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Politics & Government vocabulary · Elections and Voting

Incumbent

Meaning in politics & government, with examples

/ɪnˈkʌmbənt/nounCommon term

In politics & government, incumbent means: The person who currently holds an official position, especially one who is standing for election again against new candidates.

In Turkish: görevdeki kişi, koltuktaki isim, mevcut

How it is used

A formal word frequent in election coverage. The incumbent defends their seat or faces a challenger, and analysts discuss the incumbency advantage. It is also used as an adjective: the incumbent mayor, the incumbent government.

Example sentences

  1. The incumbent is seeking a second term as mayor.

  2. Incumbents usually have an advantage because voters already know them.

Common collocations

  • the incumbent mayor
  • incumbent government
  • defeat the incumbent
  • incumbency advantage
  • candidateA person who is officially trying to be elected to a position, such as member of parliament, mayor or president.
  • term of officeThe fixed period of time during which an elected or appointed person, such as a president, mayor or MP, holds an official position.
  • electionAn organized process in which people vote to choose a person or group for an official position, such as members of parliament, a president or a mayor.
  • run for officeTo try to be elected to a public position, such as mayor, member of parliament or president, by standing as a candidate.

More terms: Elections and Voting

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