Election Watch

ELECTION RESULTS (June–September 2007)

Cameroon: In July 22 elections for the 180-seat National Assembly, the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, led by President Paul Biya (who has been in office since 1982), won 140 seats. The opposition Social Democratic Front, led by John Fru Ndi, won 14 seats. Opposition candidates questioned the validity of the results.

Congo (Brazzaville): In elections on June 24 and August 5 for the 137-seat National Assembly, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s Congolese Labor Party (PCT) and its allies won a landslide victory of 125 seats. Former President Pascal Lissouba’s Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) won 11 seats. Other opposition parties boycotted the elections, which observers said were marred by irregularities.

Guatemala: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for September 9; results will be reported in a future issue.

Jamaica: In September 3 elections, the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Bruce Golding, won 31 seats in the 60-seat House of Representatives, ending the 18-year rule of the People’s National Party (PNP), which won 29 seats. Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s first woman Prime Minister, said that the PNP would challenge the result.

Kazakhstan: In August 18 elections, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s ruling Nur-Otan party won 88 percent of the vote and all 98 elected seats in the 107-seat Majilis, the lower house of the parliament. International observers said that the elections failed to meet international standards.

Kiribati: Elections were held for Parliament on August 22 and for president on August 30; results will be reported in a future issue.

Mali: In elections held on July 22 for the 147-seat National Assembly, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress, which backs President Amadou [End Page 180] Touré, won 128 seats; and the Front for Democracy and Independence won 15 seats. Voter turnout was around 33 percent.

Morocco: Preliminary results for September 7 elections to the 325-seat Parliament gave the nationalist Istiqlal a plurality of 52 seats. The opposition Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) finished second with 46 seats. Turnout was very low at about 37 percent.

Papua New Guinea: Elections were held June 30–July 14 for the 109-seat National Parliament. Prime Minister Michael Somare’s National Alliance Party won a plurality with 27 seats, and he was chosen to serve again as prime minister.

Philippines: Elections were held on May 14 for the 218 seats in the House of Representatives and 12 of the 24 Senate seats. In the House, Team Unity (TU), the government alliance led by LAKAS-CMD, won 141 seats; the Genuine Opposition (GO) alliance won 12 seats; 4 seats went to independents. In the Senate, TU won 3 seats, while the GO won 7 seats, and 2 seats went to independents. The elections were characterized by violence and widespread charges of fraud.

Senegal: In elections held on June 3 for the 150-seat National Assembly, the Sopi Coalition 2007, led by President Abdoulaye Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party, won 131 seats. The Siggil Sénégal Front, a coalition of opposition parties, including the former ruling Socialist Party, boycotted the elections. Voter turnout was under 40 percent.

Seychelles: In elections held on May 10–12 for the 34-seat National Assembly, the governing Seychelles People’s Progressive Front won 23 seats, while the opposition alliance of the Seychelles National Party and the Democratic Party won the remaining 11 seats.

Sierra Leone: In August 11 elections for 112 seats in the 124-member parliament, the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) won 59 seats; the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of President Tejan Kabbah won 43 seats; and the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) won 10 seats. In first round presidential elections on August 11, Ernest Bai Koroma (APC) won 44 percent of the vote and Vice-President Solomon Berewa (SLPP) won 38 percent. Results of the September 8 presidential runoff will be reported in a future issue.

Timor-Leste: In elections for the 65-seat National Parliament on June 30, the ruling Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (Fretilin), won 21 seats; the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), led by former president Xanana Gusmão, won 18 seats; the Social Democratic Party and the Timorese Social Democratic Association won 11 seats; the Democratic Party won 8 seats. The CNRT formed a governing coalition with Gusmão as prime minister.

Turkey: In elections held on July 22 for the 550-seat Grand National Assembly, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and [End Page 181] Development Party (AKP) won 47 percent of the vote and 341 seats. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) ran with the Democratic Left Party (DSP); together they won 21 percent of the vote and 112 seats. The National Action Party (MHP) won 71 seats. Independents, including pro-Kurdish politicians, won 26 seats.

Ukraine: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for September 30; results will be reported in a future issue.