By-election

A by-election fills a vacant seat in a legislative body between general elections. Its timing and rules depend on the jurisdiction and the vacancy.

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Writ of election: A formal order directing that an election be held for a specified constituency. In many parliamentary systems, issuing the writ formally starts the process for a by-election.
Parliament of England: The legislative institution that developed in medieval and early modern England. English parliamentary practice helped establish the tradition of separate elections for vacant seats.
Mid Staffordshire by-election, 1990: A 1990 British parliamentary by-election won by Labour candidate Sylvia Heal. It became notable for overturning a large Conservative majority.
Hung parliament: A legislature in which no party or coalition holds a majority of seats. A by-election can change whether a government retains its working majority.
General election: An election that chooses representatives across the constituencies of a legislature. Unlike a by-election, it contests seats throughout the legislature at once.
Nomination of candidates: The formal process by which candidates qualify to stand in an election. Candidate nominations set who can contest the vacant seat.
Parliament of Great Britain: The legislature of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800. Its constituencies and parliamentary procedures shaped later British by-election practice.
Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, 2019: A 2019 Welsh by-election in which the Liberal Democrats defeated the Conservatives. It illustrates how a focused contest can signal changing alliances and voter priorities.
Swing (politics): A measure of change in voter support between parties across elections. By-election swings are often used to gauge changing party support.
Recall election: A vote that allows constituents to remove an elected official before the end of a term. A recall vote may create a vacancy, but it is not itself the ordinary by-election process.