Prime Minister–designate
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A prime minister–designate or premier–designate is the person who is expected to succeed an incumbent as
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, or
premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, as the result of a general election, winning the leadership of a currently governing party, or being named by the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
to form a new government.


Overview

In the Westminster system, which originated in what is now the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the head of state or his/her representative has the sole prerogative to appoint a new prime minister upon the resignation, dismissal or death of the incumbent prime minister. Invariably, sitting prime ministers who after an election have no reasonable hope of commanding the confidence of parliament will resign rather than face a certain
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
. If another party has won a
majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
, the prime minister will formally advise the appointment of that party's leader as the new prime minister. There is usually no set minimum or maximum amount of time set aside for the transition to take place, but often in countries that have adopted the Westminster system the incoming head of government will want two or three weeks to put affairs in order and determine who should get cabinet posts, which itself might require more time especially if recounts involving prospective frontbenchers are in progress. As such, the incoming head of government will spend two or three weeks as prime minister–designate before being formally sworn in as prime minister. This is not the case in the United Kingdom itself however, where an opposition leader who wins a clear majority a general election is expected to assume office as soon as possible, often within 24 hours after the polls close. The situation is more complicated in case of a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
. By law, incumbent prime ministers always have the right to try to win the confidence of the house in a confidence vote. Often, especially if they do not have the most seats, prime ministers will not attempt to remain in office and will instead relinquish power in favour of the leader of the largest party, in which case they become prime minister–designate same as if their party had a majority. On the other hand, if a prime minister in such a situation chooses not to resign, the leader of the largest opposition party will not become the prime minister–designate even if their party has the most seats. In the latter case, the prime minister must win a vote of confidence to remain in office. If they are immediately defeated in the house, the head of state (or representative thereof) in most Westminster systems has the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' prerogative to refuse a request to dissolve the house. The leader of the largest opposition party therefore could still become prime minister–designate perhaps several weeks after the general election. The term prime minister–elect is sometimes used as a synonym, but in most circumstances it is technically incorrect: a prime minister is usually appointed by the head of state, and not elected to office by the entire nation, as is the case with some presidential polls. However, it has nonetheless seen common use in the media. Terms such as incoming prime minister and prime minister–in-waiting are also sometimes used, although the latter term is also sometimes used prior to an election for a party leader who is leading in the polls and/or has a meaningful chance of winning, or even more generally at any time between elections in reference to any opposition party leader (regardless of his or her party's perceived electoral prospects) and even for future leadership contenders within the current governing party. Under the broader definition, many prime ministers-in-waiting never actually become prime minister. In some countries the role is specifically covered by legislation, in others convention applies before the chosen leader is sworn in. The
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...
, the government authority responsible for the conduct of elections in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, notes that "it is usually possible for the prime minister–elect to claim victory on the night of the election". The media sometimes prematurely refers to someone as a prime minister–designate where the broader term of prime minister-in-waiting would be more suitable. Common circumstances when this happens include upcoming leadership elections where there is only one candidate and/or a clear majority of eligible voters in the election have pledged to vote for a particular candidate. For example, in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
during the 2007 Labour Party leadership election,
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
was referred to as the prime minister–designate even before the leadership elections had confirmed him in that position. Some reporters have suggested that in such circumstances, the term prime minister-presumptive would be more suitable than either "in-waiting" or "designate" since the prospects of accession are typically similar to that of an
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
in a monarchy or a
presumptive nominee In politics of the United States, United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings: # A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the Delegate (American politics), delegate ...
in a
United States presidential election The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dire ...
. In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, where the prime minister and head of government is officially titled and referred to in both English and Irish as the
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
, the person most expected to succeed to the office is variously described as the presumptive Taoiseach, the Taoiseach-designate, the Taoiseach-in-waiting or more rarely the Taoiseach-elect, with no singular style predominating. The title "premier-designate" often has the same meaning in governments that use the title "premier" to describe a role equivalent to a prime minister.


Constitutionally specified roles

In most jurisdictions where the term is used, becoming prime minister-designate grants no special powers, duties or privileges until appointment to the office is actually made.


Israel

Between 1996 and 2001 (when direct prime-ministerial elections were held) the role and duration of the prime minister–elect was prescribed by
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i legislation: within 45 days of the publication of the election results (which were published eight days after elections) the prime minister–elect would have appeared before the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
, presented the Ministers of the Government, announced the division of tasks and the guiding principles of the government's policies, and, after receiving a
vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
, enter into office. In 2001, the Knesset voted to change the system of direct prime-ministerial elections and restore the one-vote parliamentary system of government that operated until 1996, approving a reformed version of the original Basic Law: The Government 1968. This new law entered into effect with the January 2003 elections. ''and''


Solomon Islands

The
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
' constitution provides a fourteen-day period between the date of the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and the selection of the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. During this period, aspiring candidates for prime minister lobby intensely to acquire the numbers needed to win the contest and form the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. The individual successfully voted to form government is the prime minister-designate until sworn in by the
governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
.


See also

*
-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...
*
Caretaker government of Australia In Australian political and constitutional terminology, a caretaker government is a government of Australia from when the House of Representatives is dissolved by the Governor-General prior to a general election to a period after the election, u ...
*
President-elect of the United States The president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has presumptively won the United States presidential election and is awaiting inauguration to become the president. There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to when ...


References

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