Election Watch

Election Results
(September-December 2001)

Argentina: In October 14 elections for 130 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the Justicialist Party (PJ) won 37 percent of the vote and 66 seats. The Alliance (ATJE), formed by the Radical Civic Union and the Front for a Country in Solidarity (Frepaso), won 23 percent and 35 seats. The Argentina for a Republic of Equals (ARI) secured 7 percent and 8 seats. Eleven other minor parties took the remaining seats. In the 72-seat Senate, the PJ won 40 seats; the ATJE, 25; and the ARI, 1. Nearly 25 percent of the electorate cast blank or spoiled ballots, underscoring widespread disillusion with elected leaders.

Bangladesh: In parliamentary elections held on October 1, the Bangla-desh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 191 of the 300 directly elected seats in the 330-member National Parliament, thereby returning former prime minister Khaleda Zia to power. The BNP-allied Bangladesh Islamic Assembly (Jama'at-i-Islami) secured 17 seats. The Awami League (AL) of outgoing prime minister Sheikh Hasina (the first Bangladeshi prime minister to complete a five-year term) won 62 seats. The National Party (Jatiya Dal) secured 8 percent and 14 seats. Turnout is estimated to have been 75 percent. Although AL leaders, including Hasina, claimed that the election was rigged, both UN and EU election-observer missions declared the elections to be fair.

Bulgaria: In first-round presidential balloting held on November 11, Georgi Parvanov of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (the successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party) won 36.4 percent, narrowly surpassing incumbent Petar Stoyanov, running as an independent with the backing of the center-right Union of Democratic Forces, who received 34.9 percent. Voter turnout was 41.5 percent. In the November 18 runoff, Parvanov defeated Stoyanov, 53 to 47 percent, to become Bulgaria's next president.

Chile: Legislative elections were scheduled for December 16. Results will be reported in a future issue.

The Gambia: In a presidential election held on October 18, Yahya A.J. Jammeh of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction was reelected with 53 percent of the vote, besting opposition candidate Ousainou Darbou of the United Democratic Party, who received 32.7 percent. Jammeh came to power through a military coup in 1994 and was subsequently elected to the presidency in 1996. Turnout was reported as 80 percent. The Commonwealth Observer Group declared the elections free and fair.

Honduras: In presidential balloting held on November 25, Ricardo Maduro of the National Party won with 52 percent of the vote, defeating Rafael Pineda of the ruling Liberal Party of Honduras, who received 44 percent. Results from legislative elections held on the same day will be reported in a future issue.

Madagascar: Presidential elections were scheduled for December 16. Results will be reported in a future issue.

Mauritania: In parliamentary elections held on October 19 and 26, the ruling party of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, the Democratic and Social Republican Party, won 51 percent of the vote and 64 seats in the 81-member National Assembly. The pro-government Rally for Democracy and Unity secured 3 seats, and the opposition parties Action for Change and Union of Forces for Progress won 4 seats each.

Nicaragua: In presidential balloting held on November 4, Constitutional-ist Liberal Party (PLC) candidate Enrique Bola~nos Geyer received 56 percent of the vote, defeating José Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), who secured 42 percent. In legislative elections held on the same day, the PLC won 53 percent of the vote and 47 seats in the 93-seat unicameral National Assembly. The FSLN received 42 percent of the vote and 43 seats, while the Conservative Party of Nicaragua (PCN) received only 2 percent (2 seats). An indepen-dent observer mission headed by the Carter Center declared the elections an accurate reflection of the will of the people.

Poland: In September 23 parliamentary elections, the center-left coali-tion of the formerly communist Democratic Left Alliance and Labor Union (SLD-UP) secured 41...