Abstention a. : The act of abstaining; a holding aloof.

Example:
What was the Abstention rate of 2000 and 2004 Presidential election?

Taxonomy
abstention, campaigns, Amano, Election, cast, ballot, measure, blank vote, French presidential election, free encyclopedia, Jean-Marie Le Pen, IAEA Director General, Minty, Echávarri, participant, drawing, Jacques Chirac, blank ballot.

Defination from the web:
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary ... Both forms (abstention and blank vote) may or may not, depending on the circumstances, be considered as protest vote. ...