An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views that do not align with the platforms of any political party, and therefore choose not to affiliate with them. Some independent politicians may be associated with a party, perhaps as former members of it, or else have views that align with it, but choose not to stand in its name, or are unable to do so because the party in question has selected another candidate. Others may belong to or support a political party at the national level but believe they should not formally represent it (and thus be subject to its policies) at another level.
In running for public office, independents sometimes choose to form a party or alliance with other independents, and may formally register their party or alliance. Even where the word "independent" is used, such alliances have much in common with a political party, especially if there is an organization which needs to approve the "independent" candidates.
Americas
Brazil
Independent politicians are not allowed to run for office in Brazil. The Constitution of 1988, in Article 14, §3rd, item V, says that "Are conditions for eligibility: V - party affiliation." However, the Proposal Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) no. 6/2015, authored by independent senator
José Reguffe
José Antônio Machado Reguffe (born September 5, 1972) is a Brazilian politician. He has represented Distrito Federal in the Federal Senate since 2015. Previously he was a deputy from Distrito Federal from 2011 to 2015. He is a member of Brazi ...
, would allow the independent candidacy of individuals who have the support of at least 1% of the electors able to vote in the region (city, state or country, depending on the election) in which the candidate is running. Currently, members of the legislature can leave their respective parties after being elected, as in the case of senator Reguffe, who left the
Democratic Labour Party (PDT) in 2016.
Canada
Federal politics
In Canadian federal politics, members of both the
House of Commons and the
Senate are permitted to hold office without being members of a political party. Candidates in federal elections who are not affiliated with a party have two options: independent or no affiliation. In the former case, they appear on the ballot with "Independent" following their name; in the second case, they appear with their name only. The two options are otherwise equivalent.
=House of Commons
=
During the earliest Canadian Parliaments, a lack of coherent political identity among both the
Liberal and
Conservative parties is known to have led to
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) occasionally demonstrating independence from their party by voting in line with the opposition.
Commonly, the issues which caused these MPs to act independently were religious in nature.
These tensions began to disperse over the course of the first ten Canadian parliaments as the major political parties began to form consistent identities and MPs began affiliating themselves with the parties they knew more closely shared their core values. This in turn increased cohesion between parties and MPs, and minimized the causes and motivations for MPs to act independently.
Most observers of the Canadian House of Commons in the 21st century have noted its incredibly high party discipline. Few MPs choose to vote against their party's official stance on any given piece of legislation.
Between 2011 and 2013—the first two years of the
41st Canadian Parliament, following the
2011 Canadian federal election—the elected members of the governing
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
voted as a unified group on 76% of all votes, while members of the Liberal Party did so on 90% of all votes, and members of the
New Democratic Party (NDP) did so on 100% of votes.
This unity further increased in subsequent years, as in the
42nd Parliament, following the
2015 election, the governing Liberal MPs voted identically on 99.6% of all votes, Conservative MPs on 99.5% of votes, and NDP MPs on 99.8% of votes.
Thanks to this strong party discipline, it is uncommon to see politicians who are otherwise affiliated with any of the main political parties act independently of their party.
Though it is acceptable and accepted for politicians to serve as independent MPs, those who attempt to run as such often struggle to be elected without access to the resources of the major parties. As a result, there are seldom more than one or two independent MPs within modern Canadian Parliaments, with many who do sit as such being initially elected as a part of a major party before either leaving voluntarily or being removed. In the first year of the
44th Canadian Parliament, the House of Commons featured one sitting independent member:
Kevin Vuong
Kevin Vuong (born ) is a Canadian politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Spadina—Fort York since the 2021 federal election, sitting as an Independent. While Vuong was nominated as a Liberal Party candidate, the party disavo ...
, from the
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
electoral district, or riding, of
Spadina—Fort York. Vuong had originally campaigned as a member of the Liberal Party during the
2021 federal election but was ejected from the party two days prior to the end of the vote due to controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual assault.
Despite his removal from the Liberal Party, Vuong won the election for his riding and chose to hold on to his seat as an independent, though this decision was met with controversy because many voters had not known that the Liberals had expelled him before casting their votes.
In 2022,
Alain Rayes
Alain Rayes (born December 11, 1971) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election, and reelected in the 2019 and 2021 electi ...
, MP for the
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
riding of
Richmond—Arthabaska, who had been elected as a Conservative MP in three successive general elections, resigned from its caucus to sit as an independent, becoming the second independent MP of the 44th Parliament.
Independent politicians have on occasion held considerable sway in the House of Commons of Canada in recent years, as Canada has been governed by successive
minority governments (five of the seven that have been formed since the
2004 federal election) with independent MPs sometimes sharing in the
balance of power.
* In 2004,
Chuck Cadman was elected to the House as an independent MP representing the
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
riding of
Surrey North. Cadman was first elected to represent the riding as a
Reform member in the
1997 federal election and re-elected as a member of the
Canadian Alliance, Reform's successor party, in the
2000 federal election. He sought the nomination for the Conservative Party (re-created in 2003 when the Alliance and
Progressive Conservatives merged) for the 2004 election but was unsuccessful. He died in office in 2005.
* Independent
André Arthur
André Arthur (December 21, 1943 – May 8, 2022) was a Canadian radio host and politician. He was the independent Member of Parliament for the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier from 2006 to 2011. He is known for his outspoken style and anti- ...
was elected in the Quebec riding of
Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier
Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier (formerly known as Portneuf) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1867. Its population in 2001 was 87,141.
Demographics
Ethnic groups: 9 ...
in the
2006 federal election. He was the only independent to win a seat in that election; he was re-elected in the
2008 federal election. Arthur lost his seat in 2011.
*
Bill Casey
William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...
, the MP for the
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
riding of
Cumberland—Colchester—Musquoduboit Valley, was expelled from the Conservative Party for voting against the
2007 budget. He also ran as an independent in 2008 and retained his seat with 69% of the vote. Casey resigned from the Commons in 2009, before the end of his mandate, but was elected in the same riding, renamed Cumberland—Colchester, as a Liberal in 2015. He sat in the House for the 42nd Parliament and did not seek re-election in
2019.
* In 2019, MP
Jody Wilson-Raybould ran as an independent candidate in the riding of
Vancouver Granville
Vancouver Granville is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. The district includes all or significant portions of the Kerrisdale, Marpole, Oakridge, S ...
after being expelled from cabinet and the Liberal Party over the
SNC-Lavalin affair. She was returned to Parliament with 32% of the vote. After sitting as an independent for the
43rd Parliament, Wilson-Raybould did not seek re-election in 2021.
=Senate
=
While traditionally framed as an "independent body of sober second thought", appointments to the Senate of Canada prior to 2016 were commonly seen as highly partisan, with the majority of Canadian senators identifying themselves as members of either the Liberal or Conservative parties and serving within their party's caucus.
As these have been the only two parties to ever form government in Canada, only the Liberal and Conservative parties had been able to appoint new senators. Because Canadian senators are appointed by the
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...
on the advice 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 ...
rather than being elected, senators were often accused of being appointed as a "reward" for service to the party in power,
and once appointed, of simply repeating the points and positions of their counterparts in the House of Commons rather than acting as a means of truly independent policy review.
In 2014, as a response to growing public disapproval of the Senate and the perceived problems brought about by senator partisanship, Liberal Party leader
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...
made the decision to expel all Liberal senators from the Liberal Party caucus. Trudeau would go on to call for an overall elimination of partisanship in the Senate and pledged to end the practice of partisan appointments for senators and transition to a new system of merit-based appointments if elected Prime Minister.
