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Government parties win despite
allegations against Berlusconi
Rome, 24 June 2009: Italy’s centre-right governing parties gained half a dozen provinces from the opposition, despite the ongoing scandal over Prime Minister Berlusconi’s alleged over-fondness for young women. In local and provincial elections held last weekend, Berlusconi’s Freedom Party won the provinces of Milan and Venice. In addition, the centre-right snatched a handful of cities from the centre-left Democratic Party. However, the opposition held on to its strongholds in Florence and Bologna and kept the province of Turin.

A spokesman for Berlusconi said the Prime Minister was very happy with the results, which proved that voters were more interested in politics than in the smear campaign run by some opposition newspapers. Democratic Party leader Dario Franceschini expressed his relief that the results were not worse, following poor showings during European Parliament elections and the first round of voting in early June.

Japan’s opposition
wins mayoral races
Tokyo, 16 June 2009: The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has continued its run of mayoral election victories by soundly defeating the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) candidate in Chiba City. The victory follows similar results in Nagoya and Saitama, as Japanese prime minister Taro Aso struggles to hold on to power ahead of this year’s general election. The new mayor, Toshihito Kumagai, has also become the nation’s youngest at 31 years old. The election was called following the arrest of the sitting mayor in a corruption scandal.

Former assembly member Kumagai, who was also backed by the left-leaning Social Democratic Party, soundly beat the LDP/New Komeito-backed candidate Kojiro Hayashi, 63, with 170,629 votes to Hayashi’s 117,560. As deputy mayor, Hayashi was not only tainted by association with the bribery scandal of mayor Keiichi Tsuruoka, but also with the undesirable LDP party tag. The Communist candidate Fusae Yuki secured 30,933 votes. Turnout in the election stood at 43.5 per cent, up from 37.2 per cent in the previous election.

The significance of the mayoral poll ahead of this year’s national election was underscored by campaign visits by big-hitters from the DPJ to the city, which is just outside of Tokyo, such as party leader Yukio Hatoyama. The election took place against the backdrop of another Aso cabinet resignation, this time by Hatoyama’s brother Kunio, who was minister for internal affairs and communications.

Party close to the Monarch
wins Morocco local election
Rabat, 14 June 2009: A party founded only one year ago by a close friend of Morocco’s Monarch King Mohammed VI, won this month’s local election. The ruling Istiqlal Party came second, while Islamic parties performed poorly. Around 30 parties stood in Friday's (12 June) polls to elect nearly 28,000 members to 1,500 municipal councils.

The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was formed by former interior minister Fouad Ali el-Himma in 2008 as a merger of several smaller parties aimed at promoting the social reform policies of Moroccan King Mohammed. The king’s policies are opposed by Islamic conservatives, though criticism of the monarch remains taboo in Moroccan society. Late last month, PAM pulled out of the country's governing coalition ahead of the local elections and aligned itself with the opposition. It won 6,015 seats, giving it nearly 22 per cent of the national vote, ahead of the governing Istiqlal (Independence) party with 5,292 seats and 19 per cent.

The local elections were seen as a test for the government of Prime Minister. His Istiqlal party's second place finish meant a certain reaffirmation of the government, which had been accused of not having a solid programme despite the Moroccan economy having weathered the global crisis fairly well.

The moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD), which scored its best result in 2007, picked up only 1,513 seats, putting it in sixth place. The national turnout was 52.4 per cent, below the 54 per cent recorded in 2003 local elections but well above the 37 per cent figure for legislative polls in 2007.

Municipal elections are held every six years, with international observers declaring the 2009 poll as having "no irregularities". Morocco's next parliamentary elections are due in 2012. (Source: Aljazeera and local reporters)

Voters give mixed message
in Malta municipal elections
Sliema, 15 June 2009: Last weekend’s elections to local councils in Malta yielded mixed results as the opposition Labour Party obtained a majority of votes but saw the governing Nationalists take control of three councils. Labour’s performance was slightly down on the previous week’s all-island poll, which saw the Nationalist government’s vote drop. 23 of Malta’s 68 local councils went to the polls. Ballot counting was delayed by one week on account of the European Parliament elections, held the same day.

