisonment; clergy of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church; and peers. 1 Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions. To hold the seat, rival, senior politician, resident, timing, sentenced prisoner, nomination, issue. 2 Translate words and word combinations from Ukrainian into English and use them in your own sentences. Колега-парламентарій, підтримувати уряд, проводити загальні вибори, передвиборча кампанія, користуватися підтримкою більшості (виборців, населення), мати право голосу, духовенство.
3 Comprehension questions. 1. Is the head of government in Britain elected by the population? 2. How often are general elections held in Great Britain? 3. Who dissolves Parliament? Who announces this decision? 4. How long is the election campaign? 5. What are voting qualifications nowadays? 6. Can an individual nominate himself to stand for Parliament? 4 Translate into English paying attention to the active vocabulary. З метою проведення виборів Велика Британія розділена на виборчі округи, від кожного з яких обирається один кандидат до палати громад. Постійна парламентська комісія періодично переглядає кордони округів, щоб зберегти їх приблизно однаковими. Вибори проводяться на основі таємного голосування.
|
