With so many elections happening this year, check out this advanced vocabulary set to talk about it in English.
Organising an election
To hold an election – to put into process an election.
“The government held an election in the spring.”
To call an election – to announce an election.
To call a snap election – to announce an election when people were not expecting it.
“In the summer of 2024 both the British and French governments called snap elections.”
To nominate a candidate – to put someone forward as a candidate.
“The party nominated their candidates for the election.”
To run for office / to run for president – to try to get elected.
“Barack Obama ran for president of the USA in 2008.”
Next, voting. Remember it is “to vote for someone” (not “to”)
Voting vocabulary
The electorate – the people who take part in elections to elect politicians.
To vote for someone – voting process
To get a majority – when a political party wins an election by getting the majority of the votes.
A landslide victory – a party is very successful in an election and gets an overwhelming majority of votes.
“In the UK, Tony Blair’s Labour beat the incumbent party in a landslide victory in the 1997 election.”
Ballot box – the box where you put your vote.
Turnout – the proportion of the population who go to vote in an election.
‘The turnout for most elections is less than 70%.’
Voter apathy – when people do not vote because they don’t think that it will make a difference to their lives.
“There was a lot of voter apathy in the last election and we had a very low turnout.”
General government vocabulary
Politician – people in politics.
Politics – activity of politics
Policy – laws, ideas and values
“Politics is often a dirty business. You must stay strong not to be corrupted.”
A bill – a proposed law to be discussed in parliament where it will be amended, passed or dismissed.
“The government passed a bill to increase the age when people can smoke to 21.”
A coalition government – a government formed by more than one party.
“No party got a majority and so two parties formed a coalition government.”
To make a pact – two or more parties agree to join forces.
The opposition – the political party or parties opposing the government
“The opposition party challenged the government on their reforms.”
For more election vocabulary and to test your comprehension, take a look at this video from our Youtube channel.
