Sentence examples for election abstention from inspiring English sources

Although Ratsiraka won the election, abstention was high and the total number of valid votes represented only about half the electorate.

In recent state elections, abstentions have run at record levels.

Blank and invalid ballots will not be taken into account for the May 7 election, and abstention in this round has been widely denounced by academics, artists, politicians and civic leaders as a reckless abandonment of duty.

It is a measure of the success of the abortion rights' movement that, two presidential races later, Republican divisions over abortion continue to be scrutinized while the pariah status of people like Mr. Carlin, with all its attendant resentments and election booth abstentions, can be largely ignored.

As the chart shows, if Labour and the Tories had won identical shares of the national vote in the 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010 elections (and abstentions and other votes had remained unchanged), Labour would nonetheless have romped home with scores more seats than the Conservatives.Finally, opposition talk of gerrymandering reflects a desire to make mischief for the Tory-Lib Dem coalition.

Studies led by Ron Johnston of Bristol University show that if Labour and the Conservatives had won identical shares of the national vote in the last four general elections (and abstentions and other votes had remained unchanged), Labour would still have romped home with scores more seats than the Tories: in 2010 the "bias" was 54 seats.

The exit polls, which have proved accurate in all previous French elections, showed that more voters stayed at home than ever before in a presidential election, putting the abstention rate at 28%.

Only two members of the National Executive Committee opposed the "one member, one vote" system for leadership elections, with one abstention.

In addition, European parliament elections have notoriously high abstention rates (for yesterday's election in France, it is estimated to be 57percentt), in large part, because people do not have a clear idea of how the institutions work.

Le Monde writes the election was sanctioned by abstention, as only 61% of voters turned up to vote.

Half the electorate will sit on its hands come election day, a record abstention rate, every poll suggests.