ELECTION RESULTS (September–December 2008)
Azerbaijan: In the October 15 presidential election, incumbent Ilham Aliyev won 89 percent of the vote. Most opposition parties boycotted the election. None of the other candidates who did run won as much as 3 percent.
Belarus: In September 28 legislative elections, all 110 seats in the House of Representatives went to supporters of the government of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The opposition received no more than 14 percent of the vote. The OSCE said that the election “ultimately fell short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections.”
Bangladesh: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 29; results will be reported in a future issue.
Czech Republic: In elections for the 81-seat Senate on October 17 and 24, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek’s Civic Democratic Party won 35 seats, the Czech Social Democratic Party won 29 seats, the Christian and Democratic Union–Czech People’s Party won 7 seats, and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia won 3 seats.
Ghana: Presidential and legislative elections were held on December 7; results will be reported in a future issue.
Guinea-Bissau: In elections on November 16 for the 100 elected seats in the National People’s Assembly, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won 67 seats, the Social Renewal Party won 28 seats, and the newly formed Republican Party for Independence and Development, which supports President João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira, won 3 seats. [End Page 177]
Lithuania: Parliamentary elections were held on October 12 and 26 for the 141-seat Diet, which consists of 70 proportional-representation seats and 71 single-mandate seats. After the October 26 runoff, the balance of seats in the Diet is as follows: The conservative Homeland Union (TS[LK]), led by Andrius Kubilius, has 45 seats; Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas’s Social Democrats have 25 seats; the National Resurrection Party (TPP), a new centrist party formed by Lithuanian television and pop-music personalities, has 16 seats; For Order and Justice, led by Rolandas Paksas, who was impeached and removed from the presidency in 2004, has 15 seats; the Liberals’ Movement of the Republic of Lithuania (LRLS) has 11 seats; the Labor Party coalition, led by Viktor Uspaskich, has 10 seats; and the Liberal and Center Union has 8. Smaller parties and independents won the remaining 11 seats. A center-right coalition of TS(LK), TPP, and LRLS will lead the government, and Andrius Kubilius will become prime minister.
Maldives: In the country’s first multiparty presidential elections, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been in power for thirty years, was defeated by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader Mohamed Nasheed in a runoff. In the first round on October 8, Gayoom won 41 percent of the vote, while Nasheed finished second with 25 percent. Hassan Saeed, an independent, won 17 percent, and Qasim Ibrahim of the Republican Party won 15 percent. In the runoff on October 28, Nasheed won 54 percent and Gayoom won 46 percent.
Romania: In November 30 parliamentary elections for the 344-seat Chamber of Deputies, a coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the Conservative Party won 33.1 percent of the vote and 114 seats. The Democratic Liberal Party associated with President Traian Băsescu won 32.4 percent and 115 seats. The National Liberal Party, led by Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, the outgoing prime minister, won 19 percent and 65 seats. The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania, led by Béla Marko, won 6 percent and 22 seats. Ethnic minority parties won the remaining 18 seats.
Rwanda: In September 15 parliamentary elections for the 53 directly elected seats in the Chamber of Deputies, all the competing parties supported President Paul Kagame. A coalition led by the Kagame’s Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) won 79 percent of the vote and 42 seats. The Social Democratic Party won 13 percent and 7 seats, and the Liberal Party won 8 percent and 4 seats.
Slovenia: In elections on September 21 for the 90-seat National Assembly, the Social Democrats, led by Borut Pahor, who became prime minister, won 31 percent of the vote and 29 seats. The Slovenian Democratic Party, led by then–Prime Minister Janez Janša, won 29 percent and 28 seats. The For Real party (Zares) won 9 percent and 9 seats, and the Slovenian Democratic Party of Pensioners won 7 percent and 7 seats. The Slovenian [End Page 178] National Party, the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia party, and a coalition of the Slovenian People’s Party and the Youth Party of Slovenia each won 5 percent and 5 seats. Representatives of the Hungarian and Italian ethnic minorities each received a seat.
Swaziland: Parliamentary elections, the first since the 2006 Constitution was approved, were held on September 19 for the 55 elected seats in the House of Assembly. Political parties are banned, so only nonpartisan candidates were elected. Banned political parties and civil society groups protested before the election, demanding multiparty balloting.
Vanuatu: In September 2 parliamentary elections for the 52-seat Parliament, the Vanua’aku Pati (Party of Our Land), led by Edward Natapei, who became prime minister, won 24 percent of the vote and 11 seats. Prime Minister Ham Lini’s National Unity Party won 16 percent and 8 seats. The Union of Moderate Parties won 13 percent and 7 seats; the Vanuatu Republican Party won 12 percent and 7 seats; the People’s Progressive Party won 5 percent and 4 seats; and the Green Confederation won 3 percent and 2 seats. Nine parties won one seat each, and 4 independent candidates won seats as well.
Zambia: Following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) on August 19, presidential elections were held on October 30. Acting President Rupiah Banda of the MMD won with 40 percent of the vote, while Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front received 38 percent. Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development won 20 percent.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS (January–December 2009)
Afghanistan: presidential, September 2009
Albania: parliamentary, July 2009
Algeria: presidential, April 2009
Angola: presidential, September 2009
Argentina: legislative, October 2009
Botswana: legislative, October 2009
Bulgaria: parliamentary, 14 June 2009
Chad: parliamentary, April 2009
Chile: presidential/legislative, 11 December 2009
Comoros: parliamentary, April 2009 [End Page 179]
Congo (Brazzaville): presidential, March 2009
Côte d’Ivoire: presidential/parliamentary, by May 2009 (tentative)
Ecuador: presidential/legislative, 22 February 2009 (tentative)
El Salvador: legislative, 18 January 2009; presidential, 15 March 2009
Equatorial Guinea: presidential, December 2009
Guinea: parliamentary, 28 March 2009 (tentative)
Honduras: presidential/legislative, November 2009
India: parliamentary, by May 2009
Indonesia: legislative, April 2009
Iran: presidential, 12 June 2009
Iraq: parliamentary, late 2009
Lebanon: parliamentary, June 2009
Lithuania: presidential, 14 June 2009
Macedonia: presidential, April 2009
Malawi: presidential/legislative, 19 May 2009
Mexico: legislative, 5 July 2009
Micronesia: legislative, March 2009
Moldova: parliamentary, March 2009
Mongolia: presidential, May 2009
Mozambique: presidential/parliamentary, December 2009
Namibia: presidential/parliamentary, November 2009
Niger: presidential/parliamentary, November 2009
Panama: presidential/legislative, 3 May 2009
Romania: presidential, 28 November 2009
Slovakia: presidential, April 2009
South Africa: parliamentary, April 2009 (tentative)
Sudan: presidential/legislative, July 2009
Tunisia: presidential/parliamentary, October 2009
Ukraine: presidential, October 2009; parliamentary, early 2009
Uruguay: presidential/legislative, 25 October 2009
Yemen: parliamentary, April 2009
Election Watch provides reports of recently decided and upcoming elections in developing nations and the postcommunist world. Some of the data for Election Watch come from IFES, a private, nonprofit education and research foundation that assists in monitoring, supporting, and strengthening the mechanics of the electoral process worldwide. For additional information, visit www.ifes.org . [End Page 180]