Category Archives: Articles

Japan election: Voters back Shinzo Abe as PM wins new term © BBC 14th December, 2014   Japan’s ruling coalition has won a new two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policy. Japanese media reported that Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) retained its House of Representatives majority. The LDP will govern with the Komeito party after the parties won 325 seats out… Read More »

Sri Lanka’s new president – An auspicious moment © The Economist – Jan 17th, 2015 SRI LANKA’S astrologers are probably not among those celebrating the country’s election result. It was after consultation with some of their profession that Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president, called an election for January 8th 2015, two years ahead of schedule. This turned out to be a big mistake. Mr Rajapaksa had ruled since 2005 and, along with his… Read More »

Greece’s election – Syriza wins © the Economist, January 25th, 2015  GREECE will have a new prime minister, and Europe its first anti-austerity government, following elections on January 25th. Preliminary results show that Syriza, a left-wing party led by Alexis Tsipras, has won handsomely, claiming around 36% of the vote, an eight-percentage-point lead over the New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras, the outgoing prime minister. Syriza’s support leapt by nine percentage points… Read More »

Nigeria’s risky decision to postpone elections © Washington Post, February 8th, 2015 Boko Haram’s latest victim may just have been Nigeria’s national election. At least on first glance, it would appear that way. On Saturday evening,  Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced its decision to postpone Nigeria’s national election scheduled for February 14th. These elections were widely expected to be Nigeria’s closest electoral contest yet, between the increasingly unpopular Goodluck Jonathan’s… Read More »

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo has been declared the winner of Indonesia’s hotly contested presidential election © BBC 22 July 2014 The election commission said Mr Widodo – widely known as Jokowi – won 53.15% of the vote with his rival, ex-general Prabowo Subianto, on 46.85%. Earlier, Mr Subianto alleged widespread electoral fraud and vowed to challenge the result. Mr Widodo has promised a decisive break with Indonesia’s authoritarian past and better… Read More »

Juan Manuel Santos Wins Re-election In Colombia Against Oscar Ivan Zuluaga © REUTERS 15 June 2014 Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won a second term on Sunday with an election victory that allows him to continue peace talks with Marxist guerrillas to end a half-century war. Santos beat right-wing challenger Oscar Ivan Zuluaga with about 50.9 percent support in a runoff vote after a bitter campaign that forced voters to choose… Read More »

Abdel Fatah al-Sisi sweeps to victory in Egyptian presidential election © The Guardian 29 May 2014 Initial results show ex-army chief won more than 90% of votes, but critics question poll’s validity after crackdown on dissent. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will be Egypt‘s next head of state after winning more than 90% of the vote in the presidential elections. As few as 3.5% voted for his single opponent, the labour activist Hamdeen Sabahi. Initial… Read More »

Malawi election: Peter Mutharika wins presidential vote © BBC 30 May 2014 Opposition candidate Peter Mutharika has been declared the winner of Malawi’s disputed presidential election. The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party obtained 36.4% of the vote, the electoral commission announced. A protester died earlier after police dispersed an angry crowd demanding a recount of last week’s ballot. Outgoing president Joyce Banda has alleged the vote was rigged. ‘Law is… Read More »

Vaz wins Guinea-Bissau presidential vote, loser rejects result © REUTERS 13 April 2014 Former finance minister Jose Mario Vaz won a high-stakes presidential run-off election in Guinea-Bissau meant to draw a line under a 2012 coup, the elections commission said on Tuesday, but the losing candidate rejected the result. The looming dispute over the outcome of Sunday’s vote threatens to stir further unrest in the tiny, chronically unstable West African nation… Read More »

Panama election: Juan Carlos Varela thwarts rival by winning presidency © The Guardian 5 May 2014 Vice-president declared the victor with 60% of votes counted, seeing off attempt by outgoing leader to hand-pick successor. Panama’s vice-president Juan Carlos Varela was declared the victor of the country’s presidential election on Sunday, thwarting an attempt by former ally and incumbent Ricardo Martinelli to extend his grip on power by electing a hand-picked successor.… Read More »