General election
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A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.
The term originates in the United Kingdom general elections for the House of Commons.
List of general elections
- Australian federal elections
- Canadian federal elections
- Indian general elections
- Irish general elections
- Japan general election
- Malaysian general election
- Spanish general elections
- United Kingdom general elections
A general election is also a term used in opposition to primary election. In the United States, primary elections serve to narrow down a field of candidates, and general elections actually elect candidates to offices. The general election is usually held on Election Day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.