Following the election of a Liberal
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 ...
in 2015, the
Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is an independent, non-partisan body established by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide merit-based recommendations on nominations to the Senate of Canada. The body was established ...
was established with the goal of filling Senate vacancies through a selection process based on political knowledge, merit, and perceived ability to act independently of partisan affiliation.
This push to remove partisan ties from the Senate resulted in the creation of the
Independent Senators Group, a coalition of both newly appointed independent senators and formally partisan senators who had relinquished their formal party ties, alongside the also independent
Canadian Senators Group and
Progressive Senate Group.
By 2018, the majority of Canadian Senators were officially independent,
though some Liberal senators continued to remain affiliated with the political party despite no longer being permitted within the party caucus.
Additionally, the Conservative Party elected not to remove its senators from the party caucus, and many Conservative Party senators kept their official partisan affiliations in public.
During the 2019 federal election campaign, in response to reporters' questions, Conservative Party leader
Andrew Scheer said that if his party were elected to form government and he became prime minister, he would reinstate the practice of partisan appointments to the Senate.
The efforts to increase senatorial independence have led some to argue the Senate has developed an increase of importance and power in the legislative process. As of 2021, it was found that Canadian senators were facing increasing pressure from
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whic ...
groups on a variety of issues, suggesting the more independent Senate has a greater perceived influence over legislative issues.
Additionally, following the appointment of senators through the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, there has been a noted increase in the number of amendments the Senate has proposed for legislation from the House of Commons.
During the 42nd Parliament (2015–2019), the Senate attempted to amend 13 government bills, whereas during the 41st Parliament (2011–2015), it had attempted to amend only one government bill.
The reformed Senate is noted as having proposed amendments on at least 20% of all legislation.
Criticism
Several observers and those involved with the Senate itself have criticized the Trudeau government for its attempted reforms, with most accusations centering around the belief that the new appointment process is biased towards those who are ideologically supportive of the Liberal Party's objectives. Remaining Conservative senators have accused the Independent Senators Group in particular as being "too quick to endorse bills from the Liberal government".
Supporting this claim, a 2021 study found that members of the Independent Senators Group voted in favor of legislation proposed by the incumbent Liberal government more consistently than any other group within the Senate, including those still formally aligned to the Liberal Party.
This was, however, among an overall trend in which all senators demonstrated lower levels of party loyalty, and as such its full implications are still unknown. The report also concluded that partisanship in Senate appointments was undeniably down when compared to the Senate prior to the reforms.
It is generally thought that it will only be possible to judge the success of the attempted reforms accurately when a non-Liberal governments is elected to the House of Commons, at which point it can be observed if the noted trend in voting represents simple loyalty to the government, or loyalty to the Liberal Party.
Provincial and territorial politics
The territorial legislatures of the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
and
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
are
consensus governments with no political parties. All members sit as independents. There are a few independent members of the other provincial and territorial legislatures, which are similar in principle to the federal House of Commons; for example, in the
2009 British Columbia general election, independent candidate
Vicki Huntington
Victoria "Vicki" Huntington is a Canadian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2009 until 2017 as an independent for Delta South.
Education and early career
Huntington is a native of Vancouver, British C ...
narrowly defeated incumbent
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Wally Oppal in
Delta South
Delta South is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
Member of Legislative Assembly
The current MLA for this riding is Ian Paton. The previous member was Vicki Huntington, the only Indep ...
. In the
2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election, two independent candidates were elected.
Costa Rica
Current laws in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
do not permit a citizen to run directly for any elected position as an independent without the representation of a political party.
Any nomination must be made through a political party, due to the framework of the current legal system, in which the political parties have a monopoly on the nomination of candidates for elected positions according to the Electoral Code.
However, becoming an independent politician after being elected is protected by virtue of Article 25 of the
Constitution of Costa Rica, which guarantees
freedom of association
Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline mem ...
and therefore any citizen cannot be forced to remain in a specific political party and can join any other political group. It is common in each legislative period for some
deputies
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...
(, term used for legislators) of the
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica to become independents, and this has also happened with the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
s () of the municipalities of
cantons.
Mexico
Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón (born in 1957), sometimes referred to by his nickname "Bronco", is a Mexican politician and former governor for the northern state of
Nuevo León and holds no political party affiliation. , he was elected Governor of Nuevo León, making history as the first independent candidate to win in the country.
United States
President
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
is the only
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
elected as an independent to date. President Washington opposed the development of
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
, which had begun to solidify as the
Federalist faction centered around
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
and
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and the
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
faction centered around
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
and
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...
. Washington feared that
partisanship would eventually destroy the country, and famously warned against "the baneful effects of the spirit of party" in his 1796
Farewell Address.
John Tyler was expelled from the
Whig Party in September 1841, and effectively remained an independent for the remainder of his presidency. He later returned to the
Democratic Party and briefly sought re-election in
1844
In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30.
Events
January–March
* January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...
as a
Tyler Democrat, but withdrew over fear he would split the Democratic vote and give the election to Whig candidate
Henry Clay.
Since 1900, notable candidates running as independents for U.S. president have included congressman
John Anderson in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
, billionaire entrepreneur
Ross Perot in
1992 and
1996 (in 1996 under the newly founded
Reform Party), former
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
candidate
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
in the
1996 and
2000 elections, and
"Never Trump" conservative candidate
Evan McMullin in
2016. Out of all independent candidates since Washington, Perot received the best performance, gaining no votes in the
Electoral College but receiving 19 percent of the popular vote and at earlier points in the election season leading in polls against his opponents
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
and
George H. W. Bush. Additionally, McMullin received 21 percent of the popular vote in his home state of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
but received little support from the remainder of the country. Independent senator
Bernie Sanders ran in the
2016 and
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, but ultimately did not appear on the ballot in the 2016 presidential election, though he did receive more than 5% of the vote as a
write-in candidate in his home state of
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
.
In 2008, Nader formed Independent Parties in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
, and elsewhere to gain ballot access in several states. Several other candidates for federal races, including
Joe Lieberman (
Connecticut for Lieberman
Connecticut for Lieberman was a Connecticut political party created by twenty-five supporters of Senator Joe Lieberman. The party was created to enable Lieberman to run for re-election following his defeat in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic pri ...
), have pursued a similar strategy.
Governor
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
have elected formally independent candidates as governor: Illinois's first two governors,
Shadrach Bond and
Edward Coles;
James B. Longley
James Bernard Longley Sr. (April 22, 1924 – August 16, 1980) was an American politician. He served as the 69th Governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent to hold the office. In 1949, he married the former Helen Angela W ...
in 1974 as well as
Angus King in 1994 and 1998 from Maine;
Lincoln Chafee in 2010 from Rhode Island;
Julius Meier in 1930 from Oregon;
Sam Houston in 1859 from Texas; and
Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to:
Australian rules football
* Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy
* Bill J. V. Wal ...
in 2014 from Alaska.
Lowell P. Weicker Jr.
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was ...
of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
is sometimes mentioned as an independent governor, though this is not technically correct; he ran as an
A Connecticut Party candidate (which gave him better ballot placement than an unaffiliated candidate would receive), defeating the Democratic and Republican nominees. Another former governor who is sometimes mentioned as an independent is
Jesse Ventura, who actually ran as a member of the
Reform Party's Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
affiliate, which later disaffiliated from the party and reverted to its original name the
Independence Party of Minnesota.
