Election Results (June–September 2010)
Afghanistan: Legislative elections were scheduled for September 18; results will be reported in a future issue.
Burundi: In the presidential election on June 28, incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy–Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD–FDD) ran unopposed and won 91.6 percent of the vote. Opposition parties had withdrawn from the election in protest of government interference with the vote, and some opposition leaders went into hiding. Grenade attacks and other violence occurred on election day as well as in the days preceding the election. Legislative elections were held on July 23 for the 106-seat National Assembly. The ruling CNDD–FDD won 81 seats. The Union for National Progress, the only opposition party participating in the election, won 17 seats. EU election monitors noted “the absence of multi-party competition.”
Colombia: Juan Manuel Santos of the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U) won the June 20 presidential runoff with 69 percent of the vote. Antanas Mockus of the Green Party won 27.5 percent.
Ethiopia: In parliamentary elections held on May 23 for the 547-seat House of People’s Representatives, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi won 499 seats. Parties allied with the EPRDF won 46 seats, the opposition coalition Medrek won 1 seat, and an independent candidate won 1 seat. A statement by EU election monitors noted that “the electoral process fell short of certain international commitments, notably regarding the transparency of the process and the lack of a level playing field for all contesting parties.” [End Page 175]
Guinea: On June 27, the country held its first presidential election since a December 2008 coup after the death of longtime president Lansana Conté. Coup leader Moussa Dadis Camara, who had declared himself president in 2008, remained in exile during the election. In the first round, Cellou Dalein Diallo of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) won 39.7 percent of the vote. Alpha Condé of the major opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) won 20.7 percent, and Sidya Touré of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) won 15.6 percent. Diallo and Touré had both served in Conté’s government, but later opposed it. The runoff between Diallo and Condé is scheduled for September 19; results will be reported in a future issue.
Philippines: Concurrent legislative and presidential elections were held on May 10, in which Benigno (Noynoy) Aquino III was elected president. According to preliminary results for the 268-seat House of Representatives, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Lakas Kampi CMD coalition won 106 seats; the Liberal coalition, of which President Aquino’s Liberal Party is a member, won 45 seats; the Nationalist People’s Coalition won 31 seats; the Nacionalista coalition won 26 seats; and independents won 7 seats.
Poland: Following the death of President Lech Kaczyñski of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) in a plane crash on April 10, a presidential election was held on June 20, with a runoff on July 4. Bronis³aw Komorowski of the Civic Platform won the runoff with 53 percent of the vote. In the first round, Komorowski had won 41.5 percent, while PiS candidate Jaros³aw Kaczyñski (former prime minister and twin brother of the late president) won 36.5 percent. Grzegorz Napieralski of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) won 13.7 percent.
Rwanda: In the presidential election on August 9, incumbent Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) won 93 percent of the vote. Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo of the Social Democratic Party won 5 percent. All three candidates who ran against Kagame have links to the RPF. Two opposition parties had been banned by the government from participating in the election. While the day of the election was peaceful, Amnesty International commented that “in recent months, killings, arrests and the closure of newspapers and broadcasters has reinforced a climate of fear.”
São Tomé and Príncipe: In August 1 parliamentary elections for the 55-seat National Assembly, former prime minister Patrice Trovoada’s Independent Democratic Action party won 26 seats, while Prime Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco’s Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe–Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD) won 21 seats. Trovoada was sworn in as prime minister on August 14. [End Page 176]
Slovakia: In June 12 parliamentary elections for the 150-seat National Council, the Direction–Social Democracy party (Smer), led by Prime Minister Robert Fico, won 34.8 percent of the vote and 62 seats but was unable to form a majority coalition. The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU-DS), led by Iveta Radièová, won 15.4 percent and 28 seats. The Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS) won 12.1 percent and 22 seats; the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) won 8.5 percent and 15 seats; Most-Híd won 8 percent and 14 seats; and the Slovak National Party (SNS) won 5 percent and 9 seats. Smer’s coalition partner, Vladimír Meèiar’s People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, failed to pass the 5 percent threshold and won no seats. The SDKU-DS formed a coalition with the SaS, the KDH, and Most-Híd, and Radièová was sworn in as prime minister on July 8.
Solomon Islands: In August 4 parliamentary elections for the 50-seat National Parliament, independent candidates won 17 seats, while the Democratic Party won 14 seats. The Party for Rural Advancement and OUR Party won 4 seats each.
Venezuela: Legislative elections were scheduled to be held on September 26; results will be reported in a future issue.
Upcoming Elections (October 2010–September 2011)
Argentina: legislative, June 2011
Azerbaijan: parliamentary, 7 November 2010
Bahrain: parliamentary, 23 October 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
Burma: parliamentary, 7 November 2010
Cape Verde: parliamentary, January 2011; presidential, February 2011
Central African Republic: presidential/legislative, 23 January 2011
Chad: parliamentary, 28 November 2010; presidential, by May 2011
Côte d’Ivoire: presidential, 31 October 2010 [End Page 177]
Djibouti: presidential, April 2011
Egypt: parliamentary, November 2010; presidential, September 2011
Estonia: parliamentary, March 2011
Fiji: parliamentary, May 2011
Guatemala: presidential/legislative, August 2011
Guyana: presidential/parliamentary, August 2011
Haiti: presidential/parliamentary, 28 November 2010
Jordan: parliamentary, 9 November 2010
Kyrgyzstan: parliamentary, 10 October 2010
Latvia: parliamentary, 2 October 2010
Madagascar: parliamentary, 16 March 2011; presidential, 4 May 2011
Micronesia: legislative, March 2011
Moldova: parliamentary, by December 2010
Niger: presidential/parliamentary, January 2011
Nigeria: legislative, 15 January 2011; presidential, 22 January 2011
Peru: presidential/legislative, 10 April 2011
São Tomé and Príncipe: presidential, July 2011
Singapore: parliamentary, May 2011
Tanzania: presidential/legislative, 31 October 2010
Tonga: parliamentary, 25 November 2010
Turkey: parliamentary, July 2011
Uganda: presidential/legislative, February 2011
Yemen: parliamentary, 27 April 2011
Zimbabwe: parliamentary, May 2011 [End Page 178]