referendum

The former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said he believed a vote for a referendum would make Britain a "laughing stock" .

The Germans hope that Mr Brown, like Mr Sarkozy, will be ready to push a new treaty through parliament, without a referendum.

This draft referendum raises the question of what Taiwan should be called in the international community.

Thus Britain would have to hold a referendum to adopt the single currency or to cede its vetoes over EU foreign policy, for instance.

The next election is unlikely to be a referendum on energy policy and much more likely to be about broader economic issues.

Rose won his title only a year after Australians had voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to recognise indigenous Australians' rights.

The referendum might have become a protest vote against the long-serving taoiseach.

During the Lisbon treaty referendum the European Commission made clear that this was not and would not be under threat.

I think your readers will end up feeling deceived by Cameron over the question of a referendum.

Legal experts doubt the constitutionality of a referendum to call for a rerun of an election.

"I don't believe the prime minister will call a referendum; the risk of a no is too high, " says Steen Bocian, the bank's chief economist.

A measure referred to voters by a state legislature proposing that specific legislation be approved or rejected is a referendum.

Biti said he has allocated enough money for a census next year, as well as a referendum for a new constitution which is still being drafted.

Officials point to another poll finding that, of those who plan to vote in a referendum, 62% favour joining the EU.

It was his first public announcement since voting ended in a week-long referendum on whether southern Sudan should become a separate state.

Mr Uribe's reaction was characteristically combative. He asked Congress to call a referendum on the legitimacy of his term.

Early Wednesday morning a government spokesman said the cabinet expressed unanimous support for the prime minister's referendum plan.

In northern minds, destabilising the south and mucking up the referendum would undermine the legitimacy of any putative new country.

Future British governments would have to be mad to call a referendum on an EU treaty.

He said he might include a vote on the proposals in a referendum on Scottish independence he wants to hold next year.

Having said he wanted a referendum on the latest euro-zone rescue package, he rapidly lost the support of his cabinet and his party.

Do not think of it as something utopian, something that electorates have to approve in a referendum.

Rebel MPs from his own Conservative party want to force a national referendum on whether to leave the European Union altogether.

For most Greenlanders, the referendum was as replete with a sense of the righting of historic wrongs as Barack Obama's election in America.

The referendum will allow voters to punish him for his perceived betrayals by voting against the change.

Observers said the results were less convincing than ap-peared at first sight, in a poll transformed into a referendum on Mr Putin.

Now, struggling to stay in office, Mr. Samak's referendum plan appears to be one of his last remaining gambits.

The outcome of the referendum will reveal by how much.

Lawmakers close to Mr. Venizelos came out against Mr. Papandreou. His referendum and his majority were history. He resigned days later.

The preliminary results came as tallies from last week referendum began to be posted outside polling stations in southern Sudan.

The turnout in the referendum in the German capital was too low and of those who took part, the majority voted against the proposal.

Staging a referendum less than a year after the brutal crushing of popular dissent could yet backfire, though.

There will also be a global referendum to find out whether there is consensus over the creation of such a court.

AMERICA'S mid-term elections are turning into a referendum on the role of the state, and George Bush junior's tax cuts are the litmus test.

The moment Mr Gaddafi leaves, a "roadmap" for free elections and a constitutional referendum would take effect.

Greece's European partners were not just furious that they had not been consulted about the now abandoned referendum.

More information about the Referendum, the Voting Systems and easy-to-use resources is available here .

New Jersey is gearing up for another run, and is considering a referendum to make online gambling legal in that state for its own residents.

Even the British Conservatives, who have wisely dropped their promise of a referendum on Lisbon, are slowly realising this (see Bagehot).

Arguments that the referendum, even if passed, would not amount to a pursuit of name change, frankly, strike us as purely legalistic.

Missouri will hold a referendum in August on the matter.

Ms Sigurdardottir may be able to use the threat of a failed referendum to exact more palatable terms from Britain and the Netherlands.

On Tuesday, Mr. Samaras came out against the idea of a referendum and called for elections instead.

The constitution was drafted by a military-appointed body and passed through a national referendum with a narrow margin.

A month ago he called for a jihad against Switzerland to punish it for banning the building of new minarets following a referendum.

Analysts framed the results as a referendum on the embattled premier, and even Berlusconi's coalition allies lashed out at him.

Speaking after the poll result was announced, Mr Bashir said: "The referendum in South Sudan will take place on schedule. "

At the end of the first day of voting, the referendum that many doubted would ever happen now appears to be a routine and joyous exercise.

The American election appeared to serve as a referendum on two terms under George Bush.

