THE US: California has been plunged into an unconventional summer election campaign, following the success of a Republican-led petition to recall the Democratic governor, Mr Gray Davis, who was re-elected to the four-year post only last November.
Electors will go to the polls on October 7th to decide whether to recall the governor and to name a successor from a list of Republican and third-party nominees.
Candidates to replace Mr Davis have just over two weeks to put their names forward and start what by American standards will be a short, almost British-style, campaign of just over eight weeks with a simple plurality deciding the winner.
The likely Republican challengers include Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican Mr Bill Simon (who lost to Mr Davis in November), state senator Mr Tom McClintock and former Los Angeles mayor Mr Ricard Riordan. Green Party candidate Mr Peter Camejo will also run. Congressman Mr Darrell Issa, who provided $1.7 million from his private car-alarm fortune to fund the collection of signatures, is the only declared Republican runner so far but is an outsider.
California Democrats have closed ranks and say they will not nominate any candidate against Mr Davis, who cannot put his own name forward for re-election.
The recall succeeded because of the widespread unpopularity of Mr Davis, whose approval rating has dropped to 23 per cent in the latest polls. He was elected to his first term in 1998 by a landslide, but after California's energy crisis of 2000-01, which he was widely perceived to have mishandled, he won re-election by just five points in November over a weak Republican candidate.
The governor is also blamed for California's massive budget deficit of $38.2 billion - almost double the pre-election estimate - and for a tripling of vehicle tax.
Mr Davis called the recall effort "a hostile takeover by the right," and predicted he would win. "I am going to fight like a Bengal tiger," he said.
"Am I delighted that I have a recall? No. Is it a lot of fun? No. Do I get much free time these days? No. But am I going to run away from it? Absolutely not," Mr Davis told journalists in San Francisco. One of my greatest strengths is that people have underestimated me since I was born. Every time they say 'roadkill', I continue to win."
However there has been much speculation that if polls show Mr Davis to be vulnerable, a popular Democrat like US Senator Ms Dianne Feinstein could be nominated. In that case, said Mr Nick Velasquez, spokesman for Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, the Democrats would campaign on "No to Recall, Yes to Feinstein" ticket.
On Wednesday evening, California's Secretary of State, Mr Kevin Shelley, said he had certified 1,356,408 signatures for recall, far above the 897,158 required to put a vote on the ballot. He reported receiving a total of 1,651,191 signatures. "The recall is deemed to immediately qualify," he said. "All of us are aware that we are making history."
There have been 31 failed attempts to force a recall vote since 1911, including three against former governor Ronald Reagan.
Supporters of Mr Davis have accused conservatives of hijacking the democratic process. "A small plurality can win in a crowded field, this means that a new governor may be elected by five per cent of the vote," said Mr Velasquez, who said the recall election would cost the state up to $60 million. Other estimates put the cost at $30 million plus.
Schwarzenegger had not yet made a decision on running, his spokesman said. "Arnold is discussing his candidacy with his family," according to adviser Mr George Gorton. "He is weighing the pros and cons of a candidacy and has made no determination at this time as to whether he will run, nor has he made a determination that he will not run."
The election date was set yesterday by Lieut Governor Cruz Bustamante for the 77th day of the 80-day limit stipulated by law. He said the recall election would have two parts, with voters asked first whether to put Mr Davis out of office and then to choose from a list of candidates to replace him.
Voters can say No to the recall and still select a candidate to replace him if the recall vote exceeds 50 per cent.
Candidates must declare 59 days before the election which puts the deadline for nominations at August 9th.