Indications show that Labour polled 55 per cent to the Nationalists’ 44 per cent. The Nationalists’ claimed that the votes showed that despite being outpolled in the European Parliamentary elections, voters were cautious to vote in favour of its candidates on local issues. In the key battleground of Msida, the Nationalists failed to retake the council however, where a new Labour mayor was installed. A 23 year old Labour candidate was elected as mayor in the Gozo village of Sannat, while in Tarxien the Labour incumbent received a fourth term. The Local Councils’ Association chairman Michael Cohen was also re-elected as Labour's mayoral candidate in the village of Kalkara.

The Democratic Alternative, a Green party, fielded only three candidates and saw none elected, mirroring their poor performance in the European parliamentary elections last week which saw their leader resign. As with most European elections recently, voters turned out to protest against economic mismanagement and rising unemployment and living costs.

After a nail biting finish
Greens win in Stuttgart
Stuttgart, 10 June 2009: It took 48 hours of vote counting to confirm that the Greens had become the largest party on Stuttgart’s city council. Early results of local elections, held on 7 June, indicated that the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) of Mayor Wolfgang Schuster had escaped defeat by a couple of percentage points. But as the count progressed it became clear that Green contestants benefited more than their rivals from election rules, that allow voters to give individual candidates up to three votes each. For the German Greens the victory in Stuttgart was significant as it proved that they could win in state capitals and in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants.

Following the announcement of the Stuttgart results, leading members claimed that the Green Party was well on its way to replace the Social Democrats (SPD) as the main challenger to Baden-Württemberg’s ruling Christian Democrats. In addition to winning in Stuttgart, election results also confirmed that the Green had become the strongest group on the councils of the university cities of Freiburg and Constance and a number of smaller towns.

While the Greens have traditionally been strong in the Baden-Württemberg state capital, their success is the result of their opposition to Stuttgart 21, a controversial project, supported by the city’s mayor and the state premier, for a new mainline station. The German Railway (DB) plans to replace the existing terminal with a brand new underground railway station. The Greens object to the costs of the project and the impact of tunnelling on the city’s built environment.

The Green’s victory in Stuttgart will encourage leading members of the party to contemplate another challenge to city’s incumbent mayor Wolfgang Schuster at the next mayoral election, due in 2012. An early favourite is Tübingen’s Green mayor Boris Palmer, who was defeated by Schuster in 2004.

Green Party and Free Democrats
gain in Germany's local elections
Freiburg, 9 June 2009: The Green Party emerged as the surprise winner in local elections, which took place in seven German states alongside voting for the European Parliament on 7 June 2009. Support for the Greens was particularly strong in southern Germany. With both, the country’s largest parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), suffering losses, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) also performed well. The results for Germany’s newest party, the left-wing Linke, were below expectations. The extreme right-wing National Party of Germany (NPD) achieved some double-digit successes in its strongholds in eastern Germany but made little impact in other areas of the country. Local elections were held in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Full report

Governing party punished
in Irish municipal elections
Dublin, 8 June 2009: In elections for Ireland’s county, city and town councils, Prime Minister Brian Cowan’s Fianna Fáil suffered a humiliating rout. The polls, widely interpreted as a referendum on the ailing coalition’s performance, took place alongside the two parliamentary by-elections and those for the European Parliament. Following the poor showing, the opposition Fine Gael now intend to propose a motion of no confidence in Cowan’s government. Turnout stood at 59 per cent, the highest in two decades.

Fianna Fail secured 24 per cent of the vote in the local races, compared to Fine Gael’s 34 per cent. Roughly translated, this would mean that Fianna Fáil no longer control any local councils in the republic. Its Green coalition partners fared worse, having won only two seats. In both Dublin and Cork, the parties suffered badly as angry voters turned out to punish the coalition.

