Election Watch

ELECTION RESULTS (September–December 2007)

Argentina: On October 28, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of the peronista Front for Victory (FPV) won 45 percent of the vote and will succeed her husband as president. Her two main rivals, former lawmaker Elisa Carrio of the Civic Coalition (CC) and former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation, won 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively. In legislative elections held on the same day for 130 seats in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies, the FPV won 78 seats, the CC won 19 seats, and the Radical Civic Union won 14 seats.

Croatia: In November 25 elections for the 151-seat House of Representatives, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 43 percent of the vote and 66 seats, while the Social Democrats (SDP) won 37 percent of the vote and 56 seats. The Social Liberal–Peasants Party alliance won 8 seats, and the Croatian People’s Party won 7 seats. New elections had to be held for the 14 remaining seats, and the final results will be reported in a future issue.

Guatemala: In first-round presidential elections on September 9, businessman Álvaro Colom Caballeros of the National Union of Hope (UNE) coalition finished first with 28 percent of the vote, and Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriot Party (PP) finished second with 24 percent. In the November 4 runoff, Colom won with 53 percent of the vote. In elections for the 158-seat Congress of the Republic on September 9, UNE won 23 percent of the vote and 48 seats, the Grand National Alliance won 17 percent and 37 seats, the PP won 16 percent and 30 seats, and the Republican Guatemalan Front won 10 percent and 15 seats.

Jordan: In November 20 elections for the 110-seat Assembly of Deputies, candidates loyal to King Abdullah II won a strong majority. The [End Page 179] Islamic Action Front (IAF), which had held 18 seats, won only 6. IAF leaders accused the government of election fraud.

Kenya: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for December 27; results will be reported in a future issue.

Kiribati: In elections on August 22 and 30 for 44 seats in the House of Assembly, President Anote Tong’s Supporters of the Truth party won 18 seats, the Blessings of the Meeting House party won 7 seats, and independent candidates won 19 seats. Tong retained his seat in the legislature and was reelected president in the October 17 presidential election with 65 percent of the vote.

Kyrgyzstan: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 16; results will be reported in a future issue.

Madagascar: In elections on September 23 for the 127-seat National Assembly, President Marc Ravalomanana’s I Love Madagascar (TIM) party won 105 seats. The remaining seats were divided among independents and smaller parties.

Marshall Islands: Legislative elections were held on November 19; results will be reported in a future issue.

Nauru: In August 25 elections for the 18-seat Parliament, supporters of President Ludwig Scotty, including members of Nauru First, the only formal political party in the country, won 15 seats. Opposition candidates won 3 seats.

Oman: In October 27 nonparty elections for the 84 elected seats in the 90-seat Consultative Assembly, 38 incumbent lawmakers retained their seats and 46 new legislators were chosen. None of the 21 women who contested seats won.

Poland: In October 21 parliamentary elections for the 460-seat Sejm, the Civic Platform (PO), led by Donald Tusk, won 41 percent of the vote and 209 seats, while Prime Minister Jaros³aw Kaczyñski’s Law and Justice (PiS) won 32 percent and 166 seats. Former president Aleksander Kwaœniewski’s Left and Democracy (LiD) won 13 percent and 53 seats, and the Polish Peasants’ Party (PSL) won 9 percent and 31 seats. Voter turnout was around 54 percent, the highest for a parliamentary election since the fall of communism.

Russia: In December 2 parliamentary elections for the 450-seat State Duma, President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia won 64 percent of the vote and 315 seats. The Communist Party, the only opposition party to win any seats, took 11.6 percent and 57 seats. The Liberal Democratic Party and A Just Russia, both pro-Kremlin, won 40 seats and 38 seats, [End Page 180] respectively. The OSCE said the elections were “not fair and failed to meet many OSCE . . . standards.”

Sierra Leone: In the presidential runoff on September 8, opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People’s Congress won with 55 percent of the vote, while Vice-President Solomon Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party took 45 percent. For additional information, please see the article by Christopher Wyrod on pp. 70–83 of this issue.

Slovenia: In October 21 presidential elections, former prime minister Lojze Peterle finished first with 29 percent of the votes, and former diplomat Danilo Türk finished second with 24 percent of the vote. In the November 11 runoff, Türk won with 68 percent of the vote.

South Korea: Presidential elections were scheduled for December 19; results will be reported in a future issue.

Thailand: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 23; results will be reported in a future issue.

Togo: In October 14 elections for the 81-seat National Assembly, President Faure Gnassingbé’s Rally of the Togolese People won 39 percent and 50 seats. The Union of Forces of Change, led by Gilchrist Olympio, won 37 percent and 27 seats. The Constitutional Court said turnout was around 85 percent. Election observers, including the Economic Community of West African States, stated that the voting was fair and transparent.

Trinidad and Tobago: In November 5 elections for the 41-seat House of Representatives, Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s People’s National Movement won 46 percent of the vote and 26 seats. The United National Congress won 30 percent and 15 seats.

Ukraine: In parliamentary elections on September 30 for the 450-seat Supreme Council, then–Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions (PR) won 34 percent of the vote and 175 seats, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYT) won 31 percent and 156 seats, and President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine–People’s Self Defense (NUNS) won 14 percent and 72 seats. The Communist Party of Ukraine won 5 percent and 27 seats, and the Lytvyn Bloc won 4 percent and 20 seats. The BYT and NUNS formed a coalition government with a very narrow majority and named Tymoshenko prime minister.