In 1971, State Senator
Henry Howell of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, a former Democrat, was elected
lieutenant governor as an independent. Two years later, he campaigned for
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
as an independent, but lost by 15,000 votes.
There were several unsuccessful independent gubernatorial candidates in 2006 who impacted their electoral races. In Maine, state legislator
Barbara Merrill (formerly a Democrat) received 21% of the vote. In Texas,
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer and
mystery novelist Kinky Friedman received 12.43% of the vote, and State
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Carole Stewart Keeton (born September 13, 1939), formerly known as Carole Keeton McClellan, Carole Keeton Rylander and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, is an American politician and the former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Elected to the comptro ...
received 18.13%. Strayhorn and Friedman's presence in the race resulted in a splitting of the ballot four ways between themselves and the two major parties.
In 2010,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...
left the Republican party and became Independent. (He later became a Democrat.) He left the Republicans because he did not want to run against former
state house Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for the
U.S. Senate election (Rubio won, though Crist came in ahead of Democratic nominee
Kendrick Meek).
In 2014, former
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
mayor
Mufi Hannemann ran as an independent candidate for the
governorship of the State of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
after previously campaigning in the state's Democratic primary. As a result, Democratic candidate
David Ige
David Yutaka Ige (; born January 15, 1957) is an American politician and engineer who served as the eighth governor of Hawaii from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he served in the Hawaii State Senate from 1995 to 2014 and the Hawaii House of Repres ...
was elected as governor with a plurality of 49%.
Congress
= Senate
=
There have been several independents elected to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
throughout history. Notable examples include
David Davis of Illinois (a former
Republican) in the 19th century, and
Harry F. Byrd Jr. of Virginia (who had been elected to his first term as a Democrat) in the 20th century. Some officials have been elected as members of a party but became independent while in office (without being elected as such), such as
Wayne Morse of Oregon.
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
senator
George W. Norris
George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until ...
was elected for four terms as a Republican before changing to an independent after the Republicans lost their majority in Congress in 1930. Norris won re-election as an independent in 1936, but later lost his final re-election attempt to Republican
Kenneth S. Wherry
Kenneth Spicer Wherry (February 28, 1892November 29, 1951) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1943 until his death in 1951; he was the minority ...
in 1942. Vermont senator
Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent in 2001. Jeffords's
change of party status was especially significant because it shifted the Senate composition from 50 to 50 between the Republicans and Democrats (with a Republican Vice President,
Dick Cheney, who would presumably break all ties in favor of the Republicans), to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one Independent. Jeffords agreed to vote for Democratic control of the Senate in exchange for being appointed chairman of the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Democrats held control of the Senate until the
Congressional elections in 2002, when the Republicans regained their majority. Jeffords retired at the end of his term in 2007. Wayne Morse after two years as an independent became a Democrat.
Dean Barkley of the
Independence Party of Minnesota was appointed a day before the 2002 elections to fill the senate seat of
Paul Wellstone who, while running for re-election, died weeks prior. Barkley refused to caucus with either party.
= House of Representatives
=
The
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
has also seen a handful of
independent members. Examples include Bernie Sanders of Vermont,
Virgil Goode of Virginia,
Frazier Reams of
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
,
Victor Berger
Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born i ...
of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and
Justin Amash and
Paul Mitchell of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
.
= Longest Running
=
Senator
Bernie Sanders is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. He was an independent member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for
Vermont-at-large from 1991 to 2007. In
2006, Sanders won the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring
Jim Jeffords as an independent.
Joe Lieberman is a former
Democrat who, like
Lowell P. Weicker Jr.
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was ...
, ran under a third party (
Connecticut for Lieberman Party) in the
2006 election. Though both representatives are technically independent politicians, they often caucus with the Democrats. In 2006, Sanders and Lieberman were the only two victorious independent candidates for Congress, both caucusing with the Democrats. In 2012,
Angus King was elected to the U.S. Senate as an Independent from Maine. , he has typically caucused with the Democrats.
Asia
Azerbaijan
In
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, there are many independent members of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, such as
Aytən Mustafayeva.
China
Hong Kong
More than half of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
's
Legislative Council is made up of independents, or members whose political groups are represented by one sole member in the legislature. They are common in
functional constituencies, and are not rare among
geographical constituencies
In Hong Kong, geographical constituencies, as opposed to functional constituencies, are elected by all eligible voters according to geographically demarcated constituencies. There are currently 5 geographical constituencies in Hong Kong, return ...
.
India
Independent candidates can contest elections on the basis of their personal appeal or to promote an ideology different from any party. Independents currently hold 6 seats in the Indian Parliament.
Israel
The only Israeli politician elected to 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 (wit ...
by his own was
Shmuel Flatto-Sharon
Shmuel "Samy" Flatto-Sharon ( he, שמואל פלאטו-שרון, 18 January 1930 – 7 December 2018) was a controversial French-Israeli businessman, radio talk-show host and politician. After starting his own political party, he was a member of ...
.
Malaysia
Independents have rarely been elected to the
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan ...
and state legislative assemblies. In Malaysian elections, many independent candidates lose their election deposit because they had failed to secure at least 12.5% or one-eighth of the total votes cast. Independent
Senators are quite rare.
In 2010, a group of independent MPs who were sacked from the
People's Justice Party formed a political block called ''
Konsensus Bebas''. The members were
Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru),
Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju),
Zulkifli Noordin
Datuk Seri Zulkifli Noordin (born 19 February 1962) is a Malaysian politician and a former Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kulim–Bandar Baharu constituency in Kedah. He held the seat as an Independent, although having been ele ...
(Kulim-Bandar Bharu),
Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and
Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai). It did not last beyond the 12th General Elections.
, three independent MPs were elected in
GE14, but later joining
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...
(
PKR), thus causing no representation for independent MP for that time. However, as of June 2018 and December 2018, the number increased to 13 independent Members of Parliament that now currently sit in the
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan ...
as of December 2018.
At the same time in December 2018, almost all members from Sabah
UMNO
The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its ...
quit the party and became independent politicians.
Maszlee Malik quit
Homeland Fighters' Party
The Homeland Fighters' Party ( ms, Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, Jawi: ڤرتي ڤجواڠ تانه اير, PEJUANG) is a Malay-based political party of Malaysia, formed in August 2020 by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Moh ...
and became an independent MP fighting for education activist.
Dewan Negara (Senate)
=Senators
=
Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)
=Members of Parliament of the 15th Malaysian Parliament
=
Malaysian State Assembly Representatives
Sabah State Legislative Assembly
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
North Korea
Parliamentary independent candidates: The system in place whither the DPRK allows for independent politicians to launch their own campaigns to gain a seat in parliament. The candidates however must be approved by the Fatherland Front, being the primary party of the DPRK. To cast votes to independent candidates the voting population must do so at independent voting stations.
Nearly all electoral systems currently in practice in the DPRK that exist on a local level are made up of mostly independent Candidates, as the Fatherland Front and other major party's primarily operate in the urban heartland of the DPRK. On the local level of North Korean elections, alliances between independent candidates is banned.
Nepal
In Nepal, there are some independent politician specially in local government. Independent politician and Rapper
Balen Shah was elected as Mayor of
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
with heavy votes. Similarly, Harka Sampang and Gopi Hamal were also elected as Mayor of some of the major cities like
Dharan
Dharan ( ne, धरान) a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Province No. 1, Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and It ...
