Misplaced Pages

#131868

62-613: The Commonwealth secretary-general , formally the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations , is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat , the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commonwealth secretary-general should not be confused with the head of the Commonwealth . The position

124-424: A better alternative, or to hide pandering to a special interest) or to create or prevent fodder for political campaigns. Public methods of citizen voting have included: Private methods of citizen voting have included: In ancient Greece , secret ballots were used in several situations like ostracism and also to remain hidden from people seeking favors. In early 5th century BC the secrecy of ballot at ecclesia

186-412: A few exceptions: The right to hold elections by secret ballot is included in numerous treaties and international agreements that obligate their signatory states: Ballot design and polling place architecture often deny the disabled the possibility to cast a vote secretly. In many democracies disabled persons may vote by appointing another person who is allowed to join them in the voting booth and fill

248-477: A high commissioner or ambassador. However, in practice, their rank is considerably higher. At CHOGMs, they are the equal of the heads of government, except with preference deferred to the longest-serving head of government. At other ministerial meetings, they are considered primus inter pares . For the first three years of the job's existence the Foreign Office refused to invite the secretary-general to

310-414: A physical or electronic in-person system or through a roll call vote . Some faster legislative voting methods do not record who voted in which way, though witnesses in the legislative chambers may still notice a given legislator's vote. These include voice votes where the volume of shouting for or against is taken as a measure of numerical support and counting of raised hands. In some cases, a secret ballot

372-536: A result, the prime ministers of the Commonwealth formed a sanctions committee that taught prime ministers how the sanctions they implemented on the "illegal" Salisbury regime were maintained, and a standing committee, primarily focused on assisting to train Rhodesian Africans. More state crisis occurred after, shifting the Secretariat's dominant focus to peacemaking efforts. The Rhodesian Crisis proved

434-447: A secret ballot utilizes paper ballots upon which each voter marks their choices. Without revealing the votes, the voter folds the ballot paper in half and places it in a sealed box. This box is later emptied for counting. An aspect of secret voting is the provision of a voting booth to enable the voter to write on the ballot paper without others being able to see what is being written. Today, printed ballot papers are usually provided, with

496-467: A whole, admitted that the secret ballot was one of the two points he could support. The London School Board election of 1870 was Britain's first large-scale election by secret ballot. After several failed attempts (several of them spearheaded by George Grote ), the secret ballot was eventually extended generally in the Ballot Act 1872 , substantially reducing the cost of campaigning (as treating

558-581: Is additionally no proof that could be produced that you did vote certain way, perhaps contravening directions . Article 31 of the Constitution of the Year III of the Revolution (1795) states that "All elections are to be held by secret ballot". The same goes with the constitution of 1848 : voters could hand-write the name of their preferred candidate on their ballot at home (the only condition

620-434: Is also known as the "Massachusetts ballot". Seven states did not have government-printed ballots until the 20th century. Georgia started using them in 1922. When South Carolina followed suit in 1950, this completed the nationwide switch to Australian ballots. The 20th century also brought the first criminal prohibitions against buying votes in 1925. While U.S. elections are now held primarily by secret ballot, there are

682-405: Is assisted by three deputy secretaries-general : one responsible for economic affairs (currently Deodat Maharaj), one for political affairs ( Josephine Ojiambo ), and one for corporate affairs (Gary Dunn). The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at his own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst the more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from

SECTION 10

#1732772786132

744-613: Is granted by the Heads of Government. It is the secretary-general, and not the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth , that represents the Commonwealth publicly. The secretary-general is elected by the Heads of Government at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings for terms of four years; until 2000, a term was five years. The current Secretary-General is Dominica 's Patricia Scotland , who replaced Kamalesh Sharma as secretary-general on 1 April 2016. The secretary-general

806-754: Is headquartered at Marlborough House , in London, the United Kingdom. Marlborough House is located on Pall Mall , Westminster , next to St. James's Palace , which is formally the location of the British Royal Court . Marlborough House was previously a royal residence in its own right, but was given by Queen Elizabeth II , the former Head of the Commonwealth , to the British government in September 1959 for use for Commonwealth purposes. This