The elections took place alongside those for the European Parliament and two parliamentary by-elections. To some extent the national elections overshadowed the local polls, owing to the stakes being raised by direct pressure on Prime Minister Brian Cowan’s ability to govern. Former economics correspondent George Lee comfortably took the Dublin South seat for the opposition Fine Gael. The European Parliamentary elections were dominated by the question of the Lisbon Treaty, which has heaped further woe on Cowan’s administration.

The routing places additional pressure on Brian Cowan, who is already languishing in national opinion polls. The Fianna Fáil-Green coalition is suffered badly owing to rising unemployment, after years of unparalleled economic growth in what was until recently seen as a Celtic Tiger economy. Cowan’s coalition is now weakened by the by-election victories, which reduce its majority in the Dail (parliament) even further. Some analysts have dubbed the results as spelling the death-knell for Fianna Fáil, with Fine Gael set to re-enter government. Its eclipse in local government in particular deprives the party of new blood for national political life, which many claim it needs to halt its decline.

While Ireland’s politics have long been dominated by the two civil war era parties, the centrist Fianna Fáil and the centre right Fine Gael, their grip is loosening, that of Fianna Fáil in particular, which has led most governments in the history of the republic. A number of realignments have taken place in Irish politics in recent years, with the increasingly popular Labour Party merging with the former communist Democratic Left. However, the Progressive Democrats, a centrist grouping similar to Germany’s Free Democrats formed to give an alternative to the two main parties, folded this year owing to its lack of representation in the Dail. Cowan’s Green partners are now said to be assessing whether or not to remain in the coalition, not least because of the portents from their poor showing in the polls.

Meltdown for Labour in
English local elections
London, 5 June 2009: The governing Labour Party of Gordon Brown has suffered total meltdown in the English local elections, losing its last remaining county councils and both mayoralties it was defending. The election results, widely anticipated as a likely indicator of the embattled prime minister’s ability to cling on to office, were overshadowed by a series of cabinet resignations, designed to challenge to his authority to lead. Results from the European Parliamentary elections held the same day will not be known until Sunday, after the rest of Europe has voted. Full report

The centre-left captures
Croatia’s largest cities
Zagreb, 2 June 2009: In the second round of Croatia’s local elections the ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union (HDZ) won most of the rural counties but lost in the country’s largest cities. The Social Democrats (SDP) and other centre-left parties strengthened their positions in urban areas. In Zagreb, the capital city, incumbent mayor Milan Bandic (SDP) won his fourth term in office. He received more than 62 per cent of the vote.

The HDZ also lost in Split, Croatia’s second largest city, where independent businessmen Zeljko Kerum won against an SDP candidate. In the historic coastal city of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahusic, a candidate supported by a coalition of centre-left parties defeated incumbent mayor Dubravka Suica of the Croatian Democratic Union. In Vukovar, a city badly damaged during the Balkan war in the 1990s, Zeljko Sabo (SDP) received slightly more than 51 per cent of the vote.

Only two of the winners from the second round of the elections have had previous experience as mayor, Milan Bandic and Dinko Pintaric, whilst the rest will lead their cities for the first time.

The turnout in Sunday's second round of Croatia's local election was 26.5 per cent, slightly lower than in the first round two weeks ago. The elections allowed voters for the first time to directly elect mayors, county prefects and municipal heads, along with 21 county assemblies and more than 550 city and town councils.

Local elections
across Europe
London, 24 May 2009: Elections for the European Parliament will take place between 4 to 7 June this year in all 27 member states. Taking place alongside elections for the 736 members of the trans-national institution will be a number of local and regional polls however. All-out elections are due in the Republic of Ireland for county, city and borough councils, while across in England all counties and some smaller councils will hold elections. Local elections are also due in a number of German states and in Malta. The regional parliaments of Belgium will face election, as will Italy’s provincial councils.