&
Dhangadhi, respectively.
Pakistan
Pakistan also has independent politicians standing in elections. Pakistan's Parliament has
General Elections, 2008 elected 30 Members. In the 2011 four candidates won seats in the National Assembly. In the 2013 General Election nine seats were won by independents.
Philippines
Ever since the first elections during the
1907 Philippine Assembly elections, independents have been allowed to participate and have won seats. On that first election, independents had the most members, behind the Nacionalista Party. When the
Senate was first created, its
first elections in 1916 also saw independents participating and winning one seat. In the Nacionalista landslide of
1941, the three independents were the only non-members of the Nacionalista Party to win in the House of Representatives; this was also the start of independents being shut out in the Senate. After independence was granted by the United States in 1946, the
two-party system
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...
between the Nacionalistas and
Liberal Party was established, with certain candidates who failed to get the nomination of either parties appearing on the ballot as "Independent Nacionalista" or "Independent Liberal", as the case may be. Independents not associated with any party were still able to participate and sporadically win elections. In the
1961 Philippine vice presidential election, independent
Sergio Osmeña Jr. narrowly lost to
Emmanuel Pelaez. The first breakthrough was in the
1967 Philippine Senate election was
Magnolia Antonino
Magnolia Antonino ( Welborn; December 14, 1915 – July 22, 2010) was a Senator of the Philippines. The daughter of George Welborn and Hipolita Rodriguez, she was married to Gaudencio Antonino, also a Senator. She was born in Balaoan, La Union.
...
widow of Gaudencio Antonino who died on election eve, won.
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
declared martial law in 1972, dissolved Congress, and promulgated a new constitution that led to the
1978 Philippine parliamentary election, where one independent won, independents also won in
1984. Marcos was overthrown after the 1986
People Power Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
after he allegedly cheated in the
1986 Philippine presidential election.
Corazon Aquino succeeded Marcos, and promulgated a new constitution that ushered in a
multi-party system. Here, parties are not able to present full 12-person slates in Senate elections, thus necessitating inter-party cooperation, that included independents. The
1995 Philippine Senate election
The 1995 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 25th election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 8, 1995, to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. Filipinos protected the ballot boxes with their liv ...
saw two independents winning:
Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...
(who later ran and lost the
1998 Philippine presidential election
The 1998 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on May 11, 1998. In the presidential election, Vice President Joseph Estrada won a six-year term as President by a landslide victory. In the vice-presidential race, Senato ...
as independent) and
Gregorio Honasan
Gregorio "Gringo" Ballesteros Honasan II (, born March 14, 1948), is a Filipino politician and a cashiered Philippine Army officer who led unsuccessful coups d'état against President Corazon Aquino. He played a key role in the 1986 EDSA Re ...
, who both teamed up to stage coups during the Aquino presidency. The
2001 EDSA Revolution
The Second EDSA Revolution, also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos''), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001, which peacefully overthrew the government of Jose ...
increased the number of major candidates running as independents, with broadcaster
Noli de Castro topping the Senate election. He was a guest candidate of the opposition
Pwersa ng Masa coalition but he never joined their campaign rallies. In 2004, he ran
as vice president as a guest candidate of the administration
K-4 coalition and won with just under majority of the vote.
In the local level, former priest
Eddie Panlilio
Eddie "Among Ed" Tongol Panlilio (born December 6, 1953) is a Filipino Roman Catholic priest and Governor of Pampanga. He was suspended from his priestly duties upon announcing his intention to run as governor. He was elected governor in May 20 ...
was elected as governor of
Pampanga
Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...
in 2007, defeating two administration candidates. When Panlilio eventually transferred to the Liberal Party in time for the 2010 election, it was ruled that he was beaten in the 2007 election; in 2010, he was defeated.
In the
2010 House of Representatives elections, seven independents were elected, although all but two joined a political party after the elections. Independents can only run in
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
elections, and cannot participate in
party-list elections as independents.
In contesting elections, independent candidates, while can spend as much as those with parties can under the law, they aren't able to tap in spending from a political party that nominated them.
Independent candidates are different from
nonpartisan politicians; the former are elected in openly partisan elections, while the latter participate in nonpartisan elections such as
barangay elections
Barangay elections are elections in the Philippines in the barangays, the smallest of the administrative divisions in the Philippines. Barangays make up cities and municipalities and in turn are made up of sitios and puroks, whose leaders are not ...
. Local legislatures may find itself with independent and nonpartisan members.
Taiwan
After the
2018 Taiwanese local elections, there is only one independent local head:
*
Ko Wen-je, Mayor of
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
.
In 2019, Ko Wen-je founded the
Taiwan People's Party
The Taiwan People's Party is a political party in Taiwan, formally established on 6 August 2019 by Ko Wen-je, who serves as its first and current chairman.
Application process
The party was proposed in August 2019 by Mayor of Taipei Ko Wen- ...
, so there is no independent local head at the moment.
Europe
Bulgaria
The
President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev is an independent with support from the
Bulgarian Socialist Party. Radev was elected in the
2016 presidential election. An independent politician can enter into parliament only if they gather enough votes to pass the 4% threshold, thus behaving like political parties. However they can be part of a civic quota of a given party. Civic quotas are lists of independents candidates, who are represented on a given party's electoral list, without directly joining the party. Every party has the capability to invite independent candidates into their lists, without forcing them to join the party itself.
Croatia
After an inconclusive election in
2015,
Tihomir Orešković
Tihomir "Tim" Orešković (; born 1 January 1966) is a Croatian Canadian businessman who was Prime Minister of Croatia from January to October 2016.
Born in Zagreb, Orešković emigrated to Canada at a young age and spent most of his life there ...
was named the first non-partisan
Prime Minister of Croatia.
Estonia
All
Estonian presidents are forced to retire from any political party they may be in.
Finland
Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim, who served as the
President of Finland from 1944 to 1946, did not want to be affiliated with any party. As the state regent/caretaker from December 1918 to July 1919, Mannerheim also stood as an independent in the
July 1919 presidential election against the
National Progressive's candidate
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, who won. Also, after serving six years on his first term as the 12th President of Finland in the
National Coalition Party from 2012 to 2018,
Sauli Niinistö was elected for his second term in 2018 after running as an independent candidate. Sauli Niinistö's status as an independent/non-partisan president has been attributed to his historical approval ratings and popularity, which stood at 90% favorable in July 2021 of which 52% said that Niinistö had handled the presidency "Very favorably".
France
In France, independent politicians are frequently categorised as ''sans étiquette'' ("without label") in municipal or district elections.
In the nineteenth-century and first half of the twentieth century, most French national politicians were independents. The first modern French political parties date from the early 1900s (foundation of
Action Libérale and the
Radical Party). The first legislation on political parties dates from 1911, though it was not until 1928 that parliamentarians were required to select a political party for the parliamentary register (either by formally joining a group, or by loosely working with one as an ''apparenté'', or associate), and not until after 1945 that structured political parties came to dominate parliamentary work.
Once elected, independents tended to attach themselves to a parliamentary party. In some cases independent deputies banded together to form a technical group of their own. In 1932, for instance, there were four technical groups created: the left-of-centre
Independent Left
The Independent Left (french: Gauche indépendante, GI) was a French parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies of France of the French Third Republic during the interwar period.
It was not a political party but a technical group formed by ind ...