The timing of the mounting attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt and the build-up to the referendum in South Sudan are no coincidence.

Mr Samak wants to hold a referendum to ask voters if they wish the constitution changed again.

International observers have said the south Sudan referendum was free, fair and credible.

Secondly, more than ten NGOs here once more request the new government to take a careful look at the referendum on gambling in Penghu.

Any referendum over Kirkuk's status may be at least as dangerous as national parliamentary elections.

However, they were committed to a referendum on June 27th, in which voters would be asked to approve a switch to a parliamentary system.

Defending this achievement, he said, 'cannot depend on a referendum. '

He asked Congress to call a referendum on the legitimacy of his term.

Other government officials said the referendum idea was effectively dead.

AFTER a week's voting in a long-anticipated referendum, the secession of South Sudan looks ever more likely.

The midterms were a referendum on an administration presiding over anaemic economic recovery and stubbornly high unemployment.

An unaccountable SPLM would be perfectly happy to get through to its own referendum in 2011 without elections.

The content of this referendum pertains to the direction of Taiwan's major policymaking towards our greatest enemy and greatest competitor.

Even those would not be allowed, by law, to exceed the inflation rate unless local voters said otherwise in a referendum.

At least 60% of eligible voters must cast ballots for the referendum result to be valid.

There is expected to be a second referendum on this in the autumn, and recent polls show a two-to-one majority in favour.

In the weeks leading up to the January referendum, post-election violence and political tensions in the area greatly subsided.

A referendum requires the support of two-thirds of parliament, but the Kuomintang and its allies hold only a slim majority of the 221 seats.

It took months and a national referendum to decide Iran would be an Islamic republic, and longer still to write an Islamic constitution.

And how do you view the preliminary result of the Southern Sudan Referendum. Do you think it will affect China's interests in Sudan?

Confronted with a straight in-out referendum, the British might well vote to stay.

Most recently, he pledged to hold a referendum to win support for a push by Taiwan to gain UN membership under its own name.

But the haste with which he has organised the referendum speaks of desperation.

I call for turning the elections into a real referendum on "Loving Lebanon" .

Chen Shui-bian will come up to China, "in the referendum" , Chen Shui-bian has taken myriad forms of ah, the mainland How will he post?

For a start, it is not certain that the Sudanese government in Khartoum will let the referendum proceed as planned.

Swiss voters have decided in a referendum to retain the current system which allows army-issue weapons to be kept at home.

For the outcome of a referendum in Italy to be binding, turnout must be above 50%.

The decree aroused only muted controversy, yet it called into question the point of holding a referendum in the first place.

It sat out a by-election May 16 that more strident opposition parties had portrayed as a de facto referendum on faster democratic reforms.

The minimum number of signatures required to launch a referendum has been cut, but it is still a tenth of the electorate, on average.

In the run up to the constitutional referendum in March he and Mr Masoud joined the "no" campaign along with secular liberals.

Things are likely to get worse for him tonight, when the result of the referendum on the alternative vote (AV) will be known.

Wednesday in Athens insisted that the referendum would go ahead and would give his economic overhauls a strong mandate.

Before a referendum can be held, the Constitutional Court must review both the text of the law and the procedures by which it was passed.

Under their direct democracy, where almost every government action can be challenged by referendum, confidentiality is seen as a right.

A change would also require approval by at least 50 per cent of the electorate in a referendum.

If Sunday's referendum passes, animals will have the right to be represented by lawyers in court.

The country held a constitutional referendum in 1990 and a vote in 1992 that led to its first democratic change of Parliament.

But with so much hanging on the referendum result, the president will do his utmost to cushion the immediate impact.

Under Panama's constitution the voters must decide in a referendum, to be held on October 22nd, whether the expansion should go ahead.

The interim government will draft a new constitution to be approved by national referendum, followed by a parliamentary election.

This state of denial stems partly from the fact that the north's politicians never wanted the south to have a referendum in the first place.

During the referendum on a European constitution, both yes and no camps argued that de Gaulle would have been on their side.

One political answer might be to return to the ballot boxes, by holding a referendum to approve an application to join the EU.

A deal to pay off that debt was rejected in a referendum in March; a less onerous settlement is now being debated.

Ireland will almost certainly have to put any new treaty to a referendum.

Manuel Zelaya spoke from Costa Rica, saying he was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum.

If the government survives that vote, set for Friday, the referendum on the aid deal is expected to take place in January.

Peaceful acceptance of the referendum outcome expected next month is only the first step.

