Election Results (March–June 2010)
Colombia: In the first-round presidential election on May 30, Juan Manuel Santos of the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U) won 47 percent of the vote, while Antanas Mockus of the Green Party won 21.5 percent. A runoff is scheduled for June 20. In March 14 elections to the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives, the Party of the U, which had supported incumbent president Alvaro Uribe, won 26 percent of the vote and 47 seats. The Conservative Party (PC), which also had supported Uribe, won 21 percent and 38 seats. The Liberal Party (PL) won 19 percent and 37 seats; the Radical Change party (CR) won 8 percent and 15 seats; and the Party of National Integration (PIN) won 7 percent and 12 seats. In concurrent elections to the 102-seat Senate, Party of the U won 26 percent and 28 seats; PC won 21 percent and 22 seats; PL won 16 percent and 17 seats; and PIN, CR, and the Alternative Democratic Pole party each won 8 percent and 8 seats.
Czech Republic: In May 28 elections to the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies, the Czech Social Democratic Party, led by Jiří Paroubek, won 22 percent of the vote and 56 seats, while the Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and President Václav Klaus won 20 percent and 53 seats. The TOP 09 party (Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09), led by Karel Schwarzenberg, won 17 percent and 41 seats; the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia won 11 percent and 26 seats; and the Public Affairs party won 11 percent and 24 seats.
Dominican Republic: In May 16 elections to the 183-seat Chamber of Deputies, the Dominican Liberation Party of President Leonel Fernández won 55 percent of the vote and 105 seats; the Dominican Revolutionary Party won 42 percent and 75 seats; and the Social Christian Reformist Party won 1 percent and 3 seats. [End Page 180]
Ethiopia: Parliamentary elections were held on May 23; results will be reported in a future issue.
Guinea: A presidential election was scheduled to be held on June 27.
Hungary: In elections to the 386-seat National Assembly on April 11 and 25, the Young Democrats Alliance (Fidesz), led by Viktor Orbán, won 263 seats, while the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), led by Attila Mesterházy, won only 59 seats. The far-right Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) won 47 seats, and Politics Can Be Different (LMP), a left-leaning ecological party, won 16 seats.
Iraq: In March 7 elections for the 325-seat National Assembly, the Iraqi National Movement (al-Iraqiya) won 26 percent of the vote and 91 seats, while the State of Law Coalition, headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, won 25.6 percent and 89 seats. The Iraqi National Alliance won 19 percent and 70 seats; the Kurdistan Alliance won 15 percent and 43 seats; and a reformist Kurdish party, the Movement for Change (Gorran), won 4 percent and 8 seats. For more information, see Adeed Dawisha’s article on pp. 26–40.
Mauritius: In May 5 elections for the 62 elected seats in the National Assembly, the Alliance of the Future coalition, led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam’s Mauritius Labour Party, won 49.7 percent of the vote and 41 seats. The Alliance of the Heart coalition, led by Paul Bérenger’s Mauritian Militant Movement, won 42 percent and 18 seats.
Philippines: Presidential and legislative elections were held on May 10. Benigno (“Noynoy”) Aquino III of the Liberal Party won the presidential race with 42 percent of the vote. Joseph Estrada of the Force of the Filipino Masses (PMP) won 26 percent, and Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party won 15 percent. Results of the legislative elections will be reported in a future issue.
Poland: A presidential election was scheduled for June 20; results will be reported in a future issue.
Slovakia: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 12; results will be reported in a future issue.
Sri Lanka: In April 8 and 20 elections to the 225-seat Parliament, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance won 60 percent of the vote and 144 seats. The United National Front, led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, won 29 percent and 60 seats; the Tamil National Alliance, led by Rajavarothiyam Sampanthan, won 3 percent and 14 seats; and the Democratic National Alliance, led by General Sarath Fonseka (Rajapakse’s challenger in the January 26 presidential election, who is still in custody awaiting court martial), won 5 percent and 7 seats. [End Page 181]
Sudan: In the April 11–15 presidential election, incumbent Omar Hassan al-Bashir of the National Congress Party (NCP) won 68 percent of the vote. Yasir Arman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), who withdrew from the contest prior to election day, won 22 percent. In the concurrent election for the presidency of Sudan’s semi-autonomous southern region, incumbent Salva Kiir, leader of the SPLM, won with 93 percent. Bashir and Kiir are expected to form a coalition ahead of the January 2011 referendum for self-determination for the people of southern Sudan. In concurrent legislative elections to the 450-seat National Assembly, the NCP won 306 seats, the SPLM won 99 seats, and the 45 remaining seats went to smaller opposition parties. EU election observers criticized the polls for “not meeting international standards.”
Suriname: In May 25 legislative elections to the 51-seat National Assembly, the Mega Combination coalition, led by the National Democratic Party of former dictator Dési Bouterse, won 40 percent of the vote and 23 seats. The New Front for Democracy and Development, led by President Ronald Venetiaan’s Suriname National Party, won 32 percent and 14 seats. The People’s Alliance for Progress, led by Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, a Bouterse ally, won 13 percent and 6 seats; the A-Combination, an alliance between the General Liberation and Development Party and the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics party, won 5 percent and 7 seats; and the Party for Democracy through Unity and Development won 5 percent and 1 seat.
Togo: In the March 4 presidential election, incumbent Faure Gnassingbé of the Rally of the Togolese People won 61 percent of the vote, while Jean-Pierre Fabre of the Union of Forces of Change won 34 percent. The opposition made accusations of vote-buying, fraud, and intimidation, and opposition supporters protested. The Constitutional Court, however, confirmed the results on March 18, and Gnassingbé was sworn in on May 3.
Trinidad and Tobago: In May 24 elections to the 41-seat House of Representatives, the opposition People’s Party coalition, led by the United National Congress (UNC), won 60 percent of the vote and 29 seats. Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s People’s National Movement won 40 percent and 12 seats. On May 26, UNC’s Kamla Persad-Bissessar was sworn in as the country’s first female prime minister.
Upcoming Elections (July 2010–June 2011)
Afghanistan: legislative, 18 September 2010
Argentina: legislative, June 2011 [End Page 182]
Azerbaijan: parliamentary, 7 November 2010
Bahrain: parliamentary, November 2010
Benin: presidential/legislative, March 2011
Bosnia and Herzegovina: parliamentary/presidential, 3 October 2010
Brazil: presidential/legislative, 3 October 2010
Burkina Faso: presidential, 21 November 2010
Burundi: legislative, 23 July 2010
Cape Verde: parliamentary, January 2011; presidential, February 2011
Chad: parliamentary, 28 November 2010; presidential, May 2011
Djibouti: presidential, April 2011
Egypt: parliamentary, November 2010
Estonia: parliamentary, March 2011
Haiti: presidential, November 2010
Kyrgyzstan: parliamentary, October 2010
Latvia: parliamentary, 2 October 2010; presidential, May 2011
Madagascar: parliamentary, 30 September 2010; presidential, 26 November 2010
Micronesia: legislative, March 2011
Moldova: parliamentary, by December 2010
Niger: parliamentary/presidential, 26 December 2010
Nigeria: legislative/presidential, April 2011
Peru: legislative/presidential, 10 April 2011
Rwanda: presidential, 9 August 2010
São Tomé and Príncipe: parliamentary, 1 August 2010
Tanzania: presidential/legislative, 31 October 2010
Tonga: parliamentary, 25 November 2010
Uganda: presidential/parliamentary, February 2011
Venezuela: legislative, 26 September 2010
Yemen: parliamentary, 27 April 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 183]