Election Watch

ELECTION RESULTS (December 2019–March 2020)

Afghanistan: In the September 28 presidential election, incumbent Ashraf Ghani was reelected with 50.6 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff and defeating Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who received 39.5 percent. The results were announced on February 18, after months of recounts following accusations of fraud and technical failures on election day. Local election observers criticized the transparency of the vote, and Abdullah also declared victory.

Algeria: In the December 12 presidential election, former prime minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected with 58 percent of the vote, defeating Abdelkader Bengrina, who won 17 percent, and former prime minister Ali Benflis, who won 11 percent. This was the first election since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down following widespread protests against his twenty-year rule. Many protesters boycotted the election, in which every candidate was associated with the previous regime. Voter turnout was a record low of 40 percent, and the announcement of Tebboune’s victory was met with widespread protests.

Azerbaijan: In February 9 snap elections for the 125-seat National Assembly, the New Azerbaijan Party of President Ilham Aliyev won 72 seats, the Civic Solidarity Party won 3 seats, and the remaining seats were won by smaller parties and independents. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized the elections as held “within a restrictive environment and under laws that curtail fundamental rights and freedoms” and raised concerns about the honesty of vote tabulation. Large-scale protests against the election results were violently suppressed by police. [End Page 186]

Cameroon: On February 9, elections were held for the 180-seat National Assembly. The vote was marred by violence in the Anglophone regions of the country, leading the Constitutional Council to order a new election in those regions. Results will be reported in a future issue.

Comoros: In January 19 and February 23 elections for the 24 elected seats in the Assembly of the Union, the Convention for the Renewal of Comoros party of President Azali Assoumani won 20, the allied Orange Party won 2, and the remaining two seats were won by independents. All opposition parties boycotted the vote.

Croatia: In the January 5 presidential runoff, former prime minister Zoran Milanoviæ of the Social Democratic Party was elected with 53 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitaroviæ of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union. In the first round, held on December 22, Milanoviæ won 30 percent, Grabar-Kitaroviæ won 27 percent, and nationalist folk singer Miroslav Škoro, who ran as an independent, won 24 percent.

Guyana: Parliamentary elections were held on March 2; disputes over the verification process in an electoral district have delayed the release of the results, which will be reported in a future issue.

Iran: In February 28 elections for the 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, conservative candidates won 195, reformists won 18, and independents won 40. Thirty-seven seats remain undetermined. In the lead-up to the vote, the Guardian Council disqualified more than seven-thousand candidates, mainly reformists, including ninety incumbents. Voter turnout nationwide was 43 percent, the lowest since 1979, and in Tehran turnout was 26 percent.

Mali: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for March 29; results will be reported in a future issue.

Peru: In January 26 elections for the 130-member Congress, Popular Action won 25 seats, Alliance for Progress won 22, the evangelical Agricultural People’s Front of Peru won 15, the Fujimorist Popular Force won 15, Union for Peru won 13, Podemos Perú won 11, We Are Peru won 11, and the remaining seats were won by smaller parties. Elections were scheduled early after President Martín Vizcarra dissolved Congress in September.

Saint Kitts and Nevis: Parliamentary elections were held on February 28; final results have yet to be announced and will be reported in a future issue. [End Page 187]

Slovakia: In February 29 elections for the 150-seat National Council, the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities party (O¼aNO) led by Igor Matoviæ won 53 seats, defeating the Direction–Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party of Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, which won 38. Sme Rodina won 17, the far-right Kotleba–People’s Party Our Slovakia won 17, Freedom and Solidarity won 13, and For the People won 12.

Taiwan: In the January 11 presidential election, President Tsai Ing-Wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was reelected with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang (KMT), who won 39 percent, and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP), who won 4 percent. In concurrent elections for the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, the DPP won 61 seats, the KMT won 38, the new Taiwan People’s Party won 5, the New Power Party won 3, the Taiwan State-building Party won 1, and independents won the remaining 5 seats.

Tajikistan: Parliamentary elections were held on March 1; final results have yet to be announced and will be reported in a future issue.

Uzbekistan: In December 22 and January 5 elections for the 150-seat parliament, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev won 53 seats, the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party won 36, the Justice Social Democratic Party won 24, the People’s Democratic Party won 22, and the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan won 15. These were the first elections since the death of longtime president Islam Karimov in 2016. Despite new electoral laws and improvements in freedom of speech, no opposition parties were permitted to participate.

Vanuatu: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for March 19; results will be reported in a future issue.