Elections in five headlines

1918

The Representation of the People Act 1918 was passed by the British Parliament, granting the right to vote to women over the age of 30 who met property qualifications. It came after years of campaigning by the suffragette movement led by figures including Emmeline Pankhurst. Full equal voting rights for women in Britain were not achieved until the Equal Franchise Act of 1928.

1967

In a national referendum held on 27 May 1967, over 90 per cent of Australians voted in favour of amending the Constitution to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be counted in the national census and for the federal government to make laws for them. It remains the most successful referendum in Australian history. The result marked a significant milestone in the civil rights of Indigenous Australians.

1992

In March 1992, South Africa held a whites-only referendum in which 68.7% of voters backed President F.W. de Klerk's reforms to end apartheid. The result gave de Klerk a mandate to negotiate a new democratic constitution with the African National Congress. It marked a decisive turning point toward the first fully democratic elections held in 1994.

2002

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former metalworker and union leader, was elected President of Brazil on 27 October 2002, winning with 61% of the vote in the second round. His election after three failed attempts was seen as a historic shift for Latin America's largest democracy, bringing to power a left-wing government promising to address poverty and inequality. International financial markets initially feared his election but Lula maintained economic stability while expanding social programmes.

2017

Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old former banker and independent centrist, won the French presidential election with 66% of the vote against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Macron had never previously held elected office and founded his En Marche! movement just over a year before his victory.