, with 12 deputies; the centre-right liberal
Independents of the Left {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
The Independents of the Left (french: Indépendants de gauche, IG) was a French parliamentary technical group in the Chamber of Deputies of France during the French Third Republic.
The group w ...
, with 26 deputies; the right-wing
agrarian Independents for Economic, Social and Peasant Action, with six deputies; and the far-right
monarchist
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...
Independent Group, with 12 deputies—these four technical groups thus accounted for one-tenth of deputies. In addition, the larger parliamentary parties, including the socialist SFIO, centre-left PRRRS, centre-right ARD and conservative FR all included a greater or lesser number of independents who sat with their group for parliamentary work (''apparentés'').
In 1920,
Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 20 January to 23 September 1920 and President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the ...
was elected
president of the Republic under the banner "without label".
However, it is nowadays rare to have independent politicians at national level, if only because independents usually affiliate themselves to an existing political grouping. Noteworthy independents include
José Bové in the
2007 presidential election.
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
was an independent politician as Minister, but formed his own party to stand in the
2017 presidential election.
From 2001 to 2008, "without label" was no longer used in the nomenclature of the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministr ...
. Candidates and lists presenting themselves as "without label" are classified in DVG (various left), DVD (various right), DVC (various center) or AUT (other) according to their political sensitivity. Therefore, from 2008 onwards, the DIV (miscellaneous) or the LDIV code for the "miscellaneous" list has been created to group unclassifiable or categorical interests and, by default, mayors without a declared label claiming no political sensitivity, be it left, center or right. The AUT (other) grade replaces the DIV grade without changing its definition.
Georgia
Salome Zourabichvili won the
2018 Georgian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 28 October 2018. The pre-election campaign was marred by a polarized political environment and a series of secret tape recordings aired by the pro-opposition Rustavi 2 TV, leading to allegations of ...
as an independent candidate, becoming the first-ever female
President of Georgia.
Germany
Joachim Gauck,
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
from March 2012 to March 2017 and the first Federal President without party affiliation, was to date the most prominent independent politician. In the
German presidential election of 2010 he was the candidate of the
Social Democrats and
Greens, in
2012 the candidate of all major parties except
The Left. His presidency—though his powers are limited—constitutes an exception, as Independent politicians have rarely held high office in German history, at least not since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It has nevertheless happened that a presidential candidate without any chances of election by the
Federal Convention was not a party member: for example, in 1984 the Greens came up with the writer
Luise Rinser.
In the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...
parliament nearly all deputies belong to a political party. The voting system of
personalized proportional representation (since 1949) allows any individual holding the
passive right to vote to stand for a direct
mandate
Mandate most often refers to:
* League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919
* Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate
Mandate may also r ...
in the
electoral districts—299 of the seats in parliament are distributed by districts according to a
plurality voting system. Such a candidate has to present 200 signatures in favor of their candidacy, the same as a candidate of a party that had no parliamentary presentation previously. The first
Bundestag election in 1949 saw three independents elected; since then, no party-independent candidate has won a seat. At
state level, the situation is more or less the same: only party members have a real chance to be elected to a
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...
legislature, and state ministers without party membership are just as rare as at the federal level. However, in
local elections it may occur that an independent politician is elected deputy to
districts', cities' and municipalities' assemblies, as well as member of a
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...
or even
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, especially in
Northern Germany. In recent years, independents have formed
Free Voters associations which have had success in local governments. Two such associations have managed to enter state parliaments: the
Free Voters of Bavaria in 2008 and the
Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters
The Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters (German: ''Brandenburger Vereinigte Bürgerbewegungen/Freie Wähler''; BVB/Free Voters or BVB/FW) is a political party in Brandenburg in eastern Germany. The party was co-founded in 2008 by Péte ...
in 2019.
An independent member of parliament, who also is not a member of a voters' association, holds the status of ''fraktionsloser Abgeordneter'', i.e., not affiliated to any
parliamentary group
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliame ...
. A representative who either leaves their party (and their parliamentary group) or is expelled from it and does not join another becomes ''fraktionslos''. In 1989 the Bundestag MP
Thomas Wüppesahl, who had left the Green Party in 1987 and was excluded from the Green parliamentary group the next year, obtained more rights as a ''fraktionsloser Abgeordneter'', for example more talking time and representation in a subcommittee, when the
Federal Constitutional Court decided partially in their favor.
After the
German unification of 1871, the first
Reich Chancellors (
heads of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
) ''de jure'' served as
executive officers of the
German Imperial states as non-partisans, usually recruited from the traditional bureaucratic, aristocratic and/or military elites. In the fierce political conflicts during the
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
period after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, several chancellors and Reich Ministers also had no party affiliation: these chancellors were
Wilhelm Cuno (1922–1923),
Hans Luther (1925–1926), the former
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
politician
Franz von Papen
Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany ...
(1932), and
Kurt von Schleicher (1932–1933). The last two
cabinets appointed by Reich President
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...
, a non-partisan (though strongly
Conservative) himself, were regarded as apolitical cabinets of experts with regard to the rise of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
; many of the ministers were not party members.
Since World War II, only two ministers of (West) German cabinets have not been party members, though "on the ticket" of the major party in the coalition, the Social Democrats: Education Minister
Hans Leussink
Hans Leussink (2 February 1912 in Schüttorf – 16 February 2008 in Karlsruhe) was a German teacher and politician. He served as the country's Minister for Education and Research from October 1969 to March 1972 in Cabinet Brandt I under Chancel ...
(1969–1972), and Minister of Economy
Werner Müller (1998–2002). Minister of Justice
Klaus Kinkel only shortly after his appointment joined the
Free Democrats in 1991. A special case is the former Federal Minister and Chancellor
Ludwig Erhard, whose affiliation with the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has not been conclusively established: although he served as Minister of Economics from 1949 to 1963 and as Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966, and was even elected CDU
party chairman in 1966, it seems that he never signed a membership form or paid contributions. Researches by ''
Der Stern
''Stern'' (, German for "Star") is an illustrated, broadly left-liberal, weekly current affairs magazine published in Hamburg, Germany, by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. Under the editorship (1948–1980) of its founder Henri Nan ...
'' magazine have revealed a record at the CDU party archives created only in 1968, with the faked date of entry of early March 1949.
Iceland
The
President of Iceland
The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir ...
(currently
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (;
born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). He wa ...
) is independent.
Ireland
In Ireland, proportional representation, the comparative looseness of formal parties, and strong local sentiment have meant that independents have formed a significant part of the parliamentary landscape since the
foundation of the state: in the early elections to
Dáil Éireann (parliament), independents accounted for
7% of seats in 1922,
8.5% in 1923,
10.5% in 1927, and
9% in 1932, though with the development of relatively more structured parties their numbers declined thereafter. These were similar proportions to the number of independents elected to other interwar European democracies such as France (see above).
It was not until the 2010s that independents would see a similar electoral success, with record scores for independents surpassing the previous interwar highs.
After the
Irish general election in 2016, there were 19 independent
TDs (parliamentary deputies) in the
Dáil (the lower house of the Irish parliament), representing 12% of the total. Two technical groups were formed by independent deputies to coordinate their activities: the
Independents4Change
Independents 4 Change ( ga, Neamhspleáigh ar son an Athraithe) is a left-wing Irish political party.
History
The political grouping registered as a political party since 2014. It was previously known as Independents for Equality Movement.
T ...