The referendum they wanted is now unnecessary because we have abandoned full participation in Europe.

Egypt is due to announce the official results of a referendum on a controversial draft constitution.

The referendum in East Timor was followed by an orgy of Indonesia-inspired arson, looting and violence.

A REFERENDUM in a small island off the European mainland about an incomprehensible document sounds dull.

referendum, The submission of a proposed public measure or actual statute to a direct popular vote.

In November's elections Californians will vote in a referendum on the repeal of the law underpinning the state's planned emissions cuts.

The result of the Referendum should maintain Sudan's overall peace and stability, whatever way it points.

The debt calculus changed dramatically this week with the announcement of a Greek referendum on the bailout agreement next January.

The referendum is merely "a means of applying pressure" on the European Commission, during world trade talks in coming weeks.

Alex Salmond, the party's leader, said a referendum on Scottish independence would be held in the second half of the parliamentary term.

Chinese rulers regard the Taiwan referendum as a sneaky step closer to an eventual declaration of formal independence by the island.

These point to a high turnout in the referendum, fewer undecided voters than in 2008, and a rising yes vote as the campaign has progressed.

And Basque nationalists are threatening to go ahead with a referendum this autumn on their future status in Spain.

Then there is the question of how Mr Clegg's party will react to the referendum result.

Bo Lundgren, the finance minister at the time, says Swedish voters would have rejected the bail-out had it been put to a referendum.

The election is widely tipped to be a referendum on his many China-friendly policies.

The referendum was triggered when more than a quarter of Iceland's people signed a petition objecting to the terms of the repayment.

The border running through an oil-rich district that straddles the two entities has yet to be drawn, pending a further referendum there.

Some 55% of a high turnout of voters said "yes" to a referendum question so convoluted as to be barely intelligible.

Rather than being a contest between policies, the election is shaping up as a referendum on Thaksin and his bitterly divisive legacy.

Algeria still insists, to the irritation of Morocco, that there should be a referendum under an international agreement signed in 2003.

Two opposition-led proposals to hold a referendum on ECFA have been blocked by a referendum review committee.

Ramon Custodio said election officials should consider holding a referendum on whether to allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power or not.

South Sudan is going to be having a referendum in 2011 in which it is very likely to vote itself independence.

It is unclear why exactly Papandreou decided to step up now and call for a referendum.

Mr Chen wants a constitutional referendum next year, but has not so far proposed any changes that would rile the Chinese.

Since there is no incumbent, the election is more of a referendum on how Democrats are running the entire country than it is in New Jersey.

Defying protests at home and sanctions from Africa and the west, he triumphed in a referendum last August that the opposition boycotted.

Real increases in salaries would be banned, unless voters decided otherwise in a referendum.

Saturday's referendum also hinted at how Egypt's one longstanding religious divide now appears to be playing out along political lines.

That would be fought as a de facto referendum on Mr Tsang's proposals for democratic reform.

Yet on June 27th Kyrgyzstan's diverse ethnic groups turned out to vote peacefully, in a referendum on their future government.

With counting continuing this evening it was expected that 64% of those who voted in Friday's referendum would have backed the treaty.

His supporters are collecting signatures for a separate referendum on this issue.

Article 60 No appeal may be raised for retrial of a referendum case, and the court hearing the case shall adjudicate it within 6 months.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party said it will to push for a referendum on the trade deal with the mainland.

For the results to be binding, the turnout had to be over 50%, something not achieved since 1995 in a legislative referendum.

Even if he wins the referendum, he will face growing discontent at home as the economy moves into recession and inflation rises.

If anyone has doubt of such, who dares to call a referendum ?

But a bigger factor in the change of strategy may be the sourness left by the referendum.

Everybody must understand the constraints on Mrs Merkel. But Mr Papandreou commits a "breach of trust" if he calls a referendum.

'If the opposition comes to the table and accepts the (bailout) agreement, then there is no need for a referendum, ' Mr. Papandreou said.

The situation in Europe remained uncertain as it appears the Greek referendum is likely to occur.

The United States says it will normalize diplomatic ties with Sudan once the results of south Sudan's independence referendum are certified.

Since Mr Papandreou's referendum announcement, which robbed Greece of its remaining credibility, party unity has tumbled.

Mr Salmond duly announced that he might delay the independence referendum his manifesto promised until as late as 2015.

Costa Rican voters narrowly approved the pact in a referendum in October 2007. Hurricane Paloma destroyed thousands of homes in Cuba.

Provisional figures have been announced by the Southern Sudanese Referendum Commission.

