ELECTION RESULTS (March–June 2007)
Algeria: Parliamentary elections were held May 17 for the 389-member National People’s Assembly. The ruling three-party coalition won 249 seats, with 136 going to the National Liberation Front, led by Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem; 61 going to the National Democratic Rally; and 52 going to the Islamist Movement for a Peaceful Society. The opposition Workers’ Party won 26 seats. Fourteen percent of votes cast were spoiled, and voter turnout was a low 35.7 percent.
Armenia: Parliamentary elections were held May 12 for the 131-member National Assembly. The Republican Party of Armenia, led by Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian, won 33.8 percent of the vote; the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by Gagik Tsarukian, won 15.1 percent; and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, led by Hrant Markarian, won 13.1 percent. Two opposition parties surpassed the 5 percent electoral threshold: The Country of Laws (Orinats Erkir) Party won 7 percent and the Heritage Party won 6 percent.
Bahamas: Parliamentary elections were held May 2 for the 41-member House of Assembly. The opposition Free National Movement, led by former prime minister Hubert Ingraham, won 23 seats; and the Progressive Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Perry Christie, won 18.
Benin: In March 31 elections for the 83-member National Assembly, the Cauri Forces for an Emerging Benin, led by President Thomas Boni Yayi, won 35 seats; the Alliance for a Dynamic Democracy, led by former president Nicéphore Soglo, won 20; and the Party of Democratic Renewal, led by Adrien Houngbedji, won 10.
Burkina Faso: In May 6 elections for the 111-seat National Assembly, [End Page 179] President Blaise Compaoré’s Congress for Democracy and Progress won 73 seats. The Alliance for Democracy and Federation/African Democratic Rally followed with 14, and the Union for the Republic won 5. Ten other parties won seats. The African Union said that the elections were fair, but domestic groups and other international observers declared them fraudulent.
Congo (Brazzaville): First-round parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 24; results will be reported in a future issue.
Estonia: In parliamentary elections held March 4 for the 101-seat Parliament, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip’s Estonian Reform Party won 31 seats. The Estonian Center Party, led by Edgar Savisaar, followed with 29; the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union won 19; the Social Democratic Party won 10; and the Estonian Greens and the Estonian People’s Union each won 6.
Jordan: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for June; results will be reported in a future issue.
Mali: In an April 29 presidential election, Amadou Toumani Touré, an independent with the support of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress, was reelected with 70 percent of the vote. Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita, president of the National Assembly and leader of the Rally for Mali party, followed with 19 percent.
Mauritania: In a first-round presidential election on March 11, independent Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdellahi won 25 percent of the vote, Ahmed Ould Daddah of the Rally of Democratic Forces won 20 percent, and independent Zeine Ould Zeidane won 15 percent. In the second-round poll held on March 25, Abdellahi defeated Daddah, winning 53 percent. The election was the first since a military coup in August 2005.
Nigeria: On April 21, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the ruling People’s Democratic Party was elected president, winning 24.6 million votes. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People’s Party followed with 6.6 million, and Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress won 2.6 million. Concurrent legislative elections were held for the 109-seat Senate and the 360-seat House of Representatives; results will be reported in a future issue. Nigerian civil society and international observers have condemned the elections as deeply flawed.
Papua New Guinea: Parliamentary elections were scheduled to run from June 30 to July 10; results will be reported in a future issue.
Philippines: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for May 14; results will be reported in a future issue. [End Page 180]
Senegal: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 3; results will be reported in a future issue.
Timor-Leste: In first-round presidential balloting on April 9, Francisco Guterres of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (Fretilin) won 28 percent; independent José Ramos-Horta won 22 percent; and Fernando de Araujo of the Democratic Party won 19 percent. In the May 9 runoff, Ramos-Horta defeated Guterres, winning 73 percent. Parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 30; results will be reported in a future issue.
Togo: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 24; results will be reported in a future issue.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS (July 2007–June 2008)
Argentina: presidential/legislative, 28 October 2007
Armenia: presidential, February 2008
Barbados: parliamentary, May 2008
Belize: parliamentary, March 2008
Cameroon: parliamentary, 22 July 2007
Croatia: parliamentary, November 2007
Djibouti: parliamentary, January 2008
Dominican Republic: presidential, May 2008
Georgia: parliamentary, November 2007
Guatemala: presidential/legislative, 9 September 2007
Jamaica: parliamentary, October 2007
Kenya: presidential/legislative, December 2007
Kiribati: presidential, July 2007
Mali: parliamentary, 1 July 2007
Marshall Islands: legislative, November 2007
Mongolia: parliamentary, June 2008
Morocco: parliamentary, September 2007
Nauru: parliamentary, October 2007
Oman: parliamentary, October 2007 [End Page 181]
Pakistan: parliamentary, October 2007
Paraguay: presidential/legislative, April 2008
Russia: parliamentary, 2 December 2007; presidential, 2 March 2008
Sierra Leone: presidential/legislative, 28 July 2007
Slovenia: presidential, November 2007
South Korea: presidential, December 2007
Taiwan: parliamentary, December 2007
Thailand: parliamentary, December 2007
Trinidad and Tobago: parliamentary, October 2007
Turkey: parliamentary, 22 July 2007
Ukraine: parliamentary, 30 September 2007
Zimbabwe: presidential, March 2008 [End Page 182]
Election Watch provides reports of recently decided and upcoming elections in developing nations and the postcommunist world. 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. 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.