868-643: Is inconsistent with voting privacy. The popularity of the ballot selfie has challenged the secrecy of in-person voting. In systems of direct democracy , such as the Swiss Landsgemeinde , voting is typically conducted publicly to ensure all citizens can observe the outcome. The secret ballot became commonplace for individual citizens in democracies worldwide by the late 20th century. Votes taken by elected officials are typically public, so citizens can judge officials' and former officials' voting records in future elections. This may be done with

930-562: Is thought to be justified as a security arrangement so that false ballot papers could be identified if there was an allegation of fraud. The process of matching ballot papers to voters is formally permissible only if an Election Court requires it; the Election Court has rarely made such an order since the secret ballot was introduced in 1872 . One example was in a close local election contest in Richmond-upon-Thames in

992-436: Is used to allow representatives to choose party leadership without fear of retaliation against those voting for losing candidates. The parliamentary tactics of forcing or avoiding a roll call vote can be used to discourage or encourage representatives to vote in a manner that is politically unpopular among constituents (for example, if a policy considered to be in the public interest is difficult to explain or unpopular but without

1054-441: The 2024 CHOGM , Ghanian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey was elected to succeed Baroness Scotland. She will begin her tenure as 7th Secretary-General on 1 April 2025. Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations . It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including

1116-515: The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth. The Secretariat has observer status in the United Nations General Assembly . It is located at Marlborough House in London, the United Kingdom, a former royal residence that was given by Queen Elizabeth II , Head of

1178-488: The Commonwealth Secretariat's competence and credibility as their professional diplomat skills allowed them to respond to crisis immediately and efficiently. The chief executive of the Secretariat, and of the Commonwealth as a whole, is the Commonwealth Secretary-General . All Secretariat staff report to the secretary-general, who is also responsible for spending the Secretariat's budget, which

1240-763: The United States , the Netherlands , Slovenia , Albania or India allow disabled voters to use electronic voting machines . In others, among them Azerbaijan , Canada , Ghana , the United Kingdom , and most African and Asian countries, visually impaired voters can use ballots in Braille or paper ballot templates. Article 29 also requires that Contracting States ensure "that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use." In some democracies, e.g.,

1302-565: The Commonwealth Prime Ministers met in London to discuss the establishment of an independent secretariat for the Commonwealth. Many of these members agreed and were unopposed to this idea as they believed this Secretariat would help centralize and broaden the Commonwealth for all members, not solely on Britain. Arnold Smith , a Canadian Diplomat, was the first Commonwealth Secretary General with Amishadai Larson Adu (A. L. Adu) of Ghana and Tilak Gooneratne of Ceylon as

SECTION 20

#1732772786132

1364-650: The Commonwealth Secretariat, and all Secretariat staff are responsible and answerable to them. They are supported by three deputy secretaries-general , which are elected by the Commonwealth heads of government via the members' high commissioners in London. Currently, the three deputy secretaries-general are Deodat Maharaj, Gary Dunn and Josephine Ojiambo. Until 2014, only two deputy secretaries-general were appointed along with an assistant secretary-general for corporate affairs. The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at their own discretion, provided

1426-617: The Commonwealth at the time . The Secretariat was established by the Heads of Government in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's Commonwealth Relations Office , as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Secretariat was to serve as an "information exchange" for the Commonwealth Prime Ministers . At the same time,

1488-422: The Commonwealth's Board of Governors in London. Between 2016 and 2019, the staff of the Commonwealth secretariat declined in number, from 295 to 223. Since the 1993 CHOGM, it has been decided that the secretary-general is elected to a maximum of two four-year terms. The election is held by the assembled heads of government and other ministerial representatives at every other CHOGM. Nominations are received from

1550-704: The Commonwealth's arbitration tribunal, which had been envisaged as the sole organ to arbitrate on matters related to the Secretariat's operations in the United Kingdom. In light of this interpretation, the Commonwealth Secretariat Act was amended by the International Organisations Act 2005 , which gave the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal the same legal immunity as the Secretariat itself, guaranteeing independence of

