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  • Election Watch

ELECTION RESULTS (September-December 2013)

Argentina: In October 27 elections for 127 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's Peronist Front for Victory (FPV) and its allies won 33 percent of the vote and 47 seats; the Radical Civic Union (UCR) and its allies won 24 percent and 36 seats; an alliance of non-FPV Peronist parties led by Tigre mayor Sergio Massa's Renewal Front (FR) won 25 percent and 26 seats; and the Republican Proposal (PRO) party and its allies won 7 percent and 10 seats. Leftist and other parties won the remaining 8 seats. In elections held concurrently for 24 seats in the 72-seat Senate, the FPV won 39 percent of the vote and 14 seats. PRO and its allies won 18 percent and 3 seats, and UCR and its allies won 16 percent and 3 seats. Other parties won 4 seats, including 1 for an ally of the FR.

Azerbaijan: According to official results of the October 9 presidential election, incumbent Ilham Aliyev of the New Azerbaijan Party won with 85 percent of the vote. Jamil Hasanli of the National Council of Democratic Forces received 6 percent of the vote, and eight other candidates split the remaining votes. According to OSCE observers, the election was marred by ballot stuffing, inaccurate vote tabulation, and political repression that tilted the playing field in Aliyev's favor. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe observers offered a more positive assessment, calling the elections "free, fair and transparent," but noted deficiencies in "the respect of fundamental freedoms during the months before the election."

Cameroon: In September 30 elections for the 180-seat National Assembly, President Paul Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement won 148 seats, and the opposition Social Democratic Front won 18. The National Union for Democracy and Progress, the Cameroonian Democratic [End Page 174] Union, and the Cameroon People's Union won 5, 4, and 3 seats, respectively. Two other parties each won a single seat. Commonwealth observers characterized the elections as free and peaceful but noted that uneven access to funding and media coverage hindered the opposition.

Chile: In the November 17 presidential election, former president Michelle Bachelet of the Socialist Party of Chile (PS) won 47 percent of the vote, and Evelyn Matthei of the Independent Democratic Union won 25 percent, setting up a runoff scheduled for December 15. Former PS member Marco Enríquez-Ominami of the Progressive Party of Chile received 11 percent, and independent candidate Franco Parisi received 10 percent. Five other candidates split the remaining votes. In concurrent elections for 20 seats in the 38-seat Senate, Bachelet's coalition, the New Majority, won 51 percent of the vote and 12 seats, and Matthei's coalition, the Alliance, won 38 percent and 7 seats. An independent candidate won the remaining seat. In elections also held that day for the 120-seat Chamber of Deputies, the New Majority won 48 percent of the vote and 67 seats, and the Alliance won 36 percent and 49 seats. Independents and candidates from smaller parties won the remaining seats. Results of the presidential runoff will be reported in a future issue.

Czech Republic: In October 25-26 elections for the 200-member Chamber of Deputies, the Social Democrats won 20 percent of the vote and 50 seats. The recently formed ANO movement won 19 percent and 47 seats, and the Communists won 15 percent and 33 seats. Former foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg's Top 09 party and recently resigned prime minister Petr Neèas's Civic Democrats—the two leading parties of the outgoing governing coalition—lost badly, winning 12 percent and 26 seats and 8 percent and 16 seats, respectively. The newly formed Dawn Party and the Christian Democrats each won 7 percent and 14 seats.

Georgia: In the October 27 presidential election, Giorgi Margvelashvili of then-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition won with 62 percent of the vote. Davit Bakradze of outgoing president Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement won 22 percent, and Nino Burjanadze of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia won 10 percent. Twenty other candidates split...

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