, with four deputies, opposed the government, while the
Independent Alliance formed part of the minority government's working majority. A number of other individual independents similarly supported the government, and received cabinet positions.
There are fourteen independent senators in the
25th Seanad (the upper house of the Irish parliament), representing 23% of the total. Three of these are elected by the graduates of the
National University of Ireland and two from
Dublin University
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Du ...
. There are also five independent senators who were nominated by the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the of ...
and four elected by the technical panels.
Italy
The
Prime Ministers Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
Biography Education
Ciampi was born ...
(1993–1994),
Lamberto Dini (1995–1996),
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.
Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...
(2000–2001),
Mario Monti
Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis.
Monti served as a European Commi ...
(2011–2013),
Giuseppe Conte
Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021.
Cont ...
(2018–2021) and
Mario Draghi (2021–2022) were independent when they were in office. Ciampi was also the
President of Italy between 1999 and 2006. President
Sergio Mattarella, despite being a former member of the
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
and of the
Democratic Party, was elected president in 2015 as an independent (he was member of the Constitutional Court at the moment of his election).
Kosovo
Atifete Jahjaga was elected the first female and Independent President of Kosovo. She was also the first female and independent elected leader in the whole of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
.
Poland
The Polish
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
is elected by party-list ordination, which does not allow lone candidates to run, although since 2001 there has been a possibility to create non-partisan ''Voters' Electoral Committee'' (pol. ''KWW'', ''komitet wyborczy wyborców''); they are by almost any means party lists, but no officially registered party is behind them. They can be unregistered parties, e.g.
Kukiz'15, or non-partisan movements, although the latter never reached the 5% threshold. National minorities candidates also form Voters' Electoral Committees (like
German Minority Electoral Committee, represented in Sejm since 1991), but they do not have to reach the nationwide threshold. However, during a Sejm term many members switch parties or become independents.
Tickets such as
Civic Platform during the
2001 election were formally non-partisan, Civic Platform was widely viewed as a de facto political party, as it is now.
The situation in the
Senate is different, as the voting system allows independents to run as single candidates and some are elected in their own right. In the last parliamentary election (
2015) four independents won seats in the Senate.
Three
presidents since 1990 have technically been independents.
Lech Wałęsa was not an endorsed candidate of any party, but the chairman of the
Solidarity and he was elected without full support of this union (Solidarity votes split between him and
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 ...
Tadeusz Mazowiecki).
Aleksander Kwaśniewski was a leader of the
Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, but formally resigned from the party after he was elected, as did
Lech Kaczyński, who was the first leader of
Law and Justice,
Bronisław Komorowski (
PO) and
Andrzej Duda (
PiS). The resignation is required because the Constitution says that the president shall hold no other offices nor discharge any public functions. The aforementioned presidents often participated in their party's campaigns (e.g. Andrzej Duda in the Law and Justice campaign three months after his resignation from the party).
Portugal
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the current
president of Portugal since 6 March 2016, was elected on 24 January 2016 while being a leading member of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
, but suspended his
political affiliation
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
on the day of his
swearing-in
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
.
Russia
All of Russia's
presidents have been independents. Former president
Dmitry Medvedev declined an offer to join
United Russia, saying that he believes the President should be an independent so that he serves the interests of the country rather than his political party.
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, the current president of Russia, was the head of the
United Russia party until 26 May 2012, but even then was not its member, thus formally was and still is independent.
Sweden
The Swedish election system is based on parties nominating candidate MPs for their party ballots, and each party has to receive 4% or more of the national vote (or 12% in one region, which has never happened independently of also reaching the different 4% threshold). This makes running as an independent MP impossible. Once elected, the seat is personal; MPs may resign their party membership, or be stripped of it, while retaining their
Riksdag seats to become independent to become what is commonly referred to as a ''politisk vilde'' (''political savage'') symbol: (-).
In 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 i ...
(executive cabinet), there is no requirement for ministers to be MPs, or even have a political affiliation (though this has overwhelmingly been the case in modern times). This means that even 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 ...
could technically be an independent if chosen by the Riksdag.
United Kingdom
The
Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 laid down the first specific rules in the United Kingdom relating to the use of the term 'independent' by election candidates. That Act was repealed with most of its contents covered by Part II of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important ...
. Candidates standing for United Kingdom local elections and United Kingdom parliamentary elections, including the devolved parliaments and assemblies, can use the name of a registered political party, or the term 'Independent' (or its Welsh language equivalent ''annibynol'') or no ballot paper description at all (this latter choice was used, for example, by David Icke at the
2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election
The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. The by-election was triggered by the surprise and cont ...
).
Some groups in the United Kingdom who are not affiliated to any national or regional party have registered locality-based political parties. Some English examples are the
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, (often known as Independent Community And Health Concern and abbreviated as ICHC) is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom. The party was founded in 2000, having grown ou ...
, the
Epsom and Ewell Residents Association, the
Devizes Guardians
The Devizes Guardians are a local political party based in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The party was formed in 2001 and has been successful in winning seats on Kennet District Council and Wiltshire Council, but at present is represented only o ...
, the
Derwentside Independents
Derwentside Independents is a localist political party in County Durham, England. It was established in 2001 to contest elections to Derwentside District Council, later contesting elections to Durham County Council following the establishment ...
, and the
East Yorkshire Independents
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
.
House of Commons
Before the twentieth century it was fairly common for independents to be elected to the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 ...
, but there have been very few since 1945.
S. O. Davies, a veteran
Labour MP, held his
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...
seat in the
1970 general election, standing as an independent, after the Labour Party had deselected him.
Journalist
Martin Bell was elected at
Tatton in the
general election of 1997, having stood on an anti-corruption platform, defeating incumbent
Neil Hamilton. He was the first independent to be newly elected to the Commons since
1951.
[ Martin Bell's 1997 election was the first election of an Independent in the UK since 1951: ] He stood unsuccessfully in a different constituency in 2001.
At the
2001 general election,
Dr Richard Taylor of the
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, (often known as Independent Community And Health Concern and abbreviated as ICHC) is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom. The party was founded in 2000, having grown ou ...
party was elected for the constituency of
Wyre Forest. Taylor was re-elected for Wyre Forest at the
2005 general election, becoming the only independent in recent times to have been elected for a second term.
Two independent (or local party) members of parliament were elected in the
2005 election, although both were defeated five years later. In the same election,
Peter Law was elected as an independent at
Blaenau Gwent. Law died on 25 April 2006: the resulting
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...
elected
Dai Davies of the local party
Blaenau Gwent People's Voice. The by-election was unusual as it was the first time in over eighty years that an independent had held a seat previously occupied by another independent.
Only one independent was elected to the Commons in the
2010,
2015 and
2017 elections:
Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon (née Paisley; born 11 August 1955) is a retired Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Down from 2001 to 2019.
She was first elected fo ...
, the member for
North Down, a
Unionist who left the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
because of its links with the
Conservatives.
There have also been several instances of politicians being elected to the Commons as representatives of a political party, then resigning the party's whip, or having it withdrawn. Examples in this in the 2010–2015 parliament included
Mike Hancock (formerly a
Liberal Democrat),
Eric Joyce (formerly Labour) and
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, sh ...
, a Conservative who had the whip withdrawn for part of the parliament and thus sat as an independent during that time.
