Election Watch

Argentina: On October 28, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of the peronista Front for Victory (FPV) won 45 percent of the vote and will succeed her husband as president. Her two main rivals, former lawmaker Elisa Carrio of the Civic Coalition (CC) and former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation, won 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively. In legislative elections held on the same day for 130 seats in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies, the FPV won 78 seats, the CC won 19 seats, and the Radical Civic Union won 14 seats.

Croatia: In November 25 elections for the 151-seat House of Representatives, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 43 percent of the vote and 66 seats, while the Social Democrats (SDP) won 37 percent of the vote and 56 seats. The Social Liberal–Peasants Party alliance won 8 seats, and the Croatian People's Party won 7 seats. New elections had to be held for the 14 remaining seats, and the final results will be reported in a future issue.

Guatemala: In first-round presidential elections on September 9, businessman Álvaro Colom Caballeros of the National Union of Hope (UNE) coalition finished first with 28 percent of the vote, and Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriot Party (PP) finished second with 24 percent. In the November 4 runoff, Colom won with 53 percent of the vote. In elections for the 158-seat Congress of the Republic on September 9, UNE won 23 percent of the vote and 48 seats, the Grand National Alliance won 17 percent and 37 seats, the PP won 16 percent and 30 seats, and the Republican Guatemalan Front won 10 percent and 15 seats.

Jordan: In November 20 elections for the 110-seat Assembly of Deputies, candidates loyal to King Abdullah II won a strong majority. The Islamic Action Front (IAF), which had held 18 seats, won only 6. IAF leaders accused the government of election fraud.

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

Kiribati: In elections on August 22 and 30 for 44 seats in the House of Assembly, President Anote Tong's Supporters of the Truth party won 18 seats, the Blessings of the Meeting House party won 7 seats, and independent candidates won 19 seats. Tong retained his seat in the legislature and was reelected president in the October 17 presidential election with 65 percent of the vote.

Kyrgyzstan: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 16; results will be reported in a future issue.

Madagascar: In elections on September 23 for the 127-seat National Assembly, President Marc Ravalomanana's I Love Madagascar (TIM) party won 105 seats. The remaining seats were divided among independents and smaller parties.

Marshall Islands: Legislative elections were held on November 19; results will be reported in a future issue.

Nauru: In August 25 elections for the 18-seat Parliament, supporters of President Ludwig Scotty, including members of Nauru First, the only formal political party in the country, won 15 seats. Opposition candidates won 3 seats.

Oman: In October 27 nonparty elections for the 84 elected seats in the 90-seat Consultative Assembly, 38 incumbent lawmakers retained their seats and 46 new legislators were chosen. None of the 21 women who contested seats won.

Poland: In October 21 parliamentary elections for the 460-seat Sejm, the Civic Platform (PO), led by Donald Tusk, won 41 percent of the vote and 209 seats, while Prime Minister Jaros³aw Kaczyñski's Law and Justice (PiS) won 32 percent and 166 seats. Former president Aleksander Kwaœniewski's Left and Democracy (LiD) won 13 percent and 53 seats, and the Polish Peasants' Party (PSL) won 9 percent and 31 seats. Voter turnout was around 54 percent, the highest for a parliamentary election since the fall of communism.

Russia: In December 2 parliamentary elections for the 450-seat State Duma, President Vladimir Putin's United Russia won 64 percent of the vote and 315 seats. The Communist Party, the only opposition party to win any seats, took 11.6 percent and 57 seats. The Liberal...