1612-639: The English courts. The Commonwealth Secretariat comprises 56 independent countries, 33 small states (states with a population of 1.5 million or less), and 2.7 billion citizens. As of November 2007, when the Commonwealth Heads of Government held a meeting in Uganda, they reviewed and solidified the rules for membership into the Secretariat. The Commonwealth Secretariat outlines these membership rules: Secret ballot Secret ballots are used in conjunction with various voting systems . The most basic form of

1674-405: The Heads of Government. In practice, the secretary-general has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and secretaries-general have also at times submitted nominations of their own. All members of staff are exempt from income tax , under the International Organisations Act 2005 , which redefined the legal status of the Secretariat. The Secretariat

1736-471: The Queen's annual diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, much to Arnold Smith 's irritation, until in 1968 this refusal was over-ridden by the Queen herself. The Secretary-General was originally required to submit annual reports to the Heads of Government, but this has since been changed to reporting at biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM). The Secretary-General is held responsible by

1798-471: The Secretariat can afford it, whilst more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from the heads of government. In practice, the Secretary-General has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and the secretary-general has also at times submitted nominations of his own. Formally, the secretary-general is given the same rank as

1860-473: The Secretariat in 1965, first granted the organisation full diplomatic immunity . This has been subjected to a number of lawsuits challenging this, including Mohsin v Commonwealth Secretariat , and in 2005, Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat . The 1966 Act had been interpreted by English courts as allowing the courts to exercise supervisory jurisdiction under the Arbitration Act 1996 over

1922-494: The Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The United Kingdom and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of Cyprus ). The newer members of the Commonwealth wanted to reduce British power and influence, so formed the Secretariat which would be operated and financed by members from all Commonwealth countries. By diversifying

Commonwealth Secretary-General - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-520: The Secretariat's staff in London, additional space is rented elsewhere in London. From this operational base, a large part of the Secretary-General's work involves travelling around the Commonwealth keeping in personal contact with those at the heart of the governments of member states. The secretary-general receives a salary of nearly £160,000 (2015) and a four‑storey mansion, Garden House, in Mayfair as an official residence. The secretary-general leads

2046-640: The United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the Commonwealth Foundation , which was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the Commonwealth Family network of civil societies. Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by New Zealand ), a development bank ( Jamaica ), and an institution for satellite communications ( Canada ) failed. The creation of

2108-478: The United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States, all the polling places already are fully accessible for disabled voters. The United Kingdom secret ballot arrangements are sometimes criticized because linking a ballot paper to the voter who cast it is possible. Each ballot paper is individually numbered, and each elector has a number. When an elector is given a ballot paper, their number is noted down on

2170-441: The ability to link some ballots to voters. This may, for example, be used with absentee voting to retain the ability to cancel a vote if the voter dies before election day. Sometimes the number on the ballot is printed on a perforated stub which is torn off and placed on a ring (like a shower curtain ring) before the ballot is cast into the ballot box. The stubs prove that an elector has voted and ensure they can only vote once, but

2232-693: The ballot in their name. This does not assure secrecy of the ballot. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , which entered into force in 2008, ensures a secret ballot for disabled voters. Article 29 of the Convention requires that all Contracting States protect "the right of the person with disabilities to vote by secret ballot in elections and public referendums ". According to this provision, each Contracting State should provide voting equipment enabling disabled voters to vote independently and secretly. Some democracies, e.g.

2294-504: The ballots are both secret and anonymous. At the end of voting day, the number of ballots inside the box should match the number of stubs on the ring, certifying that a registered elector cast every ballot and that none of them were lost or fabricated. Sometimes, the ballots themselves are numbered, making the vote trackable. In 2012 in Colorado, this procedure was ruled legal by Federal District Judge Christine Arguello , who determined that

2356-417: The boxes. Individual states moved to secret ballots soon after the presidential election of 1884 , finishing with Kentucky in 1891 when it quit using an oral ballot. Initially, however, a state's new ballot did not necessarily have all four components of an "Australian ballot": After ballots are cast and no longer identifiable to the voter, several states make the ballots and copies of them available to

2418-420: The counterfoil of the ballot paper (which also carries the ballot paper number). This means, of course, that the secrecy of the ballot is not guaranteed if anyone can gain access to the counterfoils, which are locked away securely before the ballot boxes are opened at the count. Polling station officials colluding with election scrutineers may, therefore, determine how individual electors have voted. This measure