Independent candidates often stand in British parliamentary elections, often with platforms about specific local issues, but usually without success. An example from the 2001 general election was
Aston Villa supporter Ian Robinson, who stood as an independent in the
Sutton Coldfield constituency in protest at the way chairman
Doug Ellis
Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis, (3 January 1924 – 11 October 2018) was an English entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Aston Villa Football Club from 1968 to 1975, and again from 1982 until 2006. Ellis was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours Li ...
ran the football club. Another example an independent candidate, in the
Salisbury constituency, is
Arthur Uther Pendragon
Arthur Uther Pendragon (born John Timothy Rothwell, 5 April 1954) is a British eco-campaigner, Neo-Druid leader, media personality, and self-declared reincarnation of King Arthur, a name by which he is also known. Pendragon was the "battle c ...
, a local activist and self-declared reincarnation of
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...
.
Other independent candidates are associated with a political party and may be former members of it, but cannot stand under its label. For instance, for several months after being expelled from the Labour Party but before the
Respect Coalition was founded,
George Galloway MP described himself as "Independent Labour".
On 23 March 2005 the
Independent Network was set up to support independent candidates in the forthcoming General Election. The Independent Network still supports Independent candidates in local, regional, national and European elections. It has an organic set of principles which are known as the Bell Principles and are very closely related to
Lord Nolan's Standards of Public Life. The Independent Network does not impose any
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
or political influence on their candidates.
In March 2009, the multi-millionaire
Paul Judge
Sir Paul Rupert Judge (25 April 1949 – 21 May 2017) was an English business and political figure. He served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the Chartered Management Institute, and Deputy Chairman of the American Managemen ...
established the
Jury Team
The Jury Team was a British political campaign established in 2009 to back independent candidates in United Kingdom domestic and European elections. Although it was a registered UK political party, it was described as an umbrella organisation gi ...
, an umbrella organisation dedicated to increasing the number of independent candidates standing in Britain, in both national and European elections.
=Independent and undescribed candidates
=
Part II of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important ...
allows individuals who wish to stand as a candidate to all parliaments and assemblies in the UK, including the House of Commons, the right to use one of three ballot paper descriptions. Those descriptions are the name of a registered political party; the word "independent"; or no description at all.
Unless a candidate stands as "independent" or as a "No Description" candidate leaving the ballot paper description box blank, their candidature must be confirmed by a signed certificate from the relevant officer from a registered political party, as set out in Section 52 of the
Electoral Administration Act 2006
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed on 11 July 2006.
Among its main provisions, the Act:
* Provides a legislative framework for setting up a "Coordinated Online Record of Electors", kn ...
.
House of Lords
The
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
includes many peers independent from political parties. Some are simply
not affiliated with any grouping, whilst another, larger, grouping is given the official designation of
crossbenchers. Additionally the
Lords Spiritual (bishops of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
) do not have party affiliations.
Scottish Parliament, Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Northern Irish Assembly
In the
2003 Scottish Parliamentary elections, three
MSPs were elected as Independents:
Dennis Canavan (
Falkirk West), Dr
Jean Turner
Jean McGivern Turner (born 23 December 1939) is a Scottish medical doctor and former Independent politician. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency from 2003 until 2007.
Early life an ...
(
Strathkelvin and Bearsden) and
Margo MacDonald (
Lothians
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scot ...
). In 2004
Campbell Martin (
West of Scotland region) left the
Scottish National Party to become an independent and in 2005
Brian Monteith (
Mid Scotland and Fife) left the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
to become an independent. At the
2007 Scottish Parliamentary elections Margo MacDonald was again returned as an independent MSP and was elected as an independent for the third time
four years later. She died in 2014 while still serving as member of the Parliament. As she was elected as an independent regional MSP, there could be no by-election and her seat remained vacant until the
2016 election.
Peter Law was expelled from the Labour Party after standing against an official Labour candidate in Blaenau Gwent at the 2005 UK general election and became an independent in the National Assembly and UK Parliament. In 2006 Peter Law died from a
brain tumour and his wife,
Trish Law
Patricia Law, née Bolter (born 17 March 1954) is a Welsh politician who was the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice AM for Blaenau Gwent in Wales between 2006 and 2011.
Background
Patricia Bolter was born in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, in 1954. She w ...
, campaigned and took the seat as an independent candidate at the subsequent by-election and held onto the seat again in the
2007 Welsh Assembly elections.
In 2016,
Nathan Gill as the then leader of UKIP Wales defected from the group to sit as an independent after a falling out with
Neil Hamilton, who was elected UKIP Assembly group leader.
Dafydd Elis-Thomas left the
Plaid Cymru group later in 2016 after multiple fallings out with Plaid Cymru leader
Leanne Wood. Elis-Thomas said his reason for leaving Plaid Cymru was that it not serious about working with the
Welsh Labour Government.
Neil McEvoy
Neil John McEvoy (born 1970) is a Welsh politician who represented the South Wales Central region in the Senedd from 2016 until 2021.
He was elected as Member of the Senedd, then known as the Welsh Assembly, on the Plaid Cymru regional lis ...
was expelled from Plaid Cymru on 16 January 2018 and sat as an independent AM until 2021. Nathan Gill stood down on 27 December 2017 and was replaced by
Mandy Jones
Amanda Ellen "Mandy" Jones is a British former racing cyclist born in 1962 who won the women's world road race championship in 1982.
Biography
Jones joined the West Pennine Road Club to ride on Sunday outings. She rode her first race in 1974 ...
. Mandy Jones left the UKIP group on 9 January 2018 over a fallout over her staff.
Local elections
The introduction of
directly elected mayors in several parts of England has witnessed the election of independents to run councils in
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the ...
,
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...
,
Hartlepool
Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...
and
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...
. The first
Mayor of London,
Ken Livingstone, was
first elected as an independent, having run against the official Labour candidate
Frank Dobson. He was subsequently re-admitted to the Labour Party in December 2003 before his first re-election campaign.
Independent candidates frequently stand and are elected to local councils. There is a special Independent group of the
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The LGA is p ...
to cater for them. A number of local authorities have been entirely or almost entirely composed of independent members, such as the
City of London Corporation, the
Isles of Scilly Council
The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a ''sui generis'' unitary local government authority covering the Isles of Scilly off the west coast of Cornwall. It is currently made up of 16 seats, with all councillors being independents. The council ...
,
Orkney Islands Council
The Orkney Islands Council ( gd, Comhairle Eileanan Arcaibh), is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes o ...
,
Shetland Islands Council and
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (, for, , Scottish Gaelic, Council of the Western Isles) is the local government council for ''Na h-Eileanan Siar'' (the Outer Hebrides) council area of Scotland. (Western Isles Council) in the
Outer Hebrides.
Roughly a quarter of the
police and crime commissioners elected in England and Wales in the
2012 election were independents.
Oceania
Australia
Independents are a recurrent feature of the federal
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor- ...
, and they are more commonly elected to state parliaments. There have been up to five independents in every federal parliament since 1990, and independents have won twenty-eight times during national elections in that time. A large proportion of independents are former members of one of Australia's four main parties, the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
, the
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United A ...
, the
Australian Greens, or the
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fed ...
. In 2013 a political party named the
Australian Independents
Patricia May Petersen is an Australian academic from Ipswich, Queensland.
Education
Petersen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland in 2002. Pe ...
was registered with the
Australian Electoral Commission.
At the dissolution of parliament before the
2019 federal election, four independents sat in the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of ...