England’s 27 counties and a small number of unitary councils will be the first to go to the polls, on 4 June . The election date, merged with that of the European poll, was delayed by a month from its usual May slot. The polls are likely to provide a headache for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s scandal-hit Labour government, which faces the possible loss of its last four remaining county councils.

The following day, voters in the Irish Republic will elect 24 county councils, five city councils and an array of borough and town councils. While Ireland’s councils are largely subordinate to central government, local elections can display voter disaffection with national politicians and any losses for Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowan’s Fianna Fáil coalition will have a bearing on when he calls a general election. At the last such elections in 2004, the centrist party’s poor showing saw a cabinet reshuffle and if Cowan suffers a significant loss next month then his Green coalition partners will seek more power.

Elections will also take place on 6 June in Malta and a day later in Belgium, Germany and Italy. As with Ireland’s system of local democracy, many in Malta feel their local councils are ineffective. The Belgian regional elections, held for parliaments largely based on linguistic communities, have been hit by a row over Flemish local authorities banning French election posters. Three French-speaking mayors had their appointments blocked by the last Flemish regional government in a move which saw the Council of Europe's Congress of Local Authorities resolve to actively monitor the country’s respect for local democracy.

Croatia’s centre-left
wins in the big cities
Zagreb, 20 May 2009: Croatia's local elections failed to produce a clear result last weekend with the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (SDP) winning in most of the major cities and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) doing better in rural areas. The HDZ won seven governorships as well as 14 of 21 counties, while the SDP won five, officials said. However, the SDP won in the capital Zagreb, as well as the major cities of Rijeka and Split and was leading in most other cities.

In the eastern city of Osijek the regional party, Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja (HDSSB) showed strong support. The HDSSB is led by local boss Branimir Glavas, who was recently sentenced to ten years' jail for crimes against Serb civilians during Croatia’s 1991-1995 war of secession from the former Yugoslavia. Glavas had earlier acquired Bosnian citizenship and escaped to Bosnia to avoid prison.

The Serbian Independent Democratic Party (SDSS), which represents the country's minority Serbs, won in several traditionally Serb-populated municipalities. Over 200,000 Serbs fled Croatia during the war, but some 5,000 had used the right to vote in local elections and travelled from Serbia to cast their ballots in their former municipalities. (Report by AKI)

Only 35 percent of Croatia's four million registered voters cast ballots on Sunday.

Opposition likely to gain
in Croatian local elections
Zagreb, 18 May 2009: First results from yesterday’s local elections in Croatia indicate gains for the opposition Social Democrats. Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, a Social Democrat, scored 49 per cent and might just avoid a run-off against an independent challenger. Mayors from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) have performed badly in Split, the country’s second largest city and in Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic coast.

However outside the big cities, the centre-right HDZ remained the dominant party in many counties and smaller municipalities. In the elections, which are regarded as an indicator for next year’s parliamentary contest, some four million voters were invited to vote for mayors, governors and local council in 22 counties, 126 cities and 429 municipalities. For the first time, mayors and governors were directly elected by the people. Previously, municipal leaders were selected by council members of the victorious parties. The new rules have encouraged many independents to challenge incumbent mayors.

Croatia’s best known mayor, Dubravka Suica, will have to contest a second round in Dubrovnik. The mayor, who was a top-10 finalist in the 2006 World Mayor Project, faces a run-off against a Social Democrat. In Split, the run-off is likely to be between a Social Democrat candidate and an independent.

Austin winner
avoids run-off
Austin, 12 May 2009: The runner-up in Austin’s mayoral election conceded defeat thus allowing the winner, Councillor Lee Leffingwell to become mayor without the need for a run-off election. Brewster McCracken, a fellow councillor of the mayor-elect, said continuing in the race with such long odds – he trailed the winner by 20 percentage points - would be an uphill climb for his supporters and fundraisers. “Holding another election would cost up to $500,000 for taxpayers and the runoff would have become negative and divisive,” he added. Leffingwell and Austin’s current mayor, Will Wynn, praised his decision.

