A fixed-term election is an election that occurs on a set date, and cannot be changed by incumbent politicians other than through exceptional mechanisms if at all. The office holder generally takes office for a set amount of time, and their term of office or mandate ends automatically.
Fixed-term elections are common for directly elected executive officers, such as directly elected mayors, governors and presidents, but less common for prime ministers and parliaments in a parliamentary system of government.
A number of countries do not provide for fixed terms for elected officials, instead stipulating the maximum length of a term, permitting elections to be held more frequently as determined by the government. Such examples include the Australian House of Representatives, the Canadian House of Commons, the New Zealand Parliament, or the Folketing of Denmark, in each case the prime minister may advise the monarch to call an election earlier than the constitutional maximum term of the parliament. Before the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, the United Kingdom too practiced this system, which returned to the country following the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, albeit keeping the maximum five-year parliamentary term.[4]