ELECTION RESULTS (December 1991-March 1992)
Albania: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for 22 March 1992. Results will be reported in our next issue.
Algeria: In the first round of the first free multiparty national elections in Algeria’s history on 26 December 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won 188 seats in the 430-member parliament. The Front for Socialist Forces, a secularist and predominantly Berber party, was a distant second with 25 seats, and the ruling National Liberation Front did surprisingly poorly, receiving only 15 seats. With the FIS favored to win at least 150 of the 199 seats still to be decided in the second round, scheduled for 16 January 1992, military and civilian leaders took control of the government. The Algerian army forced President Chadli Benjedid to resign on January 11, and pressured the prime minister into canceling the second round the next day. After the arrest of many prominent members of the FIS, and protests and riots around the country which left at least eight dead, the government banned the FIS on March 4.
Bulgaria: Incumbent president Zhelyu Zhelev of the Union of Democratic Forces won a runoff for the presidency on 19 January 1992 with 52.9 percent of the vote. The former communists, now renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party, supported Velko Valkanov, who received 47.2 percent of the ballots. Over 75 percent of the 6.3 million registered voters participated in the election.
Cameroon: After 25 years of one-party rule, Cameroon held its first multiparty legislative elections on 1 March 1992 with 32 parties participating. Preliminary results indicate that the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement will have a plurality in the 180-member [End Page 122] National Assembly with 88 seats. Of the opposition parties, the National Union of the Democratic People won 68 seats, the Cameroon People’s Union won 18, and the Democratic Movement for the Defense of the Republic took the remaining 6.
Mali: Legislative elections were held on 23 February and 8 March 1992. Presidential elections were scheduled for 22 March 1992. Final results will be reported in our next issue.
Malta: In parliamentary elections held on 22 February 1992, the ruling Nationalist Party won 34 seats with 51.8 percent of the vote. The opposition Socialist Party garnered the remaining 31 seats and 46.5 percent of the vote. The turnout was high, with 96 percent of the 259,000 eligible voters participating.
Thailand: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for 22 March 1992. Final results will be reported in our next issue.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS (April 1992-March 1993)
Angola: presidential/legislative, September 1992*
Bahamas: parliamentary, June 1992*
Burundi: presidential/legislative, March 1993*
Comoros: legislative, spring 1992*
Congo: legislative, June 1992; presidential, July 1992*
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic: parliamentary, June 1992*
Ecuador: presidential, 17 May 1992
Fiji: parliamentary, May 1992*
Gambia: presidential/legislative, 29 April 1992
Ghana: presidential/parliamentary, November-December 1992*
Guinea-Bissau: presidential/legislative, November 1992
Indonesia: parliamentary, 9 June 1992 [End Page 123]
Kuwait: parliamentary, October 1992
Niger: presidential, November-December 1992*
Nigeria: legislative, 7 November 1992; presidential, 5 December 1992*
Papua New Guinea: parliamentary, 7-27 June 1992
Philippines: presidential/legislative, 11 May 1992
Romania: parliamentary, May 1992; presidential, September 1992*
St. Lucia: parliamentary, summer 1992
Senegal: presidential/legislative, February 1993*
Solomon Islands: parliamentary, 1 February 1993
South Korea: parliamentary, 24 May 1992
Taiwan: legislative, December 1992
Togo: legislative, mid-May 1992; presidential, mid-June 1992
*tentative
Election Watch provides reports of recently decided and upcoming elections in postcommunist and developing countries. Elections in nondemocratic nations are included when they exhibit a significant element of genuine competition or, in the case of upcoming elections, when they represent an important test of progress toward democracy. This information is current as we go to press; however, election dates are often moved due to changing circumstances. The data in Election Watch are provided by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (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, contact: IFES, 1620 1 Street, N.W., Suite 611, Washington, DC 20006; (202) 828-8507. [End Page 124]