Ramy prawne referendum w irańskim kontekście konstytucyjnym

In democratic regimes, the participation of citizens in the enforcement of political power constitutes the keystone of the legitimacy of sovereignty. Allowing and valuing the popular will in the political management of a country is necessary for the continuation of the legitimacy of sovereignty. Hence, political systems are still exploring the methods of establishing direct democracy in parallel to representative democracy. Referendum is a form of establishing direct democracy that is based on public votes on political and legal affairs. The legal organization of different kinds of direct democracy is explained in the constitutions. Among the methods of direct democracy, only referendums on the amendment of the constitution, political referendums, and legislative referendums have been recognized in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although a referendum on the establishment of the Islamic Republic political system and a referendum on the amendment of the Constitution have been held in the legal history of Iran, no legislative referendum has been conducted so far. Senior state officials may propose a referendum and referendums can be held on special and critically important occasions. Regarding the theocratic nature of the Iranian political system, the validity of referendums is contingent upon non-contradiction between the subject of the referendum and the principles of Islamic law. This article explores the legal dimensions of conducting referendums in the Iranian constitutional context with a descriptive-analytical approach.W reżimach demokratycznych udział obywateli w egzekwowaniu władzy politycznej stanowi podstawę suwerenności. Zezwolenie i docenienie woli ludu w politycznym zarządzaniu krajem jest konieczne dla utrzymania legitymacji suwerenności. Dlatego systemy polityczne wciąż badają metody ustanowienia demokracji bezpośredniej równolegle z demokracją przedstawicielską. Referendum jest formą ustanowienia demokracji bezpośredniej opartej na głosowaniu publicznym w sprawach politycznych i prawnych. Prawna organizacja różnych rodzajów demokracji bezpośredniej jest wyjaśniona w konstytucjach. Wśród metod demokracji bezpośredniej tylko referenda w sprawie zmiany konstytucji, referendum polityczne i referendum legislacyjne zostały uznane w Konstytucji Islamskiej Republiki Iranu. Chociaż w prawnej historii Iranu odbyło się referendum w sprawie ustanowienia systemu politycznego Republiki Islamskiej i referendum w sprawie zmiany Konstytucji, jak dotąd nie przeprowadzono referendum legislacyjnego. Wyżsi urzędnicy państwowi mogą zaproponować referendum, a referenda mogą odbywać się w wyjątkowych i niezwykle ważnych sytuacjach. Jeśli chodzi o teokratyczny charakter irańskiego systemu politycznego, ważność referendum zależy od braku sprzeczności między przedmiotem referendum a zasadami prawa islamskiego. W tym artykule zbadano prawne wymiary przeprowadzania referendów w irańskim kontekście konstytucyjnym, stosując podejście opisowo-analityczne

Polish migrants in Scotland: voting behaviours and engagement in the Scottish independence referendum

Polish migrants are the largest non-UK born population in Scotland (56,000 in 2012). As EU citizens who are resident in Scotland, they are eligible to vote in the 18 September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. Using a survey of 245 Polish migrants in Scotland we investigate their level of engagement with the Scottish referendum asking; do Polish migrants vote and where (Poland and/or UK)? Will they take part in the referendum? Will the outcome of the referendum have an impact on their migration or settlement plans in Scotland

Suffrage Petition Bradford Maine, 1917

On September 10, 1917, a special election was held in Maine to grant the right of voting to women. Prior to the election petitions were collected across the state to show women’s support for the vote. This document is part of that petition drive.https://digitalmaine.com/penobscot_suffrage_petitions/1001/thumbnail.jp

Marrying European and Domestic Politics? The Marriage Referendum in Croatia and Value-Based Euroscepticism

On 1 December 2013, Croatia voted in a referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage. Whilst recent scholarship highlighted the symbolism nature of the referendum in domestic politics, its European dimension has not been reflected on.Using Leconte’s notion of value-based Euroscepticism this article explores the role of European politics in the marriage referendum, using electoral data at the municipal level. As the analysis demonstrates that the referendum, at least partly, was a proactive attempt to halt the Europeanisation of same-sex marriage, the article also sheds light on local resistance to EU’s homonationalist politics

INEQUALITY AND THE REFERENDUM LEVY

This study examines whether or not the referendum levy generates revenue disparities among school districts. More specifically, we hypothesize that if the referendum levy generates inequalities in school finance, a positive relationship will exist between: (1) district property wealth and use of the referendum; (2) district property wealth and the size of the referendum levy; and (3) district property wealth and revenue raised by the referendum levy. The discretionary levy is included throughout the analysis because, being equalized, it provides a relevant contrast to the referendum levy.Public Economics,

Spain’s referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty: a quantitative analysis within the conceptual framework of first and second order elections

In contrast to the attention devoted to the rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty at French and Dutch referenda; the Spanish referendum, where this Treaty was ratified, remained under-researched by political scientists. This paper analyses the voting behaviour at the Spanish referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty with the use of quantitative methods and the concept of first and second-order elections. This paper finds that the Spanish referendum was a second-order referendum, because the effects of domestic political issues in Spain had a greater impact on the electoral behaviour of Spanish voters than had genuinely European issues. This finding raises doubts over the suitability of using direct democracy in the EU in order to raise the legitimacy and democratic accountability of the European project

Voter Turnout in Direct Democracy: Theory and Evidence

We analyse voter turnout as a function of referendum types. An advisory referendum produces advice that a legislature may or may not take into account when choosing between two alternatives, whereas a binding referendum generates a decisive decision. In theory, voter turnout should be higher under binding than advisory referendums, higher in small than large electorates and higher in close than less close referendums. These predictions are corroborated by evidence from 230 local referendums in Norway. For example, a shift from an advisory to a semi-binding referendum leads to an average increase in voter turnout by 11.5 percentage points.Voting Behaviour; Referendum Types; Rational Choice

Suffrage Petition Kedusekeag Maine, 1917

https://digitalmaine.com/penobscot_suffrage_petitions/1024/thumbnail.jp

Maximising Consent: Operationalising Reciprocity in Secession Referenda

A constitutional referendum on secession from Indonesia was held in East Timor in 1999, with a pro-independence vote triggering widespread violence by the Indonesian army and pro-union militia. Montenegro underwent a similar process in 2006, also opting for independence but with much smoother results. This article will suggest that the deliberative democratic principle of reciprocity can help deliver referendum law based on justifications that can be accepted by all parties concerned. In particular, it proposes that reciprocity can be operationalised in referendum law if the participants in the negotiations that formulate the laws accept fair terms of social cooperation (FTSCs) and resolve disagreements using economy of moral disagreement (EMD). Respectively, these mean parties to negotiations should be willing to justify their position in mutually acceptable terms and if consensus is impossible, agreements should minimise their rejection of other parties’ views. This argument will be made using the negotiations that created East Timor and Montenegro’s referendum laws as case studies

When who and how matter: explaining the success of referendums in Europe

This article aims to identify the institutional factors that make a referendum successful. This comparative analysis seeks to explain the success of top-down referendums organized in Europe between 2001 and 2013. It argues and tests for the main effect of three institutional factors (popularity of the initiator, size of parliamentary majority, and political cues during referendum campaigns) and controls for the type of referendum and voter turnout. The analysis uses data collected from referendums and electoral databases, public opinion surveys, and newspaper articles. Results show that referendums proposed by a large parliamentary majority or with clear messages from political parties during campaign are likely to be successful