McCracken told his supporters his ideas had a big impact on the race. “My fellow candidates my campaign theme of vowing to create jobs in clean energy, biotech and digital media,” he explained. Meanwhile, Lee Leffingwell reiterated his campaign promise to maintain core city services in the present economic climate. "My pledge is to do my very best over the next three years to help our economy recover and to protect our quality of life and unique culture," he said.

San Antonio mayor-elect
puts stress on new jobs
San Antonio, 11 May 2009: Against all predictions, San Antonio (Texas) elected a new mayor in the first round of voting. The winner, Julian Castro, won 56 per cent of the vote.  Because of the crowded field of nine candidates a run-off was expected. Castro, a lawyer by profession, narrowly lost the 2005 run-off against outgoing Mayor Phil Hardberger, who could not seek re-election because of term limits. In his victory speech the mayor-elect stressed the need to create new jobs in San Antonio. "I want the city to continue being the example of what a big city can be — creating jobs so that every single San Antonian has the opportunity to pursue his career choice here and not have to go somewhere else," he said.

Elsewhere in Texas, the mayors of Fort Worth, Arlington and El Paso were all re-elected. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief won convincingly with 70 per cent of the vote, despite concern about City Hall’s plans to allow urban gas drilling. Arlington’s mayor Robert Cluck benefited from his success in attracting the upcoming Super Bowl to the city. El Paso Mayor John Cook beat five challengers by winning the support of more than 60 per cent of voters.

Jaime Nebot re-elected
in Ecuador’s second city
Quito, 29 April 2009: Alongside the general election for the presidency and legislature, which saw leftist Rafael Correa re-elected for an historic second term, municipal polls were held in Ecuador last weekend. After a lengthy count, it emerged in the two main city races that Correa opponent Jaime Nebot had been re-elected, while in capital Quito Correa ally Augusto Barrera was elected. Observers declared the elections to be fair and orderly.
 
Former economist Correa faced six other candidates but was re-elected with 52 per cent of the vote, the first presidential candidate to avoid a run-off in three decades. Former Quito city councilor Augusto Barrera of Correa’s left-wing Pais Alliance (AP) was elected as mayor to replace Paco Moncayo, who stood down earlier this year in order to concentrate on another run for the national assembly, where he served previously. Correa posed with Barrera to celebrate at an AP rally in the capital, declaring their victories as “great backing for the political project of 21st Century Socialism at the national and regional level,”
 
Guayaquil mayor and former presidential candidate Jaime Nebot was re-elected to a third term for the centre-right Social Christian Party with 69 per cent of the vote. The AP candidate Maria Duarte was pushed into a distant second place, securing just 27 per cent. The race in Guayaquil, Correa’s birthplace, was overshadowed by a row concerning the dismissal of a popular news anchor. Carlos Vera, a presenter for the Ecuavisa station, was dismissed after complaints that he gave Nebot undue prominence in debates and refused to allow Maria Duarte any rebuttal. The mayor’s supporters allege that Ecuavisa was pressured into dismissing the presenter by the central government, who threatened to withdraw advertising from the station.
 
Ecuador’s new constitution, approved by referendum last September, lowers the voting age to 16 and allows soldiers, police and prisoners to vote for the first time, as well as allowing Correa a potential third term if he stands again in 2013. Voters also went to the polls to elect 221 mayors and 1,581 municipal councillors.

Landslide for pro-Kremlin
candidate in Olympic city
Moscow, 27 April 2009: Russian election officials say the acting mayor of Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, has been elected to the post by an apparent overwhelming margin. With 80 percent of the votes counted, officials say Kremlin-backed Mayor Anatoly Pakhamov won more than 76 per cent of Sunday's mayoral vote. The closest opposition candidate, Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, was a distant second with 13 per cent and communist Yuri Dzaganiya was far behind in third place.

