Election Watch
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ELECTION RESULTS (December 2011-March 2012)
Côte d'Ivoire: In December 11 elections for the 253-seat National Assembly, President Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Republicans party won 125 seats. The Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally won 76 seats; the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire won 9 seats; and the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace won 4 seats. Independent candidates won 35 seats. Former president Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front boycotted the election.
Croatia: In December 4 elections for the 151-seat Parliament, the Kukuriku Coalition—which includes the Social Democratic Party, led by Zoran Milanoviæ—won 40 percent of the vote and an absolute majority of 81 seats, and Milanoviæ became prime minister. Outgoing prime minister Jadranka Kosor's long-ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 24 percent and 47 seats. The Croatian Labourists-Labour Party won 5 percent and 6 seats, and the Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja won 3 percent and 6 seats. Other parties won the remaining 11 seats.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: In the November 28 presidential election, the official results stated that incumbent Joseph Kabila defeated opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi by 49 to 32 percent, but Tshisekedi also declared himself president. Vital Kamerhe of the opposition Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) won 8 percent. According to preliminary results for concurrent legislative elections for the 500-seat National Assembly, Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) won 62 seats. The Unified Lumumbist Party won 19 seats. In total, the PPRD and its allies had 341 seats. Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress won 41 seats. The opposition Movement [End Page 169] for the Liberation of Congo won 22 seats, and the UNC won 17 seats. Independent candidates won 16 seats. A number of small parties won one to three seats. The international community criticized the election as lacking credibility, and the EU Election Observation Mission noted the "lack of transparency and irregularities in the collection, compilation, and publication of results." EU High Representative Catherine Ashton noted "reports of serious deficiencies."
Egypt: Parliamentary elections for the 498 directly elected seats in the People's Assembly were held in three rounds on November 28, December 14, and January 3. Following the elections, the Democratic Alliance for Egypt (led by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party) had 235 seats; the Islamist Bloc (led by the Salafist al-Nour party) had 127 seats; the New Wafd Party (nationalist/liberal) had 38 seats; the Egyptian Bloc (a liberal alliance of three parties: the Egyptian Social Democratic party, the Free Egyptians Party, and Tagam-mu—though the alliance later dissolved) had 34 seats; the Al-Wasat party (which is moderate Islamist) had 10 seats; the liberal Reform and Development Party had 9 seats; and the Revolution Continues Alliance (made up of a number of leftist groups) had 7 seats. Various small parties and independent candidates had 38 seats.
El Salvador: Legislative elections were held on March 11; results will be reported in a future issue.
The Gambia: Legislative elections were scheduled to be held on March 29; results will be reported in a future issue.
Iran: On March 2, legislative elections were held for the 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly. Most reformists or figures identified with the Green Movement were not allowed to run. Most analysts said that candidates supportive of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei won a large majority over supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Jamaica: In December 29 parliamentary elections for the 63-seat House of Representatives, the opposition People's National Party won 53 percent of the vote and 42 seats. Portia Simpson-Miller became prime minister. The governing Jamaica Labor Party won 47 percent and 21 seats.
Kazakhstan: In January 15 parliamentary elections for the 98 elected seats in the 107-seat Majilis, President Nursultan Nazarbayev's ruling People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan" won 81 percent and 83 seats; the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan "Ak Zhol" won 7.5 percent and 8 seats; and the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan won 7 percent and 7 seats. Nazarbayev...