2480-429: The discharge of his/her responsibilities in this connection the Secretary-General should have access to Heads of Government... The headquarters of the secretary-general, as with the Secretariat generally, is Marlborough House , a former royal residence in London, which was placed at the disposal of the Secretariat by Queen Elizabeth II , who was the head of the Commonwealth . However, as the building cannot house all of

2542-559: The first deputy secretaries-general. In 1965, the Rhodesian Declaration of Independence was issued, gaining its sovereignty from the British in Southern Africa . Simultaneously, however, Smith was performing his first official visit as Secretary General to east and central Africa. Due to his diplomatic, peacemaking abilities, he was able to save the Commonwealth from dissolving as a result of clashing opinions. As

Commonwealth Secretary-General - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-522: The four laws were put in place in relatively quick succession, with one each in the years 139 BC, 137 BC, and 131 BC, applying respectively to the elections of magistrates , jury deliberations excepting charges of treason as well as the passage of laws. The final of the four laws was implemented more than two decades later in 107 BC and served solely to expand the law passed in 137 BC to require secret ballots for all jury deliberations, including treason. Before these ballot laws, one

2666-399: The greatest support, through the conduct of negotiations and secret straw polls . Secretaries-general seeking a second term in office are often elected unopposed. Although this practice was occasionally deemed to be a convention , it was broken by a Zimbabwe -backed bid for Sri Lankan Lakshman Kadirgamar to displace New Zealand's Don McKinnon in 2003. At the vote, however, Kadirgamar

2728-724: The late 1970s with three disputed ballots and a declared majority of two votes. Reportedly, prisoners in a UK prison were observed identifying voters' ballot votes on a list in 2008. The legal authority for this system is set out in the Parliamentary Elections Rules in Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 . Most states guarantee a secret ballot in the United States . But some states, including Indiana and North Carolina , require

2790-417: The maximum two terms. At the 2015 CHOGM , Patricia Scotland , a former British cabinet minister, was nominated for Commonwealth secretary-general by her native country of Dominica and defeated Antiguan diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders and former deputy secretary-general for political affairs Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba of Botswana to become the 6th Commonwealth secretary-general and the first woman to hold

2852-478: The member states' governments, who sponsor the nomination through the election process and are responsible for withdrawing their candidate as they see fit. The election is held in a Restricted Session of the CHOGM, in which only heads of government or ministerial representatives thereof may be present. The chair of the CHOGM (the head of government of the host nation) is responsible for ascertaining which candidate has

2914-469: The names of the candidates or questions and respective check boxes. Provisions are made at the polling place for the voters to record their preferences in secret, and the ballots are designed to eliminate bias and prevent anyone from linking voters to the ballot. A privacy problem arises with moves to improve the efficiency of voting by the introduction of postal voting and remote electronic voting . Some countries permit proxy voting , but some argue this

2976-614: The older dominions. Milton Obote of Uganda was the first to propose a specifically titled "secretariat", which was then formally proposed by Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago , who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the OAS , EEC , and OAU . Earlier attempts at the formation of a central secretariat had failed. Australia had proposed the establishment four times (in 1907, 1924, 1932, and 1944), whilst New Zealand had also made proposals in 1909 and 1956. Finally, in July 1964,

3038-430: The original Tasmanian Electoral Act 1856 was "re-discovered" recently, credit for the first implementation of the secret ballot often went to Victoria, where the former mayor of Melbourne William Nicholson pioneered it, and simultaneously South Australia . Victoria enacted legislation for secret ballots on 19 March 1856, and South Australian Electoral Commissioner William Boothby generally gets credit for creating

3100-476: The post. She took office on 1 April 2016. Lady Scotland's re-election to a second term was challenged at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting but she won a second term, reportedly defeating Jamaican foreign minister Kamina Johnson Smith by a margin of 27 votes to 24. As the CHOGM had been delayed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Scotland agreed to only serve for two additional years. At

