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Crazy alliances produce surprising
results in Mexico regional elections
6 July 2010: Despite a climate of drug-related violence which is gripping Mexico, the country’s local and regional elections, held in 14 states on 4 July, proceeded without major incidents. But in Chihuahua and Tamaulipas, the two states most affected by violence, less than 40 per cent of those eligible to vote turned out to do so. In other states the election results were often the product of patched together alliances-of-convenience between left and right.

Prior to the elections, all Mexican political parties decided to enter alliances to secure victory. In many states the centre-left Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) made pacts with the Mexican Green Party (PVEM) and other smaller parties, while the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) of President Felipe Calderón allied itself with the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and some others like Convergencia and Labour Party (PT), the fourth-largest political force in Mexico. Full report


South Korean government
humiliated in local elections
Seoul, 3 June 2010: Voters in South Korea delivered a blow to the country’s government by largely backing opposition candidate in local elections held yesterday. Hopes that the dispute with North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship Cheonan would boost the government failed to materialise. President Lee Myung-Bak’s Grand National Party (GNP) won only six out of the 16 posts for provincial governors or big-city mayors nationwide. Four years ago the ruling party secured 12 posts. The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (DP) took seven mayoral or gubernatorial posts, independent candidates won two and the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party grabbed one.

In Seoul incumbent mayor Oh Se-hoon, a supporter of the President, was lucky to hold on to his job, winning 47.4 per cent of the vote compared with the opposition’s 46.8 per cent. During the campaign supporters of Oh Se-Hoon, had predicted a landslide for the GNP candidate. But the mayor’s main competitor Han Myeong-Sook of the DP came within 0.6 per cent of toppling Oh. After the election Seoul mayor Oh said he was humbled by voters. "I will try to deeply understand the will of the people,” he told his subdued supporters. Elsewhere in metro Seoul, the opposition DP took 21 of 25 posts for district chiefs while the GNP managed just four.

Across the country, voters were asked to select some 4,000 mayors, governors and local government representatives. About 48 per cent of voters supported candidates from the Democratic Party and other opposition parties, while 40 per cent voted for government candidates. In midterm elections four years ago, GNP candidates won more than 50 per cent of the vote. Commentators saw the local elections as a mid-term referendum on President Lee's leadership and a key gauge for public sentiment ahead of the 2012 presidential contest. But most commentators had no idea of the unpopularity of the government.

Only the Best will
do for Reykjavik
Reykjavik, 1 June 2010: A comedian is set to become the new mayor of Reykjavik after his mischievous ‘Best Party’ became the strongest political group on the city council. During the campaign comedian Jon Gnarr promised free towels in all city swimming pools, a polar bear for the zoo as well as the cleaning up politics. His party took almost 35 per cent of the vote while the Independent Party, which is widely blamed for Iceland’s financial and economic crisis, ended up on 34 per cent.

The Social Democrat Alliance, Iceland's current governing party, came third, with 19 per cent of the vote. The Left-Green movement, part of the governing national coalition, obtained seven per cent of the votes.

After the election, Jon Gnarr said nobody needed to be afraid of the Best Party because it was the best. “We only want what is best - if we didn't, we'd be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party,'' he explained.

The Best Party, which is only six months old, used music videos on YouTube to broadcast its campaign pledges. Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ became the party’s signature tune.

Political commentators described the victory of the Best Party as a wake-up call for traditional parties and politicians. “Business as usual is no longer acceptable.” While critics of the new party described it’s members as a bunch of comedians, actors and musicians, party leader Gnarr insisted Reykjavik would become a nicer, friendlier and safer place under his leadership.

Government supporter
elected mayor of Tiblisi
Tiblisi, 31 May 2010: First results from key municipal elections across Georgia suggest President Mikheil Saakashvili's National Movement has won around 60 per cent of the vote in the capital. Georgians cast ballots to elect 64 new municipal councils for four-year terms in voting that's seen as the first test of the strength Saakashvili's government since the disastrous August 2008 war with Russia.

The most crucial test, however, is in the capital, Tbilisi, which, in addition to choosing a city council, is also directly electing its mayor for the first time. That race, observers say, will largely set the political landscape for parliamentary elections in 2012 and a presidential poll in 2013, when Saakashvili's second and final term as president expires.

Two exit polls showed incumbent Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, a member of Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement and a close ally of the president, with a commanding lead. One poll, conducted by Edison Research for Rustavi 2 and Imedi TV, gives Ugulava 61 per cent, with Irakli Alasania, leader of the opposition Alliance For Georgia, coming in a distant second with 17 per cent. Another exit poll conducted by GfK and commissioned by the Georgian Public Broadcaster gave Ugulava 60 per cent and Alasania 18 per cent. Both Ugulava and Alasania are widely believed to harbor presidential ambitions.

