=========================================================================== COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS (CSES) - MODULE 4 (2011-2016) CODEBOOK PART 5: ELECTION SUMMARIES FULL RELEASE - MAY 29, 2018 CSES Secretariat www.cses.org =========================================================================== HOW TO CITE THE STUDY: The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (www.cses.org). CSES MODULE 4 FULL RELEASE [dataset and documentation]. May 29, 2018 version. doi:10.7804/cses.module4.2018-05-29 These materials are based on work supported by the American National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov) under grant numbers SES-0817701, SES-1154687, and SES-1420973, the GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, the University of Michigan, in-kind support of participating election studies, the many organizations that sponsor planning meetings and conferences, and the numerous organizations that fund national election studies by CSES collaborators. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations. =========================================================================== =========================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS =========================================================================== ))) IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING FULL RELEASE ))) OVERVIEW OF "CODEBOOK PART 5: ELECTION SUMMARIES" ))) HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CSES MODULE 4 CODEBOOK ))) ELECTION SUMMARIES FOR STUDIES INCLUDED IN CSES MODULE 4 BY POLITY >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ARGENTINA (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - AUSTRALIA (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - AUSTRIA (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - BRAZIL (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - BULGARIA (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CANADA (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CANADA (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CZECH REPUBLIC (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - FINLAND (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - FRANCE (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GERMANY (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREAT BRITAIN (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREECE (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREECE (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - HONG KONG (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ICELAND (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - IRELAND (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ISRAEL (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - JAPAN (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - KENYA (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - LATVIA (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - LATVIA (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MEXICO (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MEXICO (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MONTENEGRO (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - NEW ZEALAND (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - NEW ZEALAND (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - NORWAY (2013) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PERU (2016) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PHILIPPINES (2016) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - POLAND (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PORTUGAL (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ROMANIA (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ROMANIA (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SERBIA (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SLOVAKIA (2016) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SLOVENIA (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SOUTH AFRICA (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SOUTH KOREA (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SWEDEN (2014) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SWITZERLAND (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - TAIWAN (2012) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - THAILAND (2011) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - TURKEY (2015) >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - UNITED STATES (2012) =========================================================================== ))) IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING FULL RELEASE =========================================================================== This dataset and all accompanying documentation is the "Full Release" of CSES Module 4 (2011-2016). Users of the Final Release may wish to monitor the errata for CSES Module 4 on the CSES website, to check for known errors which may impact their analyses. To view errata for CSES Module 4, go to the Data Center on the CSES website, navigate to the CSES Module 4 download page, and click on the Errata link in the gray box to the right of the page. =========================================================================== ))) OVERVIEW OF "CODEBOOK PART 5: ELECTION SUMMARIES" =========================================================================== Part 5 of the CSES Codebook presents users with a summary compiled by the CSES Secretariat of each polity's election. The overviews provide details of the type(s) of elections, the dates, the parties/candidates that won or lost and any additional relevant campaign information. We also provide sources for further information on the election in question, sources which helped inform us in devising the summaries, and which users are encouraged to check for more detailed information on the elections. Election Summaries are listed in alphabetical order of the polity. =========================================================================== ))) HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CSES MODULE 4 CODEBOOK =========================================================================== In the CSES Module 4 dataset, all variables begin with the letter "D" (D being the fourth letter of the English alphabet and thus signifying Module 4). The CSES codebook is especially extensive and users are advised that the best way to navigate it is electronically. It is a .txt format which allows it to be accessed via a variety of programmes. The CSES Codebook can be navigated quickly in the electronic files, with the following commands allowing for quick searching: ))) = Section Header >>> = Sub-section Header 1 <<>> = Sub-section Header 2 +++ = Tables VARIABLES NOTES = Notes for particular variables ELECTION STUDY NOTES = Notes for a particular election study For further details on the CSES Module 4 documentation, users are advised to consult part 1 of the CSES codebook. =========================================================================== ))) ELECTION SUMMARIES FOR STUDIES INCLUDED IN CSES MODULE 4 BY POLITY =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ARGENTINA (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Argentine general elections were held on Sunday, October 25, 2015. In Argentina there is mandatory voting for those aged 18-70, and there was a turnout of 81.03% (Presidential election, 80.9% for Chamber of Deputies election). The elections were fourfold: a presidential election, elections to the Chamber of Deputies (Lower House, half of the legislature up for election), elections to the Senate (one-third of parliament up for election), as well as elections for local governorships. Outgoing President Cristina Fernandez de Kircher was term-limited. The Presidential election was held over two rounds. In the run-off on Sunday November 22, 2015, Mauricio Macri, a former mayor of Buenos Aires defeated Daniel Scioli, winning 51.3% of the vote to end 12-years of control of the Presidency by the Front for Victory alliance. The turnout in the second round was 80.8%. Outgoing President Cristina Fernandez de Kircher's Front for Victory (Frente para la Victoria, FPV) lost its majority in the Chamber of Deputies, losing 24 seats, controlling just 107 in the new chamber. The center-right alliance Let's Change (Cambiemos, Cam) led by the new President Mauricio Macri increased its seats from 64 to 90. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - ARGENTINA (2015) Direccion Nacional Electoral (n.D.): Elecciones Generales – 25 de Octubre 2015, available at: http://www.elecciones.gob.ar/articulo_princ.php?secc=2&sub_secc=55 (Date accessed: January 26, 2017). Direccion Nacional Electoral (n.D.): Segunda Vuelta Presidencial, available at: http://www.elecciones.gob.ar/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/2daVUELTA_Compa racion_Provisorio-Definitivo.pdf (Date accessed: January 26, 2017). Inter-Parliamentary Union (2017): Argentina Chamber of Deputies, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2011_E.htm (Date accessed: January 26, 2017). Lupu, N. (2016). The End of the Kirchner Era. Journal of Democracy, Vol.27(2), 35-49. doi: 10.1353/jod.2016.0033 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - AUSTRALIA (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Australian Federal election took place on Saturday, September 7, 2013. There were two elections: elections for the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). In Australia, there is compulsory voting, and the turnout among registered voters was 93.2%. The Liberal/National Coalition, led by Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party won the lower house elections, winning 90 seats in the House of Representatives, resulting in a majority of 30 over other parties. The result ended six years of Labor rule and marked another turbulent milestone in Australian politics as Abbott became the third Prime Minister in six years, having been sworn in as Prime Minister by Governor-General Quentin Bryce on September 17. Labor, led by outgoing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won 55 seats, a loss of 17 compared to 2010. Rudd resigned the leadership soon after. In the Senate elections, over half of the seats were contested (40 out of 76). The Palmer United Party led by mining magnate Clive Palmer made a breakthrough winning a couple of seats. Neither the Liberal/National coalition or Labor controlled a majority, with the balance of power held by smaller parties including the Greens and the Palmer United Party. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - AUSTRALIA (2013) Kernell, G. (2014). The 2013 parliamentary election in Australia. Electoral Studies, Vol.34, 357-361. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.12.002 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Australia, House of Representatives, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2016_13.htm (Date accessed: February 9, 2017). Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Australia, Senate, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2016_13.htm (Date accessed: February 9, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - AUSTRIA (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Austrian Federal election to the lower house took place on Sunday September 29, 2013. The turnout among registered voters was 74.9%. The outgoing government, a Grand Coalition of the Social Democrats (SPO) and the Austrian People's Party (OVP) both lost votes and seats, with both parties recording their worst results since World War II. There were gains for the Freedom Party (FPO), the Greens, and the new party, Stronach, a Eurosceptic party, which won 11 seats. On October 9, President Heinz Fischer asked Werner Faymann, outgoing Chancellor and leader of the SPO to form a new government. While the SPO was keen to renew the Grand Coalition, the OVP was less enthusiastic and explored other coalition options. They had campaigned on a platform of opposition to new taxes and promised to introduce measures to free businesses from red tape. However, coalition talks between the SPO and OVP began in mid-October and on December 16, the Grand Coalition was renewed with Werner Faymann (SPO) remaining Chancellor and the OVP leader Michael Spindelegger becoming Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Finance. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - AUSTRIA (2013) Dolezal, M. & Zeglovits, E. (2014). Almost an Earthquake: The Austrian Parliamentary Election of 2013. West European Politics, 37(3), 644-652. doi: 10.1080/01402382.2014.895524 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Austria, Nationalrat (National Council), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2017_E.htm (Date accessed: June 16, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - BRAZIL (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 Brazilian general elections were held on Sunday, October 5, 2014 (first round) with a second round of Presidential elections on Sunday, October 26. The elections were fourfold: a presidential election, elections to Congress (lower and upper house), state governor elections, and elections to the state legislatures. In Brazil, there is mandatory voting for those aged 18-70, and there was a turnout of 80.6% of registered voters in the first round of the Presidential elections (turnout in the Chamber of Deputies elections was 80.5% among registered voters). In the first round of the Presidential election, no candidate received the required majority to avoid a run-off election. In the run-off election incumbent President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party (PT) defeated Aecio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) with 51.6% of the vote. This marked the fourth Presidential victory in a row for the Workers' Party. Rousseff's' coalition also retained its majority in the Chamber of Deputies (lower house), controlling 304 out of 513 seats, and in the Senate (upper house), controlling 58 of the 100 seats. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - BRAZIL (2014) Apfeld, B., & Branham, J.A. (2016). Campaign shocks and party support: evidence from Brazil's 2014 presidential election. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Vol. 26(3), 336-353. doi: 10.1080/17457289.2016.1178647 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Brazil Camara dos Deputados (Chamber of Deputies), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2043_A.htm (Date accessed: November 14, 2016). Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Brazil Senado Federal (Federal Senate), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2044_E.htm (Date accessed: November 14, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - BULGARIA (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 Bulgarian parliamentary elections took place on Sunday October 5, 2014. The elections followed the resignation of the Oresharski government on July 23. Various factors contributed to the early ending of the Oresharski government, including the worsening relationship between coalition partners, poor results in the 2014 European elections for the government, and the selection of Delyan Peevski as head of the Bulgarian security agency DANS. The turnout rate among registered voters was 51.1%. Boyko Borisov (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria - GERB) succeeded Plamen Oresharski (Bulgarian Socialist Party - BSP) as Prime Minister. Borisov's party, GERB, agreed to form a minority government with the Reformist Bloc (RB), a new electoral alliance established in 2013, and who had gained 23 seats in the election. The new government also received support from two parties, namely the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) and the Patriotic Front (PF), both of whom had gained seats in the election, but neither party joined the new cabinet. Overall, eight parties/party coalitions gained seats in the election but the conservative Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) remained the most significant force in parliament, despite losing seats and votes, controlling 84 seats out of 240. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - BULGARIA (2014) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Bulgaria Narodno sabranie (National Assembly), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2045_E.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). Kostadinova, P., & Popova, M. (2015). The 2014 parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. Electoral Studies, Vol.38, 114-118. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2015.01.009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CANADA (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 Canadian parliamentary elections took place on Monday, May 2, 2011. The election followed a vote of confidence on March 25, 2011, against the incumbent minority Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The controversy that preceded the motion of confidence was the behavior of a government minister Bev Oda and whether she had misled parliament regarding a funding recommendation from an agency her department had responsibility for. After a parliamentary committee failed to reach a conclusion on this matter, a motion of confidence was triggered by the opposition Liberal Party. The turnout among registered voters was 61.1%. The Conservatives won the election, winning the majority government since 2000 with 166 seats out of 308. Stephen Harper remained Prime Minister and became the first Conservative Prime Minister to win three terms since John Diefenbaker in the early 1960s. The traditional dominant party of Canadian politics, the Liberal Party, fell to third place in votes and seats for the first time in its history, winning only 43 seats. The New Democratic Party (NDP), under the leadership of Jack Layton, came second and became the official opposition for the first time. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - CANADA (2011) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Canada House of Commons, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2055_11.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). LeDuc, L. (2012). The federal election in Canada, May 2011. Electoral Studies, 31(1), 239-242. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2011.12.002 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CANADA (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Canadian parliamentary elections took place on Monday, October 19, 2015. The turnout among registered voters was 68.3%. The election campaign was one of the longest in Canadian history and was the first time a sitting Prime Minister sought a fourth successive term of office. Moreover, there were 30 additional seats contested in the House of Commons for the 2015 elections, bringing the total number of seats in parliament to 338. The Liberal Party, having suffered its worst result in the election four years previously (see above review) won a significant victory, winning 184 seats out of 338, an increase of 148 seats on 2011, on a vote of 39.5%. Justin Trudeau, the Liberal leader and son of a former prime minister Pierre Trudeau became Canada's 23rd Prime Minister. The Conservative Party came second, winning 31.9% of the vote but losing 60 seats compared with its 2011 performance. The NDP under Thomas Mulcair came third and lost 51 seats. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - CANADA (2015) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Canada House of Commons, available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2055_A.htm (Date accessed: January 12, 2018). Pammett, J. H., & Dornan, C. (2016). The Canadian Federal Election of 2015. Dundurn. Clarke, H. D., & et al. (2017). Like Father, Like Son: Justin Trudeau and Valence Voting in Canada’s 2015 Federal Election. PS: Political Science & Politics, 50(3), 701-707. doi: 10.1017/S1049096517000452 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - CZECH REPUBLIC (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Czech Republic lower house elections took place over two days with polling on Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26, 2013. The election followed a vote of no confidence against the incumbent government on August 7, 2013. The incumbent Prime Minister, Petr Necas (Civic Democratic Party - ODS), had resigned on June 17 in the wake of a corruption scandal. The turnout rate among registered voters was 48.5%. The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) won the most seats in the election (50 out of 200), closely followed by the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO), a party found a year before in August of 2012. Together with the Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL), CSSD and ANO formed a coalition government that assumed office on January 6, 2014. Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) became the new Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - CZECH REPUBLIC (2013) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Czech Republic Poslanecka Snemovna (Chamber of Deputies), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2083_A.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). Stegmaier, M., & Linek, L. (2014). The parliamentary election in the Czech Republic, October 2013. Electoral Studies, 35, 385-388. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2014.03.001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - FINLAND (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Finnish parliamentary election took place on Sunday, April 19, 2015. The outgoing government, initially a six-party coalition led by the National Coalition's Alexander Stubb, had lost the support of the Green League and the Left Alliance months before the election in a row over the granting of a license to build a nuclear power plant. The turnout rate among registered voters in the election was 66.9%. The National Coalition (NCP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the two major parties of the outgoing coalition both lost votes and seats. The Centre Party (KESK), led by Juha Sipila received the most votes in the poll (21.1%) and led coalition negotiations to form a new government. On May 29, 2015, Finland's President Sauli Niinistoe swore in the 74th Finnish cabinet, a coalition government comprising the three largest parties in parliament post the 2015 elections, namely the Centre Party, The True Finns (PS), and the National Coalition (NCP). Juha Sipila became Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - FINLAND (2015) Arter, D. (2015). A 'Pivotal Centre Party' Calls the Shots: The 2015 Finnish General Election. West European Politics, 38(6), 1345-1353. doi: 10.1080/01402382.2015.1058468 Finish Election Study Portal (n.D.), available at: http://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/en/ (Date accessed: March 27, 2017). Nurmi, H., & Nurmi, L. (2015): The parliamentary election in Finland April 19, 2015. Electoral Studies, 40, 433-438. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2015.07.001 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Finland. Eduskunta - Riksdagen (Parliament), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2111_e.htm (Date accessed: October 26, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - FRANCE (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 French Presidential elections were held across two rounds - the first was held on Sunday, April 22, 2012, with the second round run-off on Sunday, May 6, 2012. Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party (PS) candidate defeated incumbent President, Nicolas Sarkozy from the right-wing UMP in the run-off election, polling 51.6% of the vote, on a turnout of 80.4% of registered voters in the second-round (turnout in the first round was 79.5%). It was the first time since 1988 that a Socialist had been elected President and the first defeat of an incumbent President since Valery Giscard d'Estaing was defeated in 1981. In the first round, Hollande (28.6%) had polled ahead of Sarkozy (27.2%), with Marine LePen of the National Front (NF) trailing behind in third place with 17.9%. Francois Hollande was sworn in as President in May 2012 with parliamentary elections to the French lower house following in June 2012. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - FRANCE (2012) Hewlett, N. (2012). Voting in the shadow of the crisis. The French presidential and parliamentary elections of 2012. Modern & Contemporary France, 20(4), 403-420. doi: 10.1080/09639489.2012.721184 Merle, P., & Patterson, D. (2014). The French parliamentary and presidential elections of 2012. Electoral Studies 34, 291-379. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.014 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GERMANY (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 German Federal election to the lower house was held on Sunday, September 22, 2013. The turnout among registered voters was 71.5%. Led by the incumbent Chancellor, Angela Merkel of the CDU, the Union, the alliance between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) won 41.5% of the vote, a substantial increase on their 2009 performance. They won 311 seats of the 631 awarded in the election, just short of an overall majority. The Union's coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP) suffered a disaster, losing three-quarters of its vote share and failing to surpass the 5% threshold, and thus winning no parliamentary representation for the first time in its history. The Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) narrowly failed to gain entry into the parliament polling 4.7% of the vote. In October, formal talks began between the Union (CDU and CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) on forming a grand coalition, despite misgivings among many SPD members. After five weeks of talks, a deal was agreed between the three parties. After acceptance by SPD members in a vote in early December 2013, a new coalition was sworn in on December 17, 2013. Angela Merkel of the CDU remained Chancellor, the first Chancellor to achieve a third-term of office since Helmut Kohl in 1990. SPD parliamentary leader Sigmar Gabriel became Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - GERMANY (2013) Mader, M. (2014). The German federal election, September 2013. Electoral Studies, 34, 353-356. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.12.004 Rohrschneider, R., & Schmitt-Beck, R. (2017). Introduction: Parties and Voters at the 2013 German Federal Election. German Politics, 26(1), 1-11. doi: 10.1080/09644008.2016.1182503 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREAT BRITAIN (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The British General election was held on Thursday, May 7, 2015. With a turnout of 66.7% in Britain (excluding NI, 66.2% across the UK), the Conservative Party (Con), the dominant party in the outgoing coalition government, won a majority, their first since 1992. The Conservatives won 36.9% of the vote and 331 seats, an increase of 25 seats compared with their 2010 performance. The Liberal Democrats (LibDem), the Conservative's partners in the outgoing coalition, were reduced to a rump party, losing three-quarters of its vote share compared with 2010 and winning only 7.9% of the vote. It lost 49 seats with four of its five cabinet ministers losing, and the party returning to Westminster with only 8 MPs. The Scottish National Party (SNP) made an electoral breakthrough. Despite its independence for Scotland proposal being defeated in a referendum the year before, the party won 56 of Scotland's 59 seats. It primarily impacted the opposition Labor Party (Lab), who had until then, dominated Scottish politics. The SNP surge was a contributory factor to Labor's loss of 26 seats and its vote share being six points behind the Conservative Party. The election was also notable for the significant vote garnered by the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a Eurosceptic party, who while only winning one seat in the House of Commons, garnered 12.6% of the vote. The performance of UKIP and the SNP saw the vote share of the three major parties at their lowest level since 1945. David Cameron continued as Prime Minister with the Conservatives holding a majority of 12 over other parties. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - GREAT BRITAIN (2015) Fisher, J., Cutts, D., Fieldhouse, E., & Rottweiler, B. (2018). The Impact of Electoral Context on the Electoral Effectiveness of District- Level Campaigning: Popularity Equilibrium and the Case of the 2015 British General Election. Political Studies, 1-20. doi: 10.1177/0032321718764800 Great Britain, Election Resources.org http://www.electionresources.org/uk/ (Date accessed: March 6, 2016). Hawkins, Oliver, Keen, Richard and Nambassa Nakatudde (2015). General Election 2015. House of Commons Library, Briefing Paper Number CBP7186, researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7186/CBP-7186.pdf (Date accessed: March 6, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREECE (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were two parliamentary elections held in Greece in the summer of 2012. Elections were not scheduled to take place until autumn 2013 but Greece was particularly badly hit by the Global Financial Crisis, with the country entering a European Union/International Monetary (EU/IMF) bailout program in 2010. Early elections were agreed to in November 2011 whereby a Grand Coalition caretaker government came to power under Lucas Papademos, with the support of the major parties in parliament. The first election was held on Sunday, May 6, 2012. However, attempts to form a government, first by the New Democracy Party, and then by SYRIZA resulted in new elections being called for June 17, 2012. The turnout among registered voters in the June election was 62.5%. In the June election, the New Democrats (ND), led by Antonis Samaras, received the most votes, gaining 29.7%. It was closely followed by the Alexis Tsipras led Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) which received 26.9%. Five other parties also won seats in parliament. After the June election, New Democracy (ND) formed a three-party coalition government with DIMAR and The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the party that had been in power when the GFC hit, and which had suffered significant losses in both the May and June poll. On June 20, 2012, Antonio Samaras of New Democracy (ND) became Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - GREECE (2012) Dinas, E., & Rori, L. (2013). The 2012 Greek Parliamentary Elections: Fear and Loathing in the Polls. West European Politics, 36(1), 270-282. doi: 10.1080/01402382.2013.742762. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Greece, Vouli Ton Ellinon (Hellenic Parliament), available at: www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2125_12_June.htm (Date accessed: February 9, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - GREECE (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Greek lower house elections were held on Sunday, January 25, 2015. The elections were held early due to three unsuccessful rounds of voting in parliament for a new president. Harsh economic conditions as well as Greece's relations with the European Union dominated the campaign with parties campaigning specifically on whether to continue to implement the EU/IMF bailout programs, which Greece had been subject to since 2010 (see above review). The turnout among registered voters in the election was 63.9%. The coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), which had campaigned against the EU/IMF bailout program emerged as the most significant party, winning 149 seats in the 300 member parliament. It defeated the outgoing coalition led by Antonio Samaras of New Democracy (ND), which won 76 seats. A new coalition government was formed comprising SYRIZA and the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) with Alexis Tsipras as Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - GREECE (2015) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Greece, Hellenic Parliament. available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2125_15_Jan.htm, (Date accessed: February 22, 2017). Tsirbas, Y. (2015). The January 2015 parliamentary election in Greece: Government change, partial punishment and hesitant stabilisation. South European Society and Politics, 1-20. doi: 10.1080/13608746.2015.1088428 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - HONG KONG (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 elections to the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LeGo) were held on Sunday, September 9, 2012. In total, 70 seats were at stake: 35 elected by geographical constituencies where all eligible voters can cast a ballot, and the remaining 35 by functional constituencies which permits natural persons but also professional or special interest groups to cast a vote. Ten additional seats were available due to a 2010 electoral reform. Turnout among registered voters in the geographic constituencies was 53.1%. The pro-Beijing camp increased its seat share, controlling 43 of the 70 seats, an increase of six. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) won 13 seats, nine of these in the geographical constituency election. Its success partly resulted from a splitting of candidates into several lists, taking better advantage of the largest remainder method for the seat distribution. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - HONG KONG (2012) Government of Hong Kong (2014). Legislative Council Election Report, available at: http://www.eac.gov.hk/en/legco/2012lce_detailreport.htm (Date accessed: December 1, 2016). South China Morning Post (2012): DAB fares best, taking 13 seats, thanks for vote-splitting tactic, available at: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1033709/dab-fares-best-taking-13 -seats-thanks-vote-splitting-tactic (September 11, 2012) (Date accessed: December 1, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ICELAND (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Iceland lower house elections were held on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The turnout rate among registered voters was 81.5%. A record 15 parties competed in the election, besting the previous record of 7. Following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Alliance (Sam) and the Left-Green Movement (Graen) led by Johanna Sigurardottir (Sam) lost a net of 27.7 points in vote share compared to the 2009 election. Both parties slipping to third and fourth place respectively. Emerging as the most influential parties were the Independence Party (Sj) with 26.7% of the vote, and the Progressive Party (F) winning 24.3%. In the aftermath of the election, the Progressive Party (F) and the Conservative Party (Ih) formed a coalition government, led by Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson (F) who became Iceland's new Prime Minister on May 23, 2013. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - ICELAND (2013) Indridason, I. H., Oennudottir, E. H., Dorisdottir, H., & Hardarson, O.P. (2016). Re-electing the Culprits of the Crisis? Elections in the Aftermath of a Recession. Scandinavian Political Studies, 40(1), 28-60. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12081. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Iceland, Althingi (Parliament), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2143_13.htm (Date accessed: February 9, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - IRELAND (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 Irish general election was held on Friday, February 25, 2011, and took place three months after Ireland had accepted an EU/IMF bailout. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) badly hit Ireland with the country the first EU state to enter recession in 2008. It's banking system, on the verge of insolvency, forced the Fianna Fail/Green coalition to issue a bank guarantee in September 2008. However, the country's economic health continued to deteriorate, with unemployment reaching a peak of 14%. By September 2010, the cost of bailing out the banks had raised the country's budget deficit to 32% of GDP. In November 2010, the Irish government was forced to accept an EU/IMF loan which included plans to cut public services and government spending and the phased introduction of unpopular taxes on water and property. The Green Party announced that they intended to withdraw from the government once it had passed a new budget for 2011 and on foot of this, a spring general election was planned. In January 2011, the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Brian Cowen resigned as leader of Fianna Fail. While Cowen had won a vote of confidence in his leadership earlier that month, a botched reshuffle of his Fianna Fail cabinet forced his resignation. He was replaced by Michael Martin. In the election, where 69.9% of registered voters voted, Fianna Fail, suffered its worst result ever, losing three-quarters of its vote and coming third in the popular vote. Meanwhile, coalition partners the Greens lost all their seats. Fine Gael, the main opposition party, had their best election ever winning 76 seats. Labor also had its best result winning 19.4% and 37 seats. Fine Gael and Labor formed a coalition government and Enda Kenny became Taoiseach, the first Fine Gael Prime Minister in fourteen years. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - IRELAND (2011) Courtney, M., & Gallagher, M. (2012). The parliamentary election in Ireland, February 2011. Electoral Studies 31, 222-242. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2011.10.001 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Ireland Dail Eireann (House of Representatives), available at http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/ 2153_11.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ISRAEL (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Israeli lower house election took place on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The election was called early as incumbent Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to pass his government's budget. On October 15, 2012, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed a bill dissolving itself. The turnout rate among registered voters was 67.8%. Prime Minister Netanyahu (leader of Likud), remained in office despite his Likud Yisrael Beiteinu losing seats. Yesh Atid, a new secular party founded by former TV journalist Yair Lapid came second, winning 14.3% of the vote, and 19 seats. Kadima, the biggest party in the 2009 election, lost almost all of its seats while there were gains for The Jewish Home party. Likud Yisrael Beiteinu formed a coalition government with Yesh Atid, the Jewish Home, and Hatnuah. Overall, a total of eleven parties gained at least one seat in the new Knesset. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - ISRAEL (2013) Diskin, A., & Hazan, R.Y. (2014). The parliamentary election in Israel, January 2013. Electoral Studies, 34, pp.373-376. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.015. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Israel Knesset (Parliament), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2155_A.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - JAPAN (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Japanese upper house elections were held on Sunday, July 21, 2013. The turnout rate among registered voters was 52.6% in an election which saw half of the seats up for grabs (in Japan, half of the upper house mandates are renewed every three years). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, won a total of 76 seats of the 121 seats at stake, which including holdovers, resulted in them gaining a majority in the upper house, controlling 135 of the 242 seats. The largest opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), took only 17 seats which reduced their seat total to 59, the party's lowest number of seats since its foundation in 1998. The 2013 elections ended the so-called 'twisted parliament', where both the upper house and the lower house were controlled by different parties. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - JAPAN (2013) Pekkanen, R. J., Reed, S.R., & Smith, D.M. (2016). Japanese Politics Between the 2012 and 2014 Elections, in: Robert J. Pekkanen, Steven R. Reed, and Ethan Scheiner (eds.): Japan Decides 2014, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.9-21. doi: 10.1057/9781137552006_2. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Japan, Sangiin (House of Councillors), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2162_13.htm (Date accessed: February 9, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - KENYA (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Kenyan general elections were held on Monday, March 4, 2013. The elections were fourfold: a presidential election, elections to the National Assembly (lower house), a Senate (upper house) election, and elections for County Governors. The Senate was re-established under the new 2010 Constitution. A Senate previously existed under the 1963 Constitution but had been abolished in 1966. In the Presidential election, outgoing President Mwai Kibaki was term-limited. The turnout among registered voters was 85.7%. Uhuru Kenyatta of the National Alliance (TNA), the son of former President Jomo Kenyatta, was elected President with 50.5% of the vote, defeating Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister who was standing for the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy. In the parliamentary elections, no party achieved an overall majority in either the National Assembly or the Senate. The Jubilee Coalition, which whose main party was the National Alliance, won the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - KENYA (2013) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.) Kenya National Assembly, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2167_E.htm (Date accessed: March 8, 2017). Cheesman, N., Lynch, G., & Willis, J. (2014). Democracy and its discontents: Understanding Kenya's 2013 elections. Journal of Eastern African studies, 8(1), 2-24. doi: 10.1080/17531055.2013.874105. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - LATVIA (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 Latvian parliamentary elections were held on Sunday, September 17, 2011. The turnout was 59.5% among registered voters. The previous elections of 2010 had seen the party Unity (VIENOTIBA) emerge as the winners. However, following the parliament's refusal to investigate corruption charges against an opposition party, a successful referendum to dissolve the parliament resulted in early elections. The Unity Party lost 13 points as its vote share slumped to 18.8%, and the party lost 18 seats. The party Harmony Center (SC) won with 28.4% of the vote and 31 seats. It marked the first time a pro-Russian party achieved a plurality of the vote in Latvia since independence in 1991. However, it failed to form a coalition government with a stumbling block supposedly Harmony Centre's support of the Russian-speaking minority. Instead, a three-party coalition between Zatler's Reform Party, Unity, and the National Alliance was formed with Valdis Dombrovskis of the National Alliance as Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - LATVIA (2011) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.). Latvia Saeima (Parliament), available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2177_11.htm (Date accessed: January 5, 2018). Pryce, P. (2012). The 2011 parliamentary election in Latvia. Electoral Studies, 31(3), 613-616. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2012.05.006 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - LATVIA (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 Latvian parliamentary elections were held on Sunday, October 4, 2014, with a turnout of 58.9% among registered voters. While a legislative term usually is four years in Latvia, early elections held in 2011 (see above summary) meant the legislative term was reduced to three years. In January 2014, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovski's resigned due to the Zolitude shopping center roof collapse in which 54 people lost their lives. Laimdota Straujuma succeeded him and became Latvia's first female premier. In the October elections, the Social Democratic "Harmony" Party remained the largest party in parliament, despite losing 7 seats. However, Laimdota Straujuma, head of the Unity Party, retained power as the head of a three-party coalition between Unity, the National Alliance, and the Union of Greens and Farmers, a green conservative/agrarian alliance, which increased its vote share to 19.5% and won an additional eight seats. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - LATVIA (2014) Ikstens, J. (2015). Latvia. European Journal of Political Research Political Data Yearbook, 54, 181–189. doi: 10.1111/2047-8852.12096 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.). Latvia, Parliament, available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline/reports/2177_E.htm (Date accessed: January 12, 2018). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MEXICO (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 Mexican general elections were held on Sunday, July 1, 2012. The elections were threefold: a presidential election, elections to the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) and elections to the Senate (upper house). Elections for Governor and local elections also took place on the same day in six states: Campeche, Colima, Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, Sonora, and San Luis Potosi. In the presidential election, 63.1% of registered voters voted. Twelve years after losing the Presidency for the first time in 71 years, Mexico's dominant party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) saw its candidate Enrique Pena Nieto, Governor of Mexico State, elected with a plurality of the vote (38.2%). He defeated the leftist coalition candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. In the parliamentary elections, 62.5% of registered voters voted. All 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and all 128 seats in the Mexican Senate were contested. Despite regaining the Presidency, the PRI and its allies were unable to obtain a majority in either chamber. Meanwhile, the PRD and its allies picked up enough seats to become the second-largest force in the Chamber of Deputies. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - MEXICO (2012) Serra, G. (2014). The 2012 elections in Mexico: Return of the dominant party. Electoral Studies 34, 349-353. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.010 Ribando Seelke, Clare (2012). Mexico's 2012 Elections. Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/ R42548.pdf (Date accessed: April 2, 2014). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MEXICO (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Mexican lower house election took place on Sunday, June 7, 2015. Conventionally, elections take place on the first Sunday of July, but for this cycle, they were held in June. The election for Chamber of Deputies was seen as an important test for the Enrique Pena Nieto administration, Pena Nieto having been elected President three years previously (see above review). In the interim, President Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had faced some controversies, including accusations of bribery and criticism over the government's handling of the mass kidnapping of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College on September 26, 2014, which triggered protests. The turnout among registered voters was 47.7%. The PRI won 198 seats to remain the largest party. Its allies in the Green Party (PVEM) won 45 seats. The National Action Party (PAN) came in second, securing 108 seats, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) won 56 seats. Overall, ten parties won seats in parliament. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - MEXICO (2015) Do Vale, H. F. (2016) Federal Political Fragmentation in Mexico's 2015 Elections. Regional and Federal Studies, 26(1), 121-138. doi: 10.1080/13597566.2015.1136928. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Mexico Camara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2211_E.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - MONTENEGRO (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 Montenegrin parliamentary elections were held on Sunday, October 14, 2012. The turnout among registered voters was 70.6%. The 'European Montenegro' Coalition (CG) who won 46% of the vote and 39 of the 81 seats, just short of a majority. The coalition included the two major parties in the outgoing government: the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS, led by Milo Djukanovic) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP, led by Ranko Krivokapic). The newly-formed Democratic Front (DF) came second with 20 seats. The Socialist People's Party (SNP, a pro-Serb party lost 7 seats and came third while a new party Positive Montenegro (PCG), founded by environmental activist Darko Pajovic came fourth, winning 7 seats and 8.4% of the vote. Milo Djukanovic became Prime Minister for the sixth time, having previously led five governments between 1991 and 1998, 2003 to 2006, moreover, again from 2010-2012. The DPS and the SDP formed a new coalition a government with the support of members representing the Albanian and Croatian minority communities, thus ensuring control of 45 seats, and a majority of 9 over other parties. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - MONTENEGRO (2012) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Montenegro Skupstina (Parliament), available at http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2385_12.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). Vuckovic, V. (2016). The Europeanization of Political Parties in Montenegro. Romanian Journal Of European Affairs 16(3), pp.36-55. http://rjea.ier.ro/sites/rjea.ier.ro/files/revista/RJEA_2016_vol16_no3_web _0.pdf#page=37 (Date accessed: March 21, 2017), --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - NEW ZEALAND (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 New Zealand parliamentary elections were held on Saturday, November 26, 2011, with the date announced by Prime Minister John Key eight months earlier in February. During the campaign, the National Party (Nat) pledged to have the budget deficit in 2012 and achieve a surplus in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Labor (Lab) claimed that voting for the National Party would result in State assets being sold off and promised to spur economic growth by working with industry. Turnout among registered voters was 74.2%. The incumbent National Party retained power, although they fell two seats short of a parliamentary majority. The party won 47.3% of the vote, an increase of two points on its 2008 performance. The opposition Labor Party, led by Phil Goff lost significant support, with their vote down six points on 2008 and the party losing eight seats. Phil Goff later resigned from the party leadership. On December 5, the National Party formed a coalition government with United Future (UFNZ) and ACT New Zealand. John Key remained Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - NEW ZEALAND (2011) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): New Zealand House of Representatives, available at http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2233_11.