Local election news from across the world

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Former justice minister to be
Copenhagen’s new lord mayor
Copenhagen, 19 November 2009: Copenhagen will continue to be ruled by a Social Democrat mayor. Frank Jensen has secured his position as Copenhagen’s newest mayor - continuing an unbroken line of Social Democrat lord mayors since 1938 - despite his party losing four council seats. In August, the Social Democrat campaign received a major boost when the only major opponent for the mayoral position, Bo Asmus Kjeldgaard from the Socialist People’s Party, announced his support for Jensen.

Across Denmark, left-of-centre opposition parties won more than 51 per cent of the vote, with the centre-right government bloc on 44 per cent. The biggest winner in this week’s local elections was the Socialist People's Party, which nearly doubled its popularity to 14.5 per cent of the vote. The party is a close ally of the Social Democrats who control Denmark's three largest cities, Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense.

During the campaign, Jensen, who will replace current mayor Ritt Bjerregaard at the end of the year, promised to rid the city of gang violence. “We’ll find out which preventative measures are most effective and then strengthen them, and at the same time we’ll drop those not having the desired effect,” he said.

Mayor-elect Jensen served as a Member of Parliament from 1986 to 2006, during which time he was Justice Minister for five years. His time in office coincided with the so-called biker was in the mid 1990s.

Allies praise Kosovo
over local elections
Pristina, 19 November 2009: Government representatives from the US, the UK and the European Union were among the first to congratulate Kosovo on conducting its first local elections since its February 2008 unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from Serbia. Belgrade, which rejects Kosovo’s UDI as illegal, hit out at the 15 November ballot as illegitimate and what it described as the low turnout by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo as proof that the elections meant nothing.
 
Voting in Kosovo’s local elections produced first-round victories in 16 out of 36 municipalities. Prime minister Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won five municipalities, the AAK four and Fatmir Sejdiu’s Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) three on the first round. Candidates of minority parties won in four municipalities. Run-offs are to be held in 20 municipalities.
 
UK foreign secretary David Miliband said that the local elections had "attracted a good turnout from all Kosovo communities, which is a crucial indication for Kosovo as a strong multiethnic democracy". But he also acknowledged that there had been irregularities.
 
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen congratulated Kosovo on the organisation and peaceful conduct of the vote. "I am encouraged by the participation of many Kosovo Serbs to make their voice heard," he said. The US, a staunch supporter of Kosovo and the leader in recognising its independence, praised the poll. US ambassador in Kosovo Christopher Dell said that Kosovo and its citizens could be proud. "Kosovo voters, politicians and its officials, in charge with organising and managing the elections process, have shown to the world that an independent Kosovo is a place where democracy can flourish and is flourishing," Dell said. (Report by Sofia Echo)

Ruling parties claim victory
in Kosovo’s local elections
Pristina, 16 November 2009: Kosovo’s government coalition parties won in the majority of municipalities in local elections held yesterday. The Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) captured some 20 out of 36 town councils, while his junior coalition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) won in the capital Pristina, gaining the mayor’s post as well as a majority on the council.

Yesterday’s local elections gave Kosovo’s citizens their first opportunity to express their political judgement since the country’s ethnic Albanian majority declared unilateral independence from Serbia in February 2008. While the country’s status has been recognised by the US and most EU member states, so far most UN member countries have failed to follow suit.

According to the electoral commission, some 45 per cent of the 1.5 million eligible voters voted for mayors and local representatives. No separate figures were released for the Serbian parts of the country. Serbia had urged ethnic Serbians to boycott the elections. Western journalists say some Serbs appeared at polling stations in central Kosovo by Sunday mid-day. There were no reports of violence during the voting.

Second-round elections will be held on 13 December in municipalities where candidates have failed to win more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round.

Environmentalist to be
Seattle’s next mayor
Seattle, 12 November 2009: Mike McGinn, a former leader of America’s oldest environmental organisation the Sierra Club, is the new Mayor of Seattle. The results of the election, which took place on 3 November, remained in the balance for several days. At some stage during the count, less than 500 votes separated the two candidates. At the end, McGinn won the election by some 5,000 votes out of more than 190,000 ballots cast.

McGinn entered the election as the clear underdog. His rival, Joe Mallahan, a telecom executive and fellow Democrat, was endorsed by the city’s main newspaper and also backed by the state governor. Mallahan, who outspent McGinn by 3 to 1, had the support of the business community and the political establishment, while the mayor-elect relied heavily on volunteers.

McGinn and Mallahan were thrown into Seattle’s political limelight after they came first and second in primary elections held in August. Incumbent mayor Greg Nickels finished third. Nickels, who became well-known for his opposition to former US President Bush’s environmental policies, lost the support of Seattle citizens over his support for a $4.2 billion highway tunnel beneath the city’s waterfront. McGinn initially opposed the tunnel but, after it has been approved by the city council and the state, said he would not try to stop it. McGinn is in favour of expanding Seattle’s light rail system. More results


Michael Bloomberg wins
third term, but only just
New York City, 4 November 2009: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has won a third term in office by a surprisingly narrow margin. The wealthy Bloomberg defeated Democrat William Thompson, the city's chief financial officer, by a margin of just over four percentage points, despite spending over $90 million of his personal fortune. Bloomberg was initially limited by law to just two terms in office, but persuaded the New York City Council to amend the law to allow him to run for re-election.

Michael Bloomberg, who was the candidate of New York’s Republican and Independent Parties, won 51 per cent of the total vote. Thompson was on 46 per cent. Opinion polls taken days before the election gave the incumbent mayor a 10% lead.

Following the announcement of the results, Bloomberg admitted that during the campaign his opponent had touched on issues that he would take on board during his third term in office. He also addressed the country’s economic crisis by saying that while City Hall couldn’t fix the national recession, his administration could and would get the city through these tough times. “We’re going to show we can keep outperforming the rest of the country,” the mayor added. (Report by VoA and local reporters) More results

Montreal mayor re-elected
despite City Hall scandal
Montreal, 3 November 2009: Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay won an unconvincing election victory to gain a third term as mayor. According to official results, Tremblay received some 37 per cent of votes cast. His nearest rival Louise Harel of Vision Montréal finished just five percentage