3162-522: The public so the public can check counts and do other research with the anonymous ballots. Louisville, Kentucky , was the first city in the United States to adopt the Australian ballot. It was drafted by Lewis Naphtali Dembitz , the uncle of and inspiration for future Supreme Court associate justice Louis Brandeis . Massachusetts adopted the first state-wide Australian ballot, written by reformer Richard Henry Dana III , in 1888. Consequently, it

SECTION 50

#1732772786132

3224-604: The secret ballot to occur. According to the official website of the Assemblée nationale (the lower house of the French parliament), the voting booth was permanently adopted only in 1913. The demand for a secret ballot was one of the six points of Chartism . The British parliament of the time refused even to consider the Chartist demands. Still, Lord Macaulay , in an 1842 speech, while rejecting Chartism's six points as

3286-518: The secret ballot, but a reading of sections 206, 207, 325, and 327 of the Act would imply its assumption. Sections 323 and 226(4), however, apply the principle of a secret ballot to polling staff and would also support the assumption. New Zealand implemented secret voting in 1870. Before the final years of the 19th century, partisan newspapers printed filled-out ballots, which party workers distributed on election day so voters could drop them directly into

3348-455: The staff who worked in the Commonwealth, different points of view and perspectives would be seen. This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth co-operation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental "central clearing house" (as Ghana 's Kwame Nkrumah described it) to remove power from

3410-626: The system finally enacted into law in South Australia on 2 April of that same year (a fortnight later). The other British colonies in Australia followed: New South Wales (1858), Queensland (1859), and Western Australia (1877). State electoral laws, including the secret ballot, applied for the first election of the Australian parliament in 1901, and the system has continued to be a feature of federal elections and referendums. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 does not explicitly set out

3472-487: Was created, along with the Secretariat itself, after the fourteenth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London in 1965, issued a memorandum describing the role of the Secretary-General: Both the Secretary-General and his/her staff should be seen to be the servants of Commonwealth countries collectively. They derive their functions from the authority of Commonwealth Heads of Government ; and in

3534-473: Was easily defeated by McKinnon, with only 11 members voting for him against 40 for McKinnon. In March 2019, the 53 high commissioners, meeting in London, confirmed the unwritten rule allowing secretaries-general to be challenged for a second term. At the 2011 CHOGM , India's Kamalesh Sharma was re-elected to his second term unopposed. Sharma had won the position at the 2007 CHOGM , when he defeated Malta 's Michael Frendo to replace McKinnon, who had served

3596-408: Was first realised three years later. Another three years later, in 1965, the building passed to the Secretariat upon its foundation. The building itself was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and served as the London residence of the dukes of Marlborough until it was given to Princess Charlotte in 1817. The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 , which applied retroactively from the establishment of

3658-735: Was no longer realistically possible) and was first used on 15 August 1872 to re-elect Hugh Childers as MP for Pontefract in a ministerial by-election following his appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster . The original ballot box , sealed in wax with a licorice stamp, is held at Pontefract museum. However, the UK uses numbered ballots to allow courts to intervene, under rare circumstances, to identify which candidate voters voted for. In Australia, secret balloting appears to have been first implemented in Tasmania on 7 February 1856. Until

3720-547: Was not the primary concern, but more of a consequence of using ballots to count the votes accurately. Secret ballot was introduced into public life of Athens during second half of the fifth century. In ancient Rome , the Tabellariae Leges ( English: Ballot Laws) were four laws that implemented secret ballots for votes cast regarding each of the major elected assemblies of the Roman Republic . Three of

3782-511: Was required to verbally provide their vote to an individual responsible for tallying the votes, effectively publicly making every voter's vote known. Mandating secret ballots had the effect of reducing the influence of the Roman aristocracy, who were capable of influencing elections through a combination of bribes and threats. Secret balloting helps assuage both of those concerns, as not only are one's peers unable to determine which way you voted, there

SECTION 60

#1732772786132

3844-503: Was to write on white paper ) or receive one distributed on the street. The ballot was folded in order to prevent other people from reading its contents. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte attempted to abolish the secret ballot for the 1851 plebiscite with an electoral decree requesting electors to write down "yes" or "no" (in French: "oui" or "non") under the eyes of everyone. But he faced strong opposition and finally changed his mind, allowing

#131868