Namibia Holds Local Elections

Posted: 11/27/2010
Namibia's South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) on Saturday captured 92 percent of constituencies in the country’s regional elections. The opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), which won about 10 percent of the vote in last year’s general election, only captured one of the 107 constituencies. About 1.18 million voters were registered to vote for regional councillors in 107 constituencies in 13 political regions. Legislation passed this year means that newly elected councilors will serve five-year terms, down from the previous terms of six-year.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Tonga Holds Parliamentary Elections

Posted: 11/25/2010
Tonga’s Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands on Thursday captured 12 of 17 seats in the country’s parliamentary elections. Independent candidates captured the five remaining seats. This was the Tonga’s first election where a majority of MPs were democratically elected. Under the new system, nine MPs are reserved for nobles and 17 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies. Previously, only nine members were elected under multi-member districts, while 23 MPs were indirectly elected. It is still uncertain, however, if the Democratic Party will be able to form a government; the nine unelected MPs are attempting to form a governing coalition with the five independents. The government stated that turnout among the 42,000 registered voters was around 89 percent.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Cook Islands Votes For New Parliament

Posted: 11/17/2010
Voters in the Cook Islands on Wednesday went to the polls to elect a new parliament. Initial results show that the opposition Cook Island Party captured 15 out of the Parliament’s 24 seats. The ruling Democratic Party has won only eight seats. Voters also cast ballots on a non-binding referendum to reduce the number of MPs in parliament. If the referendum succeeds, Parliament will vote on the issue, where a two-thirds majority is required for passage. The final tabulation for the election will be unavailable for several days, due to the time needed to return ballot boxes from the country’s outer islands. In the weeks leading up to the election, fuel shortages led to fears that ballot boxes would not be distributed to the outer islands in time for the polls.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Comoros Ready For Second Round Of Presidential Election

Posted: 11/13/2010
Comoros’ constitutional court on Saturday published the names of the three candidates who will compete in the country’s December presidential election. Ikililou DHOININE, Mohamed Said FAZUL, and Djabir ABDOU captured the most votes in the first round of the election, held on the archipelago's island of Moheli. The presidency of the Comoros rotates every four years among the country’s three main islands. This cycle, Moheli chooses the three candidates who will compete in a second round on December 26. The second round will take place among the entire country, and the candidate who receives the most votes, even if not an absolute majority, will become president. This will be the first time a politician from Moheli will become president.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Greek Poll Results Mean Snap Election Unlikely

Posted: 11/07/2010
Greek Prime Minister George PAPANDREOU’s ruling Socialist Party on Sunday won eight out of thirteen regional races in the country’s local elections. The results caused PAPANDREOU, who had billed the local polls as a referendum on his government’s austerity measures, to drop his threats of calling early, snap elections. Voting is compulsory in Greece, but turnout was projected at around 60 percent. Recent changes to the electoral law, which requires candidates to achieve an absolute majority to gain office, means many constituencies will be decided in a second round on November 14.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Nauru Resloves Eight Month Stalemate

Posted: 11/01/2010
Nauru’s state of emergency, designed to keep government services operating during a political deadlock, was lifted on Monday with the re-election of Marcus STEPHEN as president. STEPHEN defeated opposition parliamentarian Milton DUBE in an 11 to 6 vote. Parliament indirectly elects presidents in Nauru but for the past eight months, neither of the two major factions has been able to form a majority in the eighteen-member parliament. The government called snap elections in April and June, but both failed to give either side a majority. There are no formal political parties in Nauru, but Parliament has been evenly divided between supporters and opponents of STEPHEN. The stalemate was broken in a deal that made opposition lawmaker, and former president, Ludwig SCOTTY, Speaker of the House.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Cote D’Ivoire Holds First Round Of Presidential Election

Posted: 10/31/2010
Almost 80 percent of Cote d’Ivoire’s registered voters participated in Sunday’s presidential election. Results from the first round show that current President Laurent GBAGBO has received 38 percent of the vote, while former Prime Minister Alassane OUATTARA captured 32 percent. As no candidate received an absolute majority of votes in the first round, a second round will be held on November 28. Former President Henri Konan BEDIE, who received 25 percent of the vote, accused the Election Commission of fraud during the tabulation process. The election, originally scheduled for 2005, has been postponed six times.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Cote D'Ivoire To Hold Election On October 31

Posted: 10/26/2010
Despite fears of more delays, Cote d'Ivoire's presidential election will take place on October 31, a UN representative confirmed on Monday. The divided nation has been overdue for a vote since 2005, when current President Laurent GBAGBO’s term ended. The country resolved a potential hurdle on Monday when Prime Minister Guillaume SORO announced that votes will be tabulated by an independent body. Opposition parties had complained that the previous method of vote counting established by the Election Commission would have favored GBAGO.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

Bahrain Holds Parliamentary Elections

Posted: 10/24/2010
Al-Wifaq, Bahrain's main Shi'a opposition group, captured 18 out of 40 seats in the first round of parliamentary elections on Sunday. In the weeks leading up to the election, al-Wifaq accused the government of harassing their supporters. Although Shias comprise 70 percent of the population in Bahrain, the Sunni minority controls the government. This was the third parliamentary election in the Gulf nation since King HAMAD bin Isa Al-Khalifa reinstated Parliament in 2002. The lower chamber of Parliament has the ability to pass legislation proposed by the King. However, the upper chamber, whose members are appointed by the monarch, can veto that legislation. Eight women were among the 127 competing candidates. Nine districts will hold a runoff vote on October 30, as no candidate received an absolute majority in the first round.

Read more ElectionGuide News. Source: ElectionGuide

What is RSS?