Nine candidates were vying to be Tbilisi's mayor, which is considered one of the most important offices in the country because one-third of Georgia's 4.5 million citizens reside in the capital. (Report by Brian Whitmore, Radio Free Europe)

Governing party wins 61%
in Burundi local elections
Bujumbura, 31 May 2010: The ruling party in Burundi has claimed victory in local elections held last week. Despite two delays and opposition complaints, the head of the European Union election observer mission said the vote met international standards and she praised the efforts of the central African nation. Last week the citizens of Burundi cast their ballots to select members of local councils across the country. Voter turnout was very high. More than 90 per cent of the Burundi's 3.5 million registered voters participated. The local balloting was the first of five elections in the central African nation in coming months, which will include the selection of a president and parliament.

Official results show the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy winning easily. According to the results, the ruling party captured about 64 per cent of the vote. The former rebel group National Liberation Forces took 14 per cent of the vote.

Despite the confidence of international observers, the poll was not without controversy. The vote was delayed twice due to logistical issues. Opposition groups expressed concerns about the moves and raised questions about the credibility of the vote. Though all parties eventually accepted the postponement, the National Liberation Forces called the results "impossible."

Eight opposition parties demanded new elections, accusing the electoral commission of an anti-opposition bias. The commission has stood its ground and asked for proof of the alleged fraud. According to EU observers, the delays had no effect on the voting process. They dismissed concerns that opposition complaints would affect the election and called on all sides to deal with the issue through official channels. (Report by VoA News)

Voters punish Mexican government
over failure to control drug cartels
Mexico City, 18 May 2010: Mexico President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) was soundly defeated in local and state elections held in the southern state of Yucatán. The party’s defeat was blamed on the government’s failure to win the war against the drug cartels.

 A coalition of the centre-left Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) and the Green Party (PVEM) claimed victory after capturing 63 of the state’s 106 town halls, including that of the state capital Merida. Mayoral candidates of PAN, which governed the state since the early 1990s, won in 33 towns. In the state congress the coalition won 13 seats, while PAN won the remaining two.

The Yucatan elections were a dress rehearsal for country-wide local elections scheduled to take place on 4 July. Then, voters in 15 states will have an opportunity to elect new mayors and parliamentarians. It seems likely that President Calderon’s ruling party will be further punished by the electorate, who blame the government for the impunity with which drug cartels operate in the country.

Last Friday’s kidnapping of a leading PAN member shocked the country. President Calderon has ordered a massive manhunt to find the missing politician, who he described as a personal friend. Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. who ran for president in 1994, is the most prominent kidnap victim yet in Mexico's raging drug wars.

Labour makes local gains
but loses general election
London, 8 May 2010: While Britain’s Labour Party lost more than 90 parliamentary seats in the 6 May general election, voters in England, who elected new councils on the same day, provided a surprising return to form for the centre-left party in local government. Labour was successful in retaking a number of London councils it had lost over the past decade and also regained Liverpool City Council after a decade out of power. More

German Green mayor wins
with a little help from the right
Freiburg, 26 April 2010: Eight years ago Dieter Salomon was celebrated as the first Green mayor of a major German city. In contrast, yesterday’s re-election victory for the mayor of Freiburg, southern Germany, was in reality a win for the city’s conservatives. Salomon, while a member of Germany’s Green Party, had the tacit support of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), who did not field a candidate. The mayor’s opponents were the Social Democrat Ulrich von Kirchbach and the left-leaning independent Günter Rausch.

Salomon, who was re-elected with 50.5 per cent of the vote and thus narrowly avoided a run-off election, drew most of his backing in normally CDU-voting parts of the city. But his support in Freiburg’s ‘Green’ districts dropped dramatically. In Vauban, where the mayor won more than 70 per cent in 2002, his share of the vote fell to below 40 per cent, while in Günterstal, the city’s ‘millionaires’ suburb’, the mayor achieved almost 58 per cent. Green and centre-left voters have still not forgiven the mayor for attempting to sell off Freiburg’s social housing stock to private investors. The plan was defeated in a referendum in 2006.

Bolivia’s Socialists make gains
in regional and local elections
La Paz, 6 April 2010: President Evo Morales’ Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) won most votes and governorships in Easter Sunday’s regional and local elections but did less well than it had hoped for. It has been confirmed that MAS won in five of the country’s nine departments, with the race in Pando too close to call. Pre-election opinion polls suggested that the governing party may win seven gubernatorial races. The three eastern departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija remained in the hands of the right-wing opposition.

In addition to the gubernatorial races, Bolivians voted for 144 department-level legislative seats, 337 mayors, 1,887 city councilmen and 23 local indigenous authorities and other posts. In mayoral elections, MAS candidates picked up three major cities but lost in La Paz where voters elected mayoral candidate César Cocorico from the left-wing Movement Without Fear, which was previously allied with MAS.

President Morales acknowledged that his party had made some mistakes. “In some cities we selected candidates who were largely unknown locally. According to MAS spokesman Jorge Silva the errors were most visible in La Paz where the party came second in both the mayoral and council elections. Silva also told journalists that despite not having triumphed in some cities, the party will have a greater presence on municipal councils and will become a vigilant opposition.

In 2005, MAS won three governorships.

Berlusconi’s coalition
wins regional elections
Rome, 30 March 2010: Italy’s centre-right coalition made gains in regional and local elections held on 28 and 29 March. The coalition, which unites Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) and the anti-immigration Northern League, took control of the southern regions of Calabria and Cantabria, as well as Rome's Lazio region and the northern Piedmont region. In northern Italy, The Northern League of Umberto Bossi took votes off the PDL to become the strongest party in Veneto.

The centre-left opposition retained power in seven regions including its Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna strongholds. Compared to last year’s European elections the opposition increased slightly its overall share of the vote.

According to projections, the right will win in six regions, up from the two it controlled heading into the elections, while the opposition Democrats will now control seven, down from 11. Thirteen of the country's 20 regions went to the polls, Voter turn-out dropped to 64 per cent, the lowest in 15 years.

English local elections to be
overshadowed by national poll
London, 26 March 2010: Local elections will take place in England on 6 May alongside a probable general election, which must be held by June. The councils contesting elections in May include the 32 London Boroughs, the six biggest cities and a range of smaller councils. There are also votes for four elected mayors, including three in London, all seeking third terms.  The opposition Conservative Party are looking to consolidate recent gains in local polls, while the governing Labour Party hopes to retain its diminished share of local authorities.
 
A general election looks most likely for 6 May, though the date remains at Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s discretion. An increased turnout for the local elections if held alongside a general election is most likely to favour the Labour Party, as opposition gains in local authorities tend to reflect Labour’s core support staying at home. Current projections show little chance of significant change in the make up of local authorities, particularly in London.

In some Conservative-held London Boroughs, the party will be hoping to increase their majorities, with also the possibility of taking one council from the Liberal Democrats . The Liberal Democrats may pick up one council from Labour and gain overall control of two where they are currently in coalition but may lose one to Labour. Labour is defending its remaining boroughs but looks on course to see its three elected mayors returned in the capital in Hackney, Lewisham and Newham. All three petitioned Labour’s national officers to have their party constitution term limits removed in order to seek third terms. In Barking and Dagenham, Labour face a particularly aggressive challenge from the far-right British National Party. In Tower Hamlets, a referendum on the introduction of an elected mayor will take place alongside the local polls. Opponents of the proposal argue that an Islamist sect is trying to control the council by introducing an elected mayor of its choosing.  Just outside of London, the Liberal Democrat elected mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, looks likely to receive a third term.

Elections will also take place in 19 unitary councils (including Bristol, Hull, Portsmouth and Southampton) and 78 lower-tier district councils. There are no elections scheduled elsewhere in the UK, such as for the unitary councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Elsewhere in London, the City of London Corporation last held elections in 2009.

Left-wing opposition wins
in 21 of 22 French regions
Paris, 22 March 2010: In the second round of regional elections held yesterday, an alliance of French left-wing opposition parties defeated President Sarkozy’s centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) in 21 of the country’s 22 regions. Only in Alsace, in eastern France, did the UMP remain the strongest party, thanks to the region’s rural voters. Nationally, the Union of the Left, an alliance which includes the Socialists and the Greens, gained 54.3 per cent of the vote, while the UMP was supported by 36.1 per cent of voters. The right-wing National Front (FN) of Jean-Marie Le Pen was on 8.7 per cent.

Martine Aubry, the leader of the Socialist Party and mayor of Lille, said that the results made if clear that French voters rejected the government’s economic policies, which “favoured the wealthy at the cost of the unemployed and elderly”. French Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, commented that the government would listen to peoples’ concerns. While Fillon is expected to tender his resignation, it is unlikely that President Sarkozy will accept it. However, a cabinet reshuffle is on the cards. Meanwhile, Aubry’s chances of becoming the socialist presidential candidate in 2012 have received a strong boost.

Selected regional results:
Ile de France (Paris): Union of the Left 142 seats; UMP 42 seats.
Rhône-Alpes (Lyon, Grenoble): Union of the Left 100 seats; UMP 40 seats; National Front 17 seats.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Marseille, Nice): Union of the Left 72 seats; UMP 30 seats; National Front 21 seats.
Aquitaine (Bordeaux): Union of the Left 58 seats; MoDem 10 seats; UMP 17 seats.
Midi-Pyrenees (Toulouse): Union of the Left 69 seats; UMP 22 seats.
Lorraine (Metz): Union of the Left 46 seats; UMP 17 seats; National Front 10 seats.
Alsace (Strasbourg): Union of the Left 14 seats; UMP 28 seats; National Front 5 seats.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Lille, Calais): Union of the Left 73 seats; UMP 22 seats; National Front 18 seats.
Bretagne, (Cherbourg) the only region where the Socialists and the Greens did not form an alliance: Socialists 52 seats; Greens 11 seats; UMP 20 seats.