A ward is a
local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after
neighbourhoods,
thoroughfares,
parishes,
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
s, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to the area (e.g. William Morris Ward in the
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to th ...
, England). It is common in the
United States for wards to simply be numbered.
Origins
The word “ward”, for an electoral subdivision, appears to have originated in the
Wards of the City of London, where gatherings for each ward known as “wardmotes” have taken place since the 12th century. The word was much later applied to divisions of other cities and towns in
England and Wales and
Ireland.
In parts of northern
England, a ''ward'' was an administrative subdivision of a
county, very similar to a
hundred in other parts of England.
Present day
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 ...
,
Canada,
New Zealand,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
South Africa, the
United Kingdom, and the
United States, wards are an
electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
, within a district or
municipality, used in
local government elections. In the United States, wards are usually subdivided into
precinct
Precinct may refer to:
* An electoral precinct
* A police precinct
* A religious precinct
* A shopping precinct or shopping mall
** A Pedestrian zone
Places
* A neighborhood, in Australia
* A unit of public housing in Singapore
* A former elect ...
s for
polling purposes.
In some cities of
India, such as
Mumbai and
Delhi, a
ward is an administrative unit of the city region; a city area is divided into Zones, which in turn contain numerous wards. The smallest administrative unit of
Gram Panchayats in India is also known as a ward.
In
Bangladesh wards are subdivisions of a city or town which administrates under
City Corporations and
municipalities (''pourashova'')
In East Africa, the word ward used in English is translated into Swahili/Kiswahili as Kata.
In the case of a municipal
amalgamation
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
, the former cities and towns that make up the new metropolis may be referred to as wards.
Ireland
In the
Republic of Ireland, urban divisions were called ''wards'' and rural ones were called ''district electoral divisions''. Both were renamed as ''
electoral divisions'' in 1996. The electoral districts for
Irish local authorities are
local electoral areas.
These are generally defined as combinations of electoral divisions, and in urban areas were formally described as combination of wards.
Similar concepts in other languages
In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, a ''ku'' (or 区 in
Japanese writing
The modern Japanese writing system uses a combination of logographic kanji, which are adopted Chinese characters, and syllabic kana. Kana itself consists of a pair of syllabaries: hiragana, used primarily for native or naturalised Japanese wor ...
) is an administrative unit of one of the larger cities, closely equivalent to the divisions or wards of a London Borough or a New York Borough.
In
Vietnam, a ''phường'' is an administrative subunit of an inner city district, or ''quận''.
Wards and electoral divisions of Nepal are political divisions which are grouped into
Gaunpalika (
Rural council) and
Municipality. A rural municipality or municipality has minimum of five and maximum of 33 divisions.
See also
* Wards of Canada
**
Wards of the City of Ottawa
In the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a ward is an electoral district within a municipality used in local politics. Wards are named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denomina ...
**
Wards of Lake Country municipality
*
Wards of Japan
*
Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom
**
Wards of the City of London
*
Wards of Tanzania
*
Ward (United States)
** For more controversial/negative practices often associated with ''ward politics'', also see
political machine
In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
.
*
Wards of Zimbabwe
The Districts of Zimbabwe are divided into 1,200 municipal wards. The wards are listed below, by district: Kenilworth is under Bubi district There is a high school Mangubeni high Where Pretty Ndlovu the last daughter of war veteran Mack Mackie ...
References
{{Terms for types of country subdivisions
Types of administrative division
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