Elections

As I am sure those of you reading in Poland will be aware we are in the middle of
election season. The general election to the parliament and senate has just been held
and the presidential election will be on the 9th October. With this in mind we’ve got some
activities to practice the language of elections.

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate phrase from the list below. If you want to see the
answers, look at the bottom of the page.

• on the stump
• first past the post
• proportional representation
• spoiling the ballot paper
• landslide election
• a ballot box
• election campaign
• go to the polls
• by-election
• party political broadcast

In many countries a general election is held every four years, although in the UK it can
be up to five years. When an election is called it is said that the government has decided
to (1) _______________ . The period when the politicians are trying to win the support
of the voters is called the (2) _______________ and politicians who are campaigning
are said to be (3) _______________ . Nowadays much of the advertising is done on TV.
A short programme showing the election plans for one party is called a (4)
_______________ .

There are different ways of winning an election. In the UK for example, we operate the
(5) _______________ system where the party with the most votes wins but in Poland for
example they have (6) _______________ where each party receives a percentage of
the number of seats available depending on how many votes they won. If one party wins
a lot more votes than any other party, by a large margin we say this is called a (7)
_______________ .

For the voters on the day of the election they have to choose which party to vote for and
to mark their choice on a special piece of paper. This paper is then put into a (8)
_______________ . When all the votes have been received they are counted and
winners announced. Sometimes people don’t like any of the parties and they show this
by (9) _______________ . This is done by incorrectly filling out the ballot paper so the
vote can’t be understood. A (10) _______________ is an election in the same way
except it is when a member of the parliament gives up his or her seat or dies and there
needs to be a special local election.

Many people are glad that general elections only happen every four years because they
are very tiring for voters and politicians alike!

Answers

1. go to the polls
2. election campaign
3. on the stump
4. party political broadcast
5. first past the post
6. proportional representation
7. landslide victory
8. ballot box
9. spoiling the paper

10. by-election