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). Tan, A. C., Dawn, M.-C., & Borthwick, S. (2014). New Zealand parliamentary elections of 2011. Electoral Studies 34, 291-294. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY – NEW ZEALAND (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 New Zealand parliamentary elections were held on Saturday, September 20, 2014. Prime Minister John Key announced the election date in March 2014. Traditionally, elections in New Zealand have been held on the last Saturday in November. However, in 2014, this convention was not adhered to because of a clash with the G20 summit in Australia in November 2014. The turnout among registered voters was 77.8%. The National Party (Nat), led by incumbent Prime Minister John Key retained government after winning 47% of the vote and 60 seats, just short of a parliamentary majority. Counts on election night had previously suggested the party might attain the first majority government since 1994, but the party lost a close race with the Greens to deny it. The main opposition party, Labor (Lab) had its worst election in terms of vote share since 1922 with party leader David Cunliffe stepping down after the election. After the election, the National Party entered a confidence and supply agreement with the United Future (UFNZ), the ACT Party, and the Maori Party to form a minority government. John Key remained Prime Minister. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - NEW ZEALAND (2014) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): New Zealand House of Representatives, available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2233_14.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). Vowels, J. (2015). The 2014 New Zealand general election: Varieties of political communication. Political Science, 67(2), 89-93. doi: 10.1177/0032318715614731. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - NORWAY (2013) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election took place on Monday, September 9, 2013. Welfare issues dominated the campaign. Turnout among registered voters was 78.3%. Although outgoing Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's Labor Party (A/Ap) won the most seats in the Storting (Parliament), he was denied a third-term in office, which would have been a first in Norwegian politics. Instead, the right-wing opposition led by Erna Solberg of the Conservatives (H) and which also included the Progress Party (FrP) emerged victorious after the Liberal Party (V) and the Christian Peoples' Party (KRF) supported a minority coalition. On October 16, 2013, Erna Solberg became Norway's second female Prime Minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - NORWAY (2013): Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Norway, Parliament, available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2239_13.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). Storli, E. (2015). Election note on the 2013 Norwegian election. Electoral Studies, 38, pp.98-101. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2014.12.004 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PERU (2016) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2016 Peruvian general elections were held on Sunday, April 10, 2016. In Peru, there is mandatory voting and there was a turnout of 81.9%. There were three elections: a presidential election, elections to the Congress of the Republic of Peru (Lower house), as well as elections of the Peruvian representatives of the Andean Parliament. Outgoing President Ollanta Humala was term-limited. The first round of elections did not result in an outright winner. Instead, Popular Force's candidate Fujimori and PPK's candidate and former Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski advanced to the second round. Kuczynski narrowly defeated Fujimori in the second round, held on Sunday, June 5, 2016. In the National Congress. the right-wing party Popular Force (FP), led by its presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, became the largest force, taking 73 of 130 seats. The Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP), which dominated the former ruling alliance Peru Wins, did not contest the election after the alliance fell apart by the end of the legislative period. The leftist alliance Broad Front for Justice, Life and Liberty (FA) and the Peruvians for Change party (PPK) constituted the two major runner ups gaining 20 (FA) and 18 (PPK) congressional seats. The new parliament first came together on July 26, 2016, and two days later, Kuczynski was sworn in as the new president. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - PERU (2016) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.). Peru, Congress of the Republic, available at: http://archive.ipu.org/parline/reports/2251_E.htm (Date accessed: January 17, 2018). McNulty, S. (2017). Peru 2016: Continuity and change in an electoral year. Revista de Ciencia Politica, 37, 563-587. doi: 10.4067/s0718-090x2017000200563 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PHILIPPINES (2016) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2016 Philippine general elections were held on Monday, May 9, 2016. The turnout was 81.9% among registered voters. There were multiple elections held on that day: a presidential election (president and vice- president), elections to the Philippine House of Representatives (Lower house), elections to the Philippine Senate (Upper house), as well as provincial and local elections. The 2016 elections marked the first time that vote counting machines (VCMs) were used to count the votes automatically. Outgoing President Benigno Aquino III was term-limited. In the presidential elections, Rodrigo Duterte (PDP-Laban) secured 39.0% of the votes and won the elections ahead of Mar Roxas (Liberal Party - LP). The vice-presidential elections were won by Leni Robredo (LP) who secured 35.1% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections and in the Senate, the Liberal Party (LP) remained the strongest party. The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) came in second in both houses. In the aftermath of the election, Duterte (PDP-Laban) was proclaimed as the 16th President of the Philippines by the House of Representatives on May 30, 2016. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - PHILIPPINES (2016) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Philippines, House of Representatives, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2253_E.htm (Date accessed: March 6, 2017). International Institue for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (n.D.): Philippines, available at: http://www.idea.int/data-tools/country-view/240/40 (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - POLAND (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 Polish parliamentary elections were held on Sunday, October 9, 2011. The turnout was 48.9%. There were two elections held: elections to the Seim (Lower house) and elections to the Senate (Upper house). The upper house election was the first under new electoral rules. A new Election code had been adopted which changed the electoral system from a plurality block vote to a first-past-the-post system. In addition, a new law permitted mail and proxy voting. Civic Platform (PO) party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Donald Tusk, remained the strongest party in both houses, winning 207 out of 460 seats in the lower house, and 63 out of 100 seats in the upper house. PO's coalition partner, the Polish People's Party (PSL) won the fourth most seats in the lower house (28) and the upper house (2). Law and Justice (PiS) were in second place. The newcomer party Palikot's Movement (RP), which was formed in October 2010 by businessman Janusz Palikot, won 40 seats in the lower house in its first electoral contest. After the election, Donald Tusk (PO) agreed to continue a coalition government with the Polish People's Party (PSL). <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - POLAND (2011) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Poland, Sejm (Sejm), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2255_11.htm (Date accessed: February 14, 2017). Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Poland, Senat (Senate), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2256_11.htm (Date accessed: February 14, 2017). Tworzecki, H. (2012). The Polish parliamentary elections of October 2011. Electoral Studies, 31(3), 617-621. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2012.04.007. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - PORTUGAL (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Portuguese lower house election took place on Sunday, October 4, 2015. The turnout rate among registered voters was 55.9%. Incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho (Social Democratic Party - PPD/PSD) led an alliance, comprising the PPD/PSD and the People's Party (CDS-PP), into the election. After his party secured the most seats (107 out of 230 seats), Coelho formed a minority government in the aftermath of the election. However, after it had been sworn in on October 30, 2015, the program of the Coelho government was rejected by the parliament on November 10, 2015. Subsequently, the Socialist Party (SP), which had won the second most seats (74), formed a single-party minority government and its party leader, Antonio Costa, became the Portuguese Prime Minister on November 26, 2015. The PS minority government is supported by the Left Bloc (B.E.), the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), and the Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV). <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - PORTUGAL (2015) Goulart, P., & Veiga, F.J. (2016). Portuguese 2015 legislative elections: How economic voting, the median voter and unemployment led to 'the times they are a'changin'?. Electoral Studies, 43, 197-200. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2016.05.004 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Portugal Assembleia da Republica (Assembly of the Republic), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2257_E.