Hello George.

26 Apr 04 09:49, you wrote to ALL:

 GP> Is it right or fair that the incumbent party leader gets carte blanche in
 GP> choosing an election date?
 GP> They get to play with taxpayers' money to try to foster goodwill in key
 GP> ridings, then come out with an election date that suits them, for any
 GP> reason(s) whatsoever!
 GP> That's the way a dictatorship works -- the leader makes decisions
 GP> regarding his staying in power. . .
 GP> Why don't WE, the electorate get to pick the date for an election, or why
 GP> not have it at a fixed time/date?

AFAIK, the only requirement is that a national election must be called
within five years of the previous election. The exact time before that five
year limit is up to the Prime Minister to say. It can be after as little as
three years, or after four, or almost five.

I don't see any leadership candidates from any major parties advocating
changing that. That seems to indicate to me that most people don't tend to
think it's a very big deal.

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