Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the electoral system used. The most commonly used systems are the plurality system and the two round system for single winner elections, such as a presidential election, and party-list proportional representation for the election of a legislature.
Examples of directly elected bodies are the European Parliament (since 1979) and the United States Senate (since 1917).
By contrast, in an indirect election, the voters cast elect an assembly which in turn elects the officeholder in question.
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