Costa Rican politics fragments
Elections in Costa Rica in Central America have thrown up a highly fragmented result, with the Legislative Assembly to be divided among at least five significant parties. The run-off vote … Continue reading
Nationalists remain in power in Northern Cyprus
The first legislative election for 2018 has seen Turkish nationalists maintain their narrow majority in the parliament of Northern Cyprus. The vote for parties favouring re-unification with the Republic of … Continue reading
Virginia state vote ends in farce
The first election to be resolved in 2018 is actually for an American state legislature voted for last November – but the election has ended in farce. The Virginia House … Continue reading
Catalans vote to retain a pro-independence parliament
The world’s last legislative election for 2017 – an emergency election for the Parliament of the Spanish region of Catalonia – has affirmed the Catalan population’s support for political parties … Continue reading
Boilover in Alabama: Half of traditional Republican voters stay home
A dramatic special election for a United States Senator for Alabama has ended with the Democratic candidate Doug Jones defeating his astoundingly controversial Republican opponent Roy Moore. Jones polled 49.9% … Continue reading
Queensland voters continue the breakdown of two-party dominance
Over 30% of Queensland voters have turned away from the state’s two traditional major political parties, in a complex election result which will take several days to resolve. The election … Continue reading
Japanese parliament brings huge majority, but in distorted result
The early election called by Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe has served him well, narrowly maintaining his government’s two-thirds majority in the Shugi-in, the lower house of the Japanese parliament. … Continue reading
New Zealand to have new centre-left government
A new, three-party government will be formed in New Zealand after balance-of-power party New Zealand First chose to side with the opposition Labour Party rather than the governing National Party. … Continue reading
Elections highlight role of PR in coalition-building
Overnight election results in Austria and the north German state of Lower Saxony have highlighted the impact of proportional representation systems in forcing political parties to form joint governments. Voting … Continue reading
Dutch, Germans, Kiwis edge towards governments
Government formation in nations using party list proportional representation is proceeding at very different rates in three countries which held elections during 2017. The Dutch, which held their parliamentary elections … Continue reading
On Elections 