Election in absentia

In parliamentary procedure, election in absentia is an election of a presiding officer of a committee or assembly, when the person is not present.[1] More broadly, in the context of an election it may refer to a candidate who is not present in the jurisdiction for which the election is taking place, which may or may not be permitted by the relevant election law.

Julius Caesar famously requested to be allowed to stand for election to the consulship in 59 BC in absentia, contrary to a rule established four years prior requiring candidates for the consulship to be present in Rome: being a magistrate with imperium he could not cross the pomerium, but were he to give up his imperium he would not receive a triumph. In the end the Senate would not grant him permission to stand in absentia, and he chose to forgo the triumph.[2][3]

During the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis, the regional Parliament of Catalonia voted a law aimed at allowing Carles Puigdemont to stand for election while the former leader was then in self-imposed exile.[4] The Constitutional Court of Spain blocked the move.[5]

References
  1. "Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. Dillon, Matthew; Garland, Lynda (2005). Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar. Taylor and Francis. p. 545. ISBN 9780415224598.
  3. Canfora, Luciano (2007). Julius Caesar: The Life and Times of the People's Dictator. University of California Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780520235021.
  4. "Catalan parliament acts to allow absent candidate to be voted leader". Reuters. Reuters. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  5. "Spanish court blocks election of separatist ex-Catalan chief". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Associated Press. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.


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