Nemtsov accused authorities of suppressing the opposition's campaign by limiting media access. Unidentified assailants threw chemicals in his face outside his election headquarters last month. He was not seriously hurt. "We are preparing lawsuits about the facts of mass falsifications during these elections, demanding the annulment of the results of the elections, because they were not actually elections but a massive fraud," Nemtsov said.

Some opposition members also say they are suspicious of the large number of voters who cast ballots early. The new mayor of Sochi will play a major part in getting the city ready for the 2014 Olympic games. But Russian authorities have slashed the federal construction budget for Sochi because of the global economic crisis and a lack of contractor bids. Voter turnout was about 38 per cent. (Report by VoA News)

Cape Town Mayor to
become regional Premier
Cape Town, 24 April 2009: Results from South Africa's general election give the ruling African National Congress (ANC) a strong lead, possibly enabling the party to keep its two-thirds majority in parliament. However, the ANC looks like losing control of the Western Cape province, where the Democratic Alliance (DA) is predicted to win close to 50 per cent of the vote. Should the DA form the government in the Western Cape, the party’s leader and mayor of Cape Town, Helen Zille, is poised to become regional premier. Last year, Mayor Zille was the awarded the World Mayor Prize.

With about 70 per cent of the votes counted, the ANC had just over 66 per cent of the vote, putting party leader Jacob Zuma in line to become president when the new parliament convenes in May. The Democratic Alliance was in second place nationally with about 16 per cent, but looked likely to win control of Western Cape province away from the ANC.

South Africa's newest opposition party, the Congress of the People, or COPE, was trailing a distant third with about 8 percent.  COPE split off from the ANC last year and had been thought of as a potentially strong new challenger.

The ANC's two-thirds majority in parliament allows it to amend the constitution without the cooperation of other parties.

Although the vote was peaceful in much of the country, a COPE official in Eastern Cape province was shot dead, in what party officials are calling a political killing. ANC leader Zuma is poised to take over the nation's highest office after overcoming a rape charge and repeated charges of corruption. He and his supporters have dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

The DA has captured more than 75 per cent of the overseas votes cast. The party got 7 581 of the 9 857 national votes cast at overseas voting stations last week. Most of these ballots were cast in London.

The Independent Electoral Commission so far estimates that around 77 per cent of South Africa's 23 million registered voters turned out to cast their ballots. Final election results are expected Saturday. (Report by VoA News with additional reporting from Cape Town and London) Full results


AKP loses ground but holds
on to Istanbul and Ankara
Istanbul, 30 March 2009: While Turkey’s ruling AKP party held on the country’s capital Ankara and its biggest city Istanbul, it emerged weakened following nationwide local elections held on 29 March. AKP, which is a centrist party rooted in Islam, saw it share of the vote decline from 42 per cent in 2004 to 39 per cent now. The secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) came second with 23 per cent of the vote. In parliamentary elections, held in 2007, the AKP was supported by 47 per cent of voters.

In Anakra AKP, incumbent mayor Melih Gokcek was elected for a fourth term; however, opposition claims that the elections results were overshadowed by power cuts and breakdowns in the computer system dominated the tight race. With all votes counted, Gokcek won in Ankara with 38.5 per cent, while Republican People's Party candidate Murat Karayalcin took the second place with 31.5 per cent and Nationalist Movement Party's, or MHP's, Mansur Yavas came in third with 26.9 percent of the vote. 

In Istanbul, incumbent  AKP mayor Kadir Topbas secured 44.3 per cent of the votes, while Kemal Kilicdaroglu from CHP received 36.9 per cent. In the 2004 local elections, AKP won 45.3 per cent with the CHP on 29 per cent of votes.

In other towns and cities the race for the mayoral seats will continue until the all the votes have been counted. However, exit polls indicate that the AKP could lose around 15 cities to the opposition. The AKP won 57 cities in 2004 and is now at risk of losing 15 cities to opposition parties. Full analysis