ELECTION RESULTS (December 2010-March 2011)
Belarus: In the December 19 presidential election, incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has been in power since 1994, won 79.7 percent of the vote. Andrei Sannikov won 2.6 percent and none of the other eight candidates won more than 2 percent. The OSCE said that the election was marked by “a lack of independence and impartiality of the election administration, an uneven playing field and a restrictive media environment, as well as a continuous lack of transparency at key stages of the electoral process.” During peaceful protests in Minsk on election night by thousands of people denouncing alleged vote-rigging, protestors were beaten by police. Seven of the nine candidates who ran against Lukashenka, along with hundreds of other people, were imprisoned. Most detainees had been released by February, but dozens of them, including three candidates, continued to be detained as the government began sentencing them for participating in the protest.
Benin: A presidential election was scheduled for March 13; results will be reported in a future issue.
Cape Verde: In February 6 elections for the 72-seat National Assembly, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, led by Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves, won 51 percent and 37 seats, while the Movement for Democracy won 42 percent and 33 seats. The Democratic and Independent Cape Verdean Union won 5 percent and 2 seats.
Central African Republic: In the January 23 presidential election, incumbent François Bozizé of the National Convergence “Kwa Na Kwa” party (KNK) won 64 percent of the vote. Former president Ange-Félix Patassé, whom Bozizé ousted in a 2003 coup, won 21 percent. In concurrent elections [End Page 177] for the 105-seat National Assembly, the KNK won 26 seats, the Central African People’s Liberation Movement won 1 seat, and independent candidates won 8 seats. The opposition, citing irregularities and believing that the presidential vote was fraudulent, plans to boycott the runoff for the remaining seats, which is scheduled for March 20; results will be reported in a future issue.
Chad: Elections were held on February 13 for the 188-seat National Assembly. According to provisional results, the Patriotic Salvation Movement of President Idriss Déby—who has been in power since 1990—together with its allies (former president Lol Mahamat Choua’s Rally for Democracy and Progress and former prime minister Delwa Kassiré Koumakoye’s National Rally for Democracy and Progress) won 133 seats. Opposition party National Union for Democracy and Renewal, led by Saleh Kebzabo, won 11 seats.
Estonia: Parliamentary elections were held on March 6; results will be reported in a future issue.
Haiti: According to the final results of the November 28 presidential election, former first lady Mirlande Manigat won 31 percent of the vote, and musician Michel Martelly won 22 percent. Manigat and Martelly advanced to the runoff after ruling-party candidate Jude Célestin, who also won 22 percent, withdrew from the race under international pressure due to alleged fraud. A presidential and parliamentary runoff was scheduled to be held on March 20; results will be reported in a future issue.
Kosovo: In December 12 elections for the 120-seat National Assembly, Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won 32 percent of the vote and 34 seats, while the Democratic League of Kosovo, led by Priština mayor Isa Mustafa, won 25 percent and 27 seats. The Self-Determination party, led by former student leader Albin Kurti, won 13 percent and 14 seats; the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, led by Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander charged with war crimes at the UN tribunal in The Hague, won 11 percent and 12 seats; and the New Kosovo Coalition, led by Behgjet Pacolli’s New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), won 7 percent and 8 seats. No other major party passed the 5 percent threshold to gain a seat in the legislature, and the remaining seats were won by or reserved for minority parties. The PDK, AKR, and several minority parties formed a governing coalition. The European Parliament’s observation team noted that while generally the elections were conducted well, allegations of fraud were a concern.
Micronesia: Legislative elections were scheduled for March 8; results will be reported in a future issue. [End Page 178]
Niger: In the January 31 presidential election, nearly a year after former president Mamadou Tandja was ousted in a February 2010 coup, Mahamadou Issoufou of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) won 36 percent of the vote, while Seini Oumarou of Tandja’s National Movement for a Developed Society (MNSD) won 23 percent. Former prime minister Hama Amadou of the Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation (Moden/FA) won 20 percent, and former president Mahamane Ousmane of the Democratic and Social Convention won 8 percent. As no candidate won more than 50 percent, Issoufou and Oumarou advanced to the runoff, which is scheduled to be held on March 12; results will be reported in a future issue. In January 31 parliamentary elections for the 113-seat National Assembly, the PNDS won 39 seats, the MNSD won 26 seats, and Moden/FA won 23 seats. No other party won more than 8 seats.
Samoa: According to preliminary results of the March 4 elections for the 49-seat Legislative Assembly, the governing Human Rights Protection Party—which is led by Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi and has ruled for 29 years—won 56 percent of the vote and 36 seats. The opposition Tautua Samoa Party (TSP) won the remaining 13 seats. The TSP’s candidate in Tuila’epa’s district was prevented from running by his mayor’s refusal to endorse his candidacy, allowing Tuila’epa to run unopposed.
Uganda: Incumbent Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for 25 years, won the February 18 presidential elections with 68 percent of the vote. Kizza Besigye of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) won 26 percent. All other candidates won fewer than 2 percent. The opposition claimed that the election was fraudulent, and the EU Election Observation Mission found that “the power of incumbency was exercised to such an extent as to compromise severely the level playing field.” Results for the concurrent legislative elections will be reported in a future issue.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS (April 2011-March 2012)
Argentina: presidential/legislative, 23 October 2011
Benin: legislative, 17 April 2011
Bulgaria: presidential, October 2011
Cameroon: presidential, October 2011
Cape Verde: presidential, July 2011
Chad: presidential, 8 May 2011
Croatia: parliamentary, November 2011 [End Page 179]
Democratic Republic of Congo: presidential/legislative, 27 November 2011
Djibouti: presidential, 8 April 2011
Egypt: presidential, September 2011
Fiji: parliamentary, May 2011
Gabon: parliamentary, December 2011
The Gambia: presidential, September 2011; legislative, January 2012
Guatemala: presidential/legislative, 9 September 2011
Guyana: presidential/parliamentary, August 2011
Kazakhstan: presidential, 3 April 2011
Kyrgyzstan: presidential, October 2011
Liberia: presidential/legislative, 11 October 2011
Madagascar: presidential, 4 May 2011
Mauritania: parliamentary, November 2011
Nicaragua: presidential/legislative, 6 November 2011
Nigeria: legislative, 2 April 2011; presidential, 9 April 2011
Oman: parliamentary, October 2011
Peru: presidential/legislative, 10 April 2011
Poland: parliamentary, October 2011
Russia: parliamentary, December 2011; presidential, March 2012
São Tomé and Príncipe: presidential, July 2011
Senegal: presidential, 26 February 2012
Singapore: presidential, by August 2011; parliamentary, February 2012
Taiwan: parliamentary, December 2011; presidential, March 2012
Thailand: parliamentary, December 2011
Turkey: parliamentary, 12 June 2011
Yemen: parliamentary, 27 April 2011
Zambia: presidential/legislative, October 2011
Zimbabwe: parliamentary, June 2011
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]