Different Elections—Same Issues

Outside the United States, the same issues confront candidates in other elections.

by Melvin Rhodes

The United States is not the only country that has been going through an election campaign.

During the last few weeks, I've had the opportunity to closely observe the Canadian and Australian elections. New Zealand and the United Kingdom are also going through the early stages of elections, expected to be held next year. The prime minister of each country determines the date of the election, though elections must be held within a prescribed period: five years for the United Kingdom and Canada, three for Australia.

All four nations have a similar parliamentary system. They are all constitutional monarchies with Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. Their prime ministers are not directly elected. People in each individual constituency vote for their representatives in parliament. Whichever party has the majority of seats then takes charge of the government, with the leader of the party becoming prime minister.

All four countries have a long history of political stability and, like America, have had democratic institutions since colonial times. The four nations are all that remain of the "multitude of nations" descended from the biblical patriarch Joseph's son Ephraim (Genesis 48:19; see our booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy to trace this fascinating history). Collectively, as the British Empire, they were a superpower before the United States.

All five countries, America included, have a great deal in common. Change the names of the personalities involved in electioneering, and you wouldn't know which country you were in. The issues being debated, it seems, are the same everywhere.

Of course, there are some local issues that vary from country to country. But the main issues are common to all.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0411/elections.htm

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