:
Andrew Wilkie (Member for
Denison),
Cathy McGowan (Member for
Indi
Indi may refer to:
*Mag-indi language
* Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives
*Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India
*Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sy ...
),
Kerryn Phelps (Member for
Wentworth), and
Julia Banks
Julia Helen Banks (born 18 September 1962) is an Australian lawyer and politician. Elected as the member for Chisholm in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2016 federal election, Banks was the only candidate for the governing Li ...
(Member for
Chisholm). Of these, Wilkie had previously been a Greens candidate, McGowan had been a Liberal staffer, and Banks was elected as a Liberal MP before resigning from the party in November 2018. At the 2019 election, Wilkie was re-elected as the Member for
Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin language, Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone ...
, while McGowan retired, and both Phelps and Banks lost their seats. However, two new independents entered parliament:
Zali Steggall (Member for
Warringah) and
Helen Haines
Helen Mary Haines (born 21 September 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election.
Early life and education
Haines grew up on a dairy farm in Colac in ...
(Member for
Indi
Indi may refer to:
*Mag-indi language
* Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives
*Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India
*Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sy ...
).
After the
2022 federal election, a record ten independents were elected to the House of Representatives, including re-elected members Andrew Wilkie (
Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin language, Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone ...
), Zali Steggall (
Warringah), and Helen Haines (
Indi
Indi may refer to:
*Mag-indi language
* Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives
*Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India
*Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sy ...
). Seven new independents were elected to the House of Representatives:
Dai Le
Dai Trang Le (Vietnamese: Lê Trang Đài) (born ) is an Australian politician currently serving as the federal member for Fowler, deputy mayor of Fairfield and councillor for Fairfield/Cabravale Ward.
Le arrived in Australia in 1979 as a re ...
(
Fowler),
Zoe Daniel
Zoe Daniel is an Australian journalist, politician, columnist and broadcaster. She is the independent member of parliament for the Division of Goldstein following the 2022 Australian federal election, having defeated the incumbent Liberal Pa ...
(
Goldstein),
Monique Ryan
Monique Marie Ryan (born 20 January 1967) is an Australian paediatric neurologist and politician. She is currently the member of parliament for the federal seat of Kooyong after defeating Josh Frydenberg at the 2022 Australian federal election.
...
(
Kooyong),
Allegra Spender
Allegra Spender is an Australian politician and businesswoman who is the member of parliament for Wentworth since 2022. She is the third generation of her family to sit in federal parliament, after her grandfather Percy and father John. One o ...
(
Wentworth),
Kate Chaney
Katherine Ella Chaney (born 21 January 1975) is an Australian independent politician, who was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 2022 Australian federal election, succeeding Liberal Party MP Celia Hammond in the division ...
(
Curtin),
Kylea Tink (
North Sydney), and
Sophie Scamps (
Mackellar).
Independent
senators are quite rare. In modern politics, Independent
Brian Harradine served from 1975 to 2005 with considerable influence at times.
Nick Xenophon was the only elected independent senator after his election to the Senate at the
2007 federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
and was re-elected for another six-year term at the
2013 federal election. He resigned from the Australian Senate in 2017 to contest a seat in the House of Assembly of South Australia.
DLP Senator
John Madigan became an independent senator in September 2014, but lost his seat in the
2016 election.
PUP Senators
Jacqui Lambie and
Glenn Lazarus became Independent senators in November 2014 and March 2015 respectively. Lambie was re-elected in 2019 with the support of the
Jacqui Lambie Network. At the
2022 Australian federal election, independent senator for the ACT
David Pocock was elected, becoming the first independent senator from a territory.
New Zealand
Originally, there were no recognised parties in the New Zealand parliament, although loose groupings did exist informally (initially between supporters of central government versus provincial governments, and later between liberals and conservatives). The foundation of formal political parties, starting at the end of the 19th century, considerably diminished the number of unaffiliated politicians, although a smaller number of independent candidates continued to be elected up until the 1940s. Since then, however, there have been relatively few independent politicians in Parliament. No independent candidate has won or held a seat in a general election since
1943, although two independent candidates have been successful in
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...
s (in all cases after having held the seats in question as partisan candidates up until that point). Other politicians have become independents in the course of a parliamentary term, but not been voted into office as such.
The last person to be directly elected to Parliament as an independent in New Zealand was
Winston Peters, who won the in electorate as an independent after having previously held it a member of the
National Party. By the time of the
next general election, he had formed his own party (
New Zealand First), and thus was no longer standing as an independent. Since that time, the only independents in Parliament have been people who quit or were expelled from their original party but retained their seats without going through a by-election. Some have gone on to found or co-found their own parties, with varying levels of success—examples include
Peter Dunne,
Taito Phillip Field,
Gordon Copeland
Gordon Frank Copeland (19 August 1943 – 24 November 2018) was a New Zealand politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He entered the House of Representatives as a list MP for the United Future New Zealand Party from 20 ...
,
Tau Henare, and
Alamein Kopu. Others have joined parties which were then outside Parliament, such as
Frank Grover
Frank Grover (born 19 March 1940) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing first the Alliance and then the Christian Heritage Party in the House of Representatives.
Early life
Grover was born in Aucklan ...
and
Tuariki Delamere
Tuariki John Edward Delamere (born 9 December 1951) is a former New Zealand politician. He served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1996 to 1999, and was a member of Cabinet for the duration of his term.
Early life
Delamere was b ...
.
There were two independent MPs in the
49th New Zealand Parliament
The 49th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2008 election. It comprised 122 members, including an overhang of two seats (an increase of one from the 48th Parliament) caused by the Māori Party having won two more electorate seats than i ...
:
Chris Carter and
Hone Harawira. Carter became an independent after his criticisms of the
Labour Party's leadership resulted in his being expelled from the Labour caucus, while Harawira resigned from the
Māori Party and, after a short period as an independent, also resigned as an MP in order to force the when he was re-elected as representative of his new political party,
Mana and retained the seat in the 2011 General Election. There were also two other parties which had only a single MP:
United Future with
Peter Dunne and
ACT with
David Seymour. Neither Dunne nor Seymour was classed as an independent—Dunne's presence in Parliament was due to personal votes in his home electorate, and Seymour's presence was as the sole elected MP of ACT because of a collapse in their support in the . In the
50th New Zealand Parliament there was one independent MP:
Brendan Horan
Brendan Francis John Horan (born 9 July 1961) is a New Zealand former politician and former list MP, who was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 2011 for the New Zealand First party. He was expelled from the New Zealand First caucus on 4 D ...
, a former New Zealand First MP who was expelled from his party because of allegations of misappropriation of family assets.
Peter Dunne effectively became an Independent MP for a short period after his United Future political party was deregistered on 25 June 2013 by the Electoral Commission, as the party no longer had the required minimum of 500 members. The party was subsequently re-registered two months later.
Niue
In
Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between T ...
, there have been no political parties since 2003, when the
Niue People's Party disbanded, and all politicians are ''de facto'' independents. The government depends on an informal coalition.
See also
*
Nonpartisanism
*
Party switching
*
Backbencher
*
Centrism
*
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:
* Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant ...
*
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
*
Independent voter
*
Non-partisan democracy
*
Radical centrism
Radical centrism (also called the radical center, the radical centre or the radical middle) is a concept that arose in Western nations in the late 20th century.
The '' radical'' in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical ce ...
*
Swing vote
*
Syncretic politics
*
Third party (United States)
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Independent Political Candidate Directory
{{Authority control
Political terminology