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ROMANIA (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 Romanian legislative elections were held on Sunday, December 9, 2012. The turnout rate among registered voters was 41.76%. There were two elections held on that day: elections to the Chamber of Deputies (Lower house) and elections to the Romanian Senate (Upper house). The election followed the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Bloc (Liberal Democratic Party, LDP) on February 6, 2012, in the wake of extended protests against the government's austerity measures. The subsequent placeholder government led by PM, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu (Independent), was ousted in a vote of no confidence on April 27, 2012. Opposition leader Victor Ponta (Social Democratic Party, PSD) was chosen as the interim PM. In the December elections, the electoral alliance Social Liberal Union (USL), led by Victor Onta (PSD) and Crin Antonescu (National Liberal Party - PNL) gained a majority of the seats in both houses, receiving 58.63% in the lower house and 60.10% in the upper house. The USL secured 273 out of 412 seats in the lower house and 122 out of 176 seats in the upper house. In the aftermath of the elections, Onta (PSD) was appointed PM by Romania's then president, Traian Basescu. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - ROMANIA (2012) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Romania. Camera Deputatilor (Chamber of Deputies), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2261_12.htm (Date accessed: January 30, 2017). Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Romania. Senatul (Senate), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2262_12.htm (Date accessed: January 30, 2017). King, R.F., & Marian, C.G. (2014). Antagonism and austerity: The December 2012 Romanian parliamentary elections. Electoral Studies, 34, 315-321. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.09.012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - ROMANIA (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 Romanian Presidential Elections took place in two rounds. The first round was held on Sunday, November 2, 2014. The runoff round took place on Sunday, November 16, 2014. The electoral turnout among registered voters was 53.2% in the first round and 64.1% in the second round. After two consecutive terms, incumbent President Traian Basescu was ineligible to re-run for office. Out of the fourteen candidates who competed in the first round, incumbent Prime Minister Victor Ponta (Social Democratic Party, PSD) who was supported by the PSD-UNPR-PC Electoral Alliance, and Klaus Iohannis (National Liberal Party, PNL) who was supported by Christian-Liberal Alliance ACL (PNL and Liberal Democratic Party, PDL), emerged to go on to the second round after neither candidate was able to secure a majority of the votes. In the runoff round, Iohannis received 54.4% of the votes and defeated Ponta who received 45.6% of the votes. Iohannis assumed the Presidential office on December 21, 2014. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - ROMANIA (2014) Gherghina, S. (2015). The Romanian presidential election, November 2014. Electoral Studies, 38, 109-114. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2015.01.008 Lazar, M.-I. (2015). Reinforcing Democracy through Internet and Social Networks Participation: Votes, Voters and Elected Behavioral Outcomes in Romanian Presidential Elections (2014). Revista de Stiinte Politice, 46, 63-72. http://cis01.central.ucv.ro/revistadestiintepolitice/files/numarul46_2015/ 6.%20Reinforcing%20Democracy%20through%20Internet%20and%20Social%20Networks %20Participation...%20pp.%2063-72.pdf (Date accessed: May 17, 2018). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SERBIA (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 Serbian general elections were held on Sunday, May 6, 2012. The turnout was 57.8%. There were multiple elections held on that day: presidential elections, elections to the National Assembly (Lower house), as well as provincial and local elections. In 2012, all the leading presidential candidates and party blocs pledged to support the country's integration with the European Union (EU). In the parliamentary elections, no party won an outright majority. The "Let's Get Serbia Moving" coalition, led by Tomislav Nikolic (Serbian Progressive Party, SNS), became the largest force in National Assembly, taking 73 of the 250 seats at stake; six more than the "Choice for a Better Life" coalition of outgoing President Boris Tadic (Democratic Party - DS). The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) took 44 seats together with two coalition partners, becoming the third largest force. In the presidential elections, Tomislav Nikolic (Serbian Progressive Party - SNS) and Boris Tadic (Democratic Party - DS) each won approximately 25% to advance to the second round. The run-off elections were held on Sunday, May 20, 2012. In the second round, Nikolic (SNS) defeated Tadic (DS), securing 49.5% of the votes (Tadic: 47.3%). <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SERBIA (2012) Obradovic-Wochnik, J., & Wochnik, A. (2014). Invalid ballots and the "crisis of representative democracy": Re-inventing protest at the 2012 Serbian elections. East European Politics and Societies and Cultures, 28(4), 808-835. doi: 10.1177/0888325414547430 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Serbia Narodna skupstina (National Assembly), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2355_12.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SLOVAKIA (2016) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2016 Slovak lower house election took place on Saturday, March 5, 2016. The turnout rate among registered voters was 59.82%. The Direction - Social Democracy (Smer) party remained the strongest, gaining 28.3% of the vote. Its leader and incumbent Prime Minister, Robert Fico, remained in office. However, Smer lost 34 seats compared to the previous lower house election in 2012 and thus, its majority. Therefore, Fico formed a coalition cabinet with the Slovak National Party (SNS), the Most-Hid (MH), and Network (Siet). Together, the parties hold 84 seats (out of 150 total seats). Overall, eight parties gained seats in the national parliament, four of which had not held any seat in the previous legislative period. Standing out by not gaining any seats was the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union - Democratic Party (SDKU-DS). From 2010 to 2012, the SDKU-DS was the ruling party until the party and its PM, Iveta Radicova, fell after a vote of no confidence on October 11, 2011. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SLOVAKIA (2016) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Slovakia. Narodna rada (National Council), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2285_E.htm (Date accessed: January 20, 2017). Hlavac, M. (2016). Performance of political parties in the 2016 parliamentary election in Slovakia: regional comparisons and district-level determinants. Regional & Federal Studies, 26(3), 433-443. doi: 10.1080/13597566.2016.1178114. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SLOVENIA (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2011 Slovenian lower house election took place on Sunday, December 4, 2011. The election took place in the wake of a vote of no confidence that the incumbent Prime Minister, Borut Pahor (then Social Democrats - SD), lost on September 20, 2011. The turnout rate among registered voters was 65.6%. The party Zoran Jankovic List - Positive Slovenia (LZJ-PS), led by Zoran Jankovic, emerged as the strongest party and won 28 out of the 90 seats despite having been found just prior to the election. Overall, seven parties obtained at least one seat. In the aftermath of the election, Jankovic, despite his party obtaining the most seats, was unable to secure enough support to be elected Prime Minister. Instead, a broad coalition that included the Slovene Democratic Party (SDS), the Slovene People's Party (SLS), the Democratic Party of Retired Persons (DeSUS), the New Slovenia (NSi), and the Civic List of Gregor Virant proposed the SDS leader Janez Jansa as Prime Minister on January 25, 2012. Jansa took office on February 10, 2012. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SLOVENIA (2011) Haughton, T., & Krasovec, A. (2013). The 2011 parliamentary elections in Slovenia, Electoral Studies, 32(1), 201-204. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2012.12.004. Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Slovenia Drzavni Zbor (National Assembly), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2287_11.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SOUTH AFRICA (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 South African elections were held on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. The turnout was 73.5%. Two elections took place: election to the National Assembly (Lower house) as well as elections to provincial legislatures. The 2014 South African election followed a change to the Electoral Amendment Act in 2013. For the first time, South Africans outside of the country were able to register for the election and cast their vote. The African National Congress (ANC) won the lower house election by securing 62.1% of the votes, 3.8% less than in South Africa's previous election held in 2009. Nonetheless, the ANC still held a large majority of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, namely 249. As it had been the case in previous elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) finished as the strongest opposition party, winning 89 seats by increasing its vote share from 16.7% to 22.2%. The newly formed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) gained 6.4% (25 seats) emerged as the third largest party in the lower house. Ten other parties won the remaining 37 seats in parliament. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SOUTH AFRICA (2014) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): South Africa National Assembly, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2291_E.htm (Date accessed: March 21, 2017). Paret, M. (2016): Contested ANC hegemony in the urban townships: Evidence from the 2014 South African election. African Affairs, 115 (460), 419-442. doi: 10.1093/afraf/adw025 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SOUTH KOREA (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2012 South Korean lower house election took place on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. The legislative elections preceded the 2012 South Korean Presidential elections which were held later the same year, on December 19. For this reason, they provided a test run for the presidential candidates and their parties. The turnout rate among registered voters in the lower house election was 54.24%. Despite winning 24 seats less than in the previous lower house election in 2008, the New Frontier Party (NFP), led by Park Geun-hye, retained its majority by winning 152 out of 300 seats. The second strongest party was the party Democratic United (DUP), led by Han Myeong-sook, which won 127 seats. Overall, four parties and three independent candidates won at least one seat. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SOUTH KOREA (2012) Kim, Y. (2014). The 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections in South Korea. Electoral Studies, 34, 326-330. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.013 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): South Korea Kuk Hoe (National Assembly), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2259_12.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SWEDEN (2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 Swedish lower house election took place on September 14, 2014. The turnout rate among registered voters was 85.81%. Incumbent Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (Moderate Party) and his party lost 23 seats compared to the previous election in 2010, falling from 107 to 84 seats (349 total seats). Reinfeldt was unable to continue his coalition, comprising the Liberal People's Party, the Centre Party, and the Christian Democrats. The Social Democrats, which won the most seats (113), was led by Stefan Lofven. The Social Democrats formed a minority government with the Greens who had come in fourth, winning 25 seats. Lofven assumed office on October 2, 2014. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SWEDEN (2014) Berg, L., & Oscarsson, H. (2015). The Swedish general election 2014. Electoral Studies, 38, 91-93. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2014.11.001 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Sweden Riksdagen (Parliament), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline/reports/2303_E.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - SWITZERLAND (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 200 seats in the National Council were at stake in the elections on October 23, 2011, and 44 of the 46 seats in the Council of States. 3,458 candidates were vying for seats in the National Council. 48.5% of 5.1 million registered voters turned out at the polls. The SVP/UDC remained the largest party in the National Council with 54 seats, down from 60. The SP/PS gained an additional six seats to hold a total of 46. The FDP/PRD and the CVP/PDC took 30 and 28 seats respectively. Run-off elections for the Council of States were held in 15 cantons between November 13 - December 4. The CVP/PDC came first with 13 seats, followed by the FDP/PRD and the SP/PS, which took 11 seats respectively. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - SWITZERLAND (2011) Mueller, S., & Dardanelli, P. (2013). The parliamentary and executive elections in Switzerland, 2011. Electoral Studies, 32(1), 197-201. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2012.10.004 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Switzerland Nationalrat-Conseil national- Consiglio nazionale (National Council), available at http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2305_11.htm (Date accessed: March 23, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - TAIWAN (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Taiwanese presidential election took place on January 14, 2012. President Mr. Ying-jeou Ma from the Chinese National Party (KTM), who came into office in the previous presidential election in 2008, was re-elected by a majority of the voters (51.6%). Although Mr. Ma managed to become re- elected, he lost about 7% of the votes, compared to 2008. His major rivals, Ms. Ing-wen Tsai from the Democratic Progression Party (DPP) and Mr. James Soong from the People First Party (PFP) received 45.6% and 2.8%, respectively. The turnout was 74.7%. In addition to his presidential success, Mr. Ma's party, the KTM, won a majority in the legislative election (56.6%), held on the same day. The DPP won about 35.4%, and the PFP about 2.7 %. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - TAIWAN (2012) Jacobs, A. (2012): "President of Taiwan is re-elected, a result that is likely to please China". New York Times, January 14, 2012 Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/world/asia/taiwan- presidential-election.html?_r=0 (Date accessed: June 16, 2016). International Institue for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (n.D.): Taiwan, available at: http://www.idea.int/data-tools/country-view/290/40 (Date accessed: March 23, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - THAILAND (2011) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At stake in the elections of July 3, 2011, were 500 seats in the House of Representatives (up from 480). Elections were held early as on 10 May, with the King's approval, the House of Representatives was officially dissolved. In all, 3,832 candidates from 42 parties contested the elections. The main contenders were Prime Minister Abhisit's DP - the country's oldest party, which had not won a general election in two decades - and the PP. The latter endorsed Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra - former Prime Minister Thaksin's youngest sister - as its candidate for the premiership. The Yellow Shirts called for a boycott of the elections. Both the DP and the PP ran on similar platforms, promising to raise the minimum wage, improve public transportation and provide affordable health care. 65.99% of the nearly 47 million registered voters turned out at the polls. The preliminary results gave 265 seats to the PP, effectively allowing it to form a new government on its own. The DP came in second with 159 seats. On August 5, the House of Representatives elected Ms. Yingluck (PP) as the new Prime Minister, the first woman in Thailand to assume the post. Ms. Yingluck formed a six-party coalition government, controlling a total of 300 seats. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - THAILAND (2011) Sinpeng, A., & Kuhonta, E.M. (2012). From the street to the ballot box: The July 2011 elections and the rise of social movements in Thailand. Contemporary Southeast Asia 34(3), 389-415. doi: 10.1355/cs34-3d Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Thailand Saphaphuthan Ratsadon (House of Representatives), available at http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2311_11.htm (Date accessed: March 23, 2017). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - TURKEY (2015) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2015 Turkish lower house election took place on June 7, 2015. The turnout rate among registered voters was 83.92%. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by incumbent Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, emerged as the most successful party, achieving 40.87% of the vote resulting in 258 won seats (550 total). However, the AKP lost enough seats to lose its parliamentary majority. In the aftermath of the election, the AKP was unable to negotiate a government agreement with neither the second strongest party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) which won 132 seats, nor the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) which came in third at 80 seats. Turkeys President Recep Erdogan therefore announced new legislative elections on August 24, 2015. These would be held on November 1, 2015. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - TURKEY (2015) Cop, B. (2016). The June 2015 legislative election in Turkey. Electoral Studies, 41, 213-216. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2015.10.009 Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): Turkey Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (T.B.M.M) (Grand National Assembly of Turkey), available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2323_15_June.htm (Date accessed: November 15, 2016). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> ELECTION SUMMARY - UNITED STATES (2012) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The United States 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Voters elected the President, all 435 members of the lower house (House of Representatives) and 33 members of the upper house (Senate). The turnout rate among registered voters was 66.7%. The Democratic incumbent President, Barack Obama (D), was re-elected defeating his Republican challenger, former Massachussets Governor Mitt Romney. Obama secured 51.1% of the popular vote and 332 electoral votes in the Electoral College (270 needed to win). In the Congressional elections, the Democratic Party won the plurality of votes but the Republican Party maintained control of the House, winning 234 seats to the Democrats 201. In the Senate, the Democratic Party retained its majority by winning 23 out the 33 races, meaning they held 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate after the election (in addition, two independents caucus with the Democrats). President Obama was sworn in for a second term as President on January 20, 2013, becoming the eighth Democrat to win two consecutive terms of office. <<>> SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ELECTION - UNITED STATES (2012) Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): United States Of America, House of Representatives, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2339_12.htm (Date accessed: February 14, 2017). Inter-Parliamentary Union (n.D.): United States Of America, Senate, available at: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2340_12.htm (Date accessed: February 14, 2017). Weisberg, H. F. (2015): The decline in the white vote for Barack Obama in 2012: Racial attitudes or the economy?. Electoral Studies, 40, 449-459. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2014.09.014 //END OF FILE