Election Watch

ELECTION RESULTS (September-December 1997)

Argentina: In October 26 legislative elections for 127 seats in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies, President Carlos Menem's Justicialist Party (PJ) won only 36 percent of the vote, down from 43 percent in 1995. The PJ consequently lost its absolute majority in the Chamber, dropping from 131 to 119 seats. The new Alliance coalition, comprising the Radical Civic Union (71 seats) and the Front for a Country in Solidarity (35 seats), emerged with 106 seats. Various provincial parties hold the remaining 32 seats.

Bosnia-Herzegovina (Republika Srpska): Elections to the 83-member Serbian Assembly were held on November 22-23. According to preliminary results, Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party won 33 percent of the vote. President Biljana Plavsic's new Serbian National Alliance came in second with 19.9, the Radical Party was third with 19.4, and the Socialist Party fourth with 12.2. Voter turnout was approximately 77 percent.

Cameroon: Incumbent Paul Biya of the Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People won 92.6 percent of the vote in a disputed presidential election held October 12. The election was boycotted by the major opposition parties, including the Union for Democracy in Cameroon, John Fru Ndi's Social Democratic Front, and former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari's National Union for Democracy and Progress. Opposition parties asked the Supreme Court to cancel the elections, but their requests were declared invalid or denied outright. According to the Supreme Court, turnout among eligible voters was 81 percent, but many observers doubted this figure.

Chile: Legislative elections were scheduled for December 11. Results will be reported in a future issue.

Djibouti: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 19. Results will be published in a future issue.

Ecuador: Unofficial results indicate that the Social Christian Party of former president León Febres Cordero won 24 seats in November 30 elections for the temporary 70-seat National Assembly. Former president Osvaldo Hurtado's Popular Christian Party won 9 seats. The remaining 37 seats went to numerous other political parties and independent candidates. The Assembly will begin work on reforming the Constitution on December 20 and will be disbanded in February.

Guyana: Presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 15. Results will be published in a future issue.

Honduras: According to preliminary results for November 30 presidential elections, Carlos Flores Facussé, president of the Congress and leader of the ruling Liberal Party, was elected with approximately 52.8 percent of the vote. The National Party's Nora Gúnera de Melgar, a former mayor of Tegucigalpa, came in second with roughly 43 percent. Turnout was close to 75 percent. Results from legislative elections held the same day will be reported in a future issue.

Jordan: In November 4 voting for the House of Deputies, the 80-seat lower house of Parliament, 68 seats were won by tribal candidates and the remaining 12 went to independent Islamists. A total of 524 candidates competed. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front boycotted the elections.

Kenya: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for December 29. Results will be published in a future issue.

Kyrgyzstan: Parliamentary elections took place on October 25, but clear results were unavailable. Final results will be published in a future issue.

Laos: Parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 21. Results will be published in a future issue.

Lithuania: Presidential elections were scheduled for December 21. Results will be published in a future issue.

Mauritania: Presidential elections were scheduled for December 12. Results will be published in a future issue.

Morocco: In November 14 parliamentary elections, 16 parties competed for the 325-seat House of Representatives, the lower house of the newly bicameral legislature. The results showed a fairly even division among electoral blocs reflecting three major political tendencies. The opposition Kutlah bloc, led by the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, won 102 seats; the progovernment Wifaq bloc, led by the Constitutional Union, won 100 seats; and a centrist grouping, led by the National Assembly of Independents, won 97 seats. Other parties split the remaining 26 seats. Voter turnout was 58.3 percent, low by Moroccan standards.

Poland: In September 21 parliamentary elections...