{"id":97,"date":"2021-09-13T13:25:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T03:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicalgadgets.com\/words\/?p=97"},"modified":"2021-09-13T13:25:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T03:25:04","slug":"counting-down-to-the-federal-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicalgadgets.com\/words\/2021\/09\/13\/counting-down-to-the-federal-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Counting down to the Federal election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How many days are left until the Federal Election? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of us generally into politics guessing when the Federal Government will go to the polls is an entertaining past-time. But if you are trying to get elected, and especially if you’re one of the new movements trying to get an independent up for the first time, working out how many days you have left to work your magic is way beyond an academic interest. You have lots to do in the time available: from introducing a candidate to the electorate to putting an election team in place. So how many days are left?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately only one person knows for sure and even he might well not be sure yet. In Australian Federal politics the date of the election sits in the hands of the Prime Minister. We know the date it has to be held by, but the PM can call it earlier if they think it’ll work for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So as I write this the election realistically has to be held by Saturday 21 May 2022 at the latest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theoretically it could go later but that is incredibly unlikely as it would mean holding the half-Senate and Reps elections separately. If that was to happen the half-Senate would have to held by 21 May 2022 and the Reps could go as late as 3 September 2022. But smart money isn’t going anywhere near that idea – it’d break convention and, more importantly for the PM, really annoy both the voters and the party machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, realistically, the election has to happen by 21 May 2022, which would see dissolution of Parliament on 12 March 2022. But it could go earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many pundits reckon late February or early March seem likely. But a great deal is dependent on exactly how things look with Covid at that point – it’s just too early to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So our countdown<\/a> widget is to help people focus on when the election is going to be. Right now we’re counting down to 21 May 2022 but we’ll update the counter as soon as there’s any firm new information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Countdown widget is on our front page and can be included on yours by following the instructions here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n