I would like to face head-on the accusation that the U. S. position on the referendum constitutes interference in Taiwan's democracy.

In a subsequent referendum, Irish voters overwhelmingly renounced their country's constitutional claim to the north.

The generals say they plan to go ahead with a constitutional referendum next Saturday.

The party line is that the institutional changes in the Lisbon treaty ought to be put to a referendum.

Following a March referendum, Egyptian parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for September and November, respectively.

is'an occasion when all the people of a country can vote on an important issue'.

Taiwan's parliament is to begin debating Wednesday an opposition motion that would authorize a national referendum on removing Mr.

The reasons that a Greek election would be preferable to a referendum are to do with the nature of referenda and the current crisis.

Referendum supporters argue that a child's right to have a father should supersede a woman's right to have a child.

He also wants a referendum in 2010, with a view to taking Scotland out of the union.

"October events, " 1993 referendum, " irreconcilable opposition, " National Salvation Front, Ostankino, and price liberalization.

But he is rushing to hold a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would remove the limit on further presidential terms.

Under the peace deal of 2005, Abyei was supposed to have its own referendum to decide which side its mainly Christian residents will join.

The key issue now is how the question on the referendum will be framed and whether Greece will receive its next tranche of aid.

Our team decided to write the agreement in a way that would delay the referendum but not deny it forever.

His release, in 1999, was the precedent to a referendum and, eventually, to independence.

Even before the shock news of the Greek referendum, this seemed to be causing problems in the markets.

So the run-up to the referendum could still produce more conflict.

Soybean producers who are interested in having a referendum to determine whether to continue the soybean checkoff program would participate.

In a referendum Icelanders voted overwhelmingly against a debt repayment deal with Britain and the Netherlands.

Though turnout was low, voters in Wales overwhelmingly backed proposals in a referendum for more devolution from Westminster.

No proposal of referendum may be raised for any matters regarding budgeting, taxation, investment, salary and personnel affairs.

In February, the premier of Malta declared to hold national referendum on May 28 to decide whether the divorce should be legal.

Sudan is committed to implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and holding the referendum in southern Sudan in a free and fair way.

Nobody would want to stifle debate on changing the electoral system (on which Labour long ago promised a referendum).

It was quick to recognise oil-rich South Sudan when it seceded in July, having sent observers to monitor its referendum on independence.

Under the CPA, Abyei was supposed to hold a referendum to determine whether it remained with the north or joined an independent south.

Since a referendum in 2003 that came out against membership, Sweden has shown no interest in getting closer to the euro club.

Our latest POLLS are showing that the separatists are going to win the referendum on the independence of quebec.

In a rash moment, Tony Blair promised Britons a referendum on its first version, the EU constitutional treaty.

Mr Timmermans says that it was "the worst referendum campaign ever" .

Almost 99% of the valid votes cast and tallied so far are in favour of separation, according to the website of the referendum commission.

China also intervened when reports surfaced that the Khartoum government might try to delay the referendum.

The judges argued that the measures, approved by a national referendum last month, would stop the board from functioning.

The trial was a referendum on who bears responsibility for the excesses of the buy-out boom.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton commended the Sudanese government in Khartoum for accepting the outcome of the referendum.

But he did so at a delicate time, when the opposition was staging violent protests in the aftermath of the referendum.

Legislatures can sometimes overturn referendum results, as Schleswig-Holstein's did for the spelling reform, and courts have modified them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the referendum would lead to increased tension across the Taiwan Strait.

Late on Oct. 31, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou threw a wrench into the works by saying he would call a referendum on the bailout.

This chimes nicely with his drive to persuade Scots to vote to break away from the rest of Britain in a referendum he will call in 2014-15.

Saturday's referendum also offered early clues into the rifts likely to shape Egyptian politics in coming months and years.

Both government and opposition leaders cast the referendum as a vote of confidence in the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The referendum is in part a vote of confidence in Mr Torrijos's government, admits Samuel Lewis Navarro, the foreign minister.

ILSA organised a number of public rallies and called for a referendum on independence.

After all, if the specific nomenclature does not matter, why include it in the referendum in the first place?

Because district secession must influence the interests of the country, the country generally opposes seceding referendum.

In Michigan the hunting of mourning doves was banned, reinstated for a single season, then banned again after a statewide referendum.

If the court tarries over its judgment, there might not be enough time to organize a referendum even if one is allowed.

This was the first national referendum in modern Dutch history.

Voters in each region will decide by referendum whether to approve a one-cent increase in the sales-tax to pay for those regional projects.

In 2005, Museveni had constitutional term limits abolished completely in a sham referendum, meaning he could run for president for life.

According to the constitution, the use of referendum is not obligatory, but rather usually requires the agreement of the president.

To be voted on in a May 10 referendum, the draft would leave major power in the hands of the military.

General Musharraf took power in a bloodless 1999 coup, and was later elected president by referendum.

He may not be on the ballot this year, but mid-terms are in large part a referendum on the president.

America, which has many reasons to seek China's diplomatic goodwill, has publicly rebuked Taiwan over the referendum.

Is rapid the end of the month, everybody has a stamp of hurry referendum, floriferous above the hand kiss aid to hit flower!

He noted that many more Sunnis cast ballots in the referendum than in the elections in January for a transitional government.

The particular referendum supported by President Chen concerns us considerably more than would a generic referendum on applying to the UN.

It is highly unlikely that either Khamenei or the Guardian Council would agree to such a referendum.

But an Irish Yes vote in a recent referendum means that his signature is last obstacle to adoption of the treaty.

Seattle is known for its devotion to coffee . Recently, citizens prepare to vote in a referendum on taxing espresso drinks.

Kenyans endorsed a new constitution by a margin of more than two to one in a referendum.

Why was it necessary to hold a referendum in 1962 over the issue of merger with Malaya ?

An Islamist-dominated panel has approved Egypt's new draft constitution that must now be voted on in a nationwide referendum.

When Irish voters approved the treaty earlier this month in a second referendum, he vowed to keep his word.

Labour offered to enact AV and conduct a referendum on a much more proportional system, the single transferable vote (STV).

The reason for holding the referendum now was to delay, even by a few months, the loss of Kosovo.

Abbas has threatened to declare a date for a national referendum on the program, which Hamas opposes.

The referendum bill proposed in June was on structural adjustment, state reforms that exclude the debt crisis issue.

But following a referendum in January, the oil-rich south of his country has seceded.

It will confirm today that it is offering the Scottish parliament the authority to hold a referendum, but with conditions.

What effect will the introduction of the referendum and recall have upon present methods of conducting elections in cities?

This election will not be an exact rerun of the rigged referendum.

Hilary Clinton visits Ethiopia. In Italy, it's the final day of voting in a referendum on restarting the country's nuclear-power programme.

Mr Soini's reply is to insist that his party will now aim for "outright victory" . He pledge s to seek referendum s on future euro rescues.

The Southern Sudan Referendum was held smoothly and its results announced officially days ago.

The "Gucci protesters" collected more than enough signatures to get the reform put to a referendum.

He endorsed Green's challenge to Cameron and the Tories to hold a referendum on Britain's future in Europe.

Days after the cyclone, the government pushed through a referendum on its new constitution, which will continue military control.

Financial experts say Iceland's approval of the referendum would help it regain credibility in financial markets.

But he calls on the ruling generals to make sure the referendum is credible for the Burmese people and the international community.

Seeking the backing of the Greek people in a referendum, he was immediately condemned in the capitals of Europe as a fool or a traitor.

The January referendum confirms that South Sudan will become a sovereign country. But it will struggle to prosper.

In a free vote, still more MPs would have voted for a referendum.

He has allowed supporters to gather signatures for a (separate) referendum to change the constitution again to allow him a third term.

The Chairman of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, praised the vote.

Hungary's government lost a referendum , promoted by the opposition, to scrap fees for health care and higher education.

European bank shares, which rallied on initial news of the deal, slumped again on the referendum news (see left-hand chart).

But its success over the referendum boycott reflects its continuing appeal to Kurdish voters.

Some mainstream media have fueled the promotion of a referendum passed.

Most Kurdish voters in the south-east complied with the wishes of the largest Kurdish party to boycott the referendum.

Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, the peace and stability of Sudan and the region should be ensured.

The geopolitics of east Africa could be reshaped in January, when south Sudan will hold a referendum on independence.

The government decided to hold a referendum on the abolition of capital punishment.

Malta has voted "Yes" in a non-binding referendum on legalising divorce, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has conceded, local media report.

It is welcome that California is now debating before a referendum on November 2nd, whether to legalise marijuana (see article).

He raised the possibility that the referendum could be abandoned and last week's debt deal accepted.

In Florida, projects must prove positive cash-flow within four years; in Minnesota they require 65% approval in a referendum.

When the country's sovereignty is really threatened, do we have to prepare for war or go and vote in a referendum?

Just two months before the referendum, a referendum is held as scheduled on the two sides was at daggers drawn.

Votes are being counted in Egypt in the first round of a referendum on a new constitution.