Election Watch

Election Results
(September–December 2005)

Afghanistan: More than 2,700 candidates contested the September 18 elections to the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga (House of the People)—the country's first democratic legislative vote in more than three decades. Though most candidates ran as independents, a majority of those elected are supporters of proreform president Hamid Karzai. Sixty-eight of the new lawmakers are women. The results were repeatedly delayed by inquiries into charges of electoral fraud in various parts of the country.

Argentina: In October 23 legislative elections for 24 of the 72 upper-house seats and 127 of the 256 lower-house seats, President Nestor Kirchner's Peronist Front for Victory (FV) claimed a resounding victory. In the Senate, the FV won 17 seats; the anti-Kirchner faction of the Peronist Justicialist Party (PJ), 4; and the Radical Civic Union (UCR), 3. In the Chamber of Deputies, the FV won 69 seats; the UCR, 19 seats; and the anti-Kirchner faction of the PJ, 11 seats. The remainder was split among smaller parties.

Azerbaijan: In November 6 parliamentary elections, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) won 62 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly. The main opposition coalitions, Azadlig (Freedom) and Yeni Siyaset (New Politics), won 6 and 2 seats, respectively. Approximately 50 seats went to independent candidates, many of whom are aligned with the YAP. Fresh elections were to be held in 15 districts. OSCE observers criticized the elections, citing significant voting and counting irregularities as well as voter-intimidation tactics.

Bolivia: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for December 18; results will be reported in a future issue.

Burkina Faso: On November 13, incumbent president Blaise Compaoré of the Congress for Democracy and Progress was reelected with 82 percent of the vote. Many of Compaoré's 11 opponents claimed that his bid for a third term violated the two-term limit adopted in 2000. Though Compaoré had first come to power in a 1987 coup and later had been elected to two seven-year terms, the Constitutional Court ruled that the term limit did not apply retroactively.

Chile: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for December 11; results will be reported in a future issue.

Egypt: The country's first-ever contested presidential election took place on September 7. According to official results, incumbent Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the National Democratic Party—who has ruled Egypt since 1981—received 88.6 percent of the vote. Ayman Nour of the Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party came in second with 7.3 percent. Following widespread reports of election-law violations, Nour demanded a rerun of the election, but the Presidential Election Commission rejected his request. Turnout was around 30 percent. Parliamentary elections were held over a four-week period beginning November 9; results will be reported in a future issue.

Gabon: On November 27, incumbent president Omar Bongo of the Gabonese Democratic Party was reelected with 79.2 percent of the vote. Pierre Mamboundou, leader of the Union of the Gabonese People was a distant second with 13.6 percent. Bongo, Africa's longest-tenured head of state, has been in power since 1967. Opposition candidates charged that the polling was riddled with irregularities.

Haiti: Presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 27; results will be reported in a future issue.

Honduras: On November 27, Liberal Party candidate Manuel Zelaya was apparently elected president with almost 50 percent of the vote, followed by Porfirio Lobo of the ruling National Party with more than 46 percent. Lobo conceded defeat on December 7 although results were not yet finalized. Legislative elections were also held on November 27; results will be reported in a future issue.

Kazakhstan: President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Fatherland party, who has been in power since 1989, was reelected on December 4 with 91 percent of the vote. His main challenger, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai of the Coalition for a Just Kazakhstan, won only 6.6 percent. The OSCE reported that the election failed to meet international democratic standards.

Liberia: In a November 8 presidential runoff, former finance minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of the Unity Party (UP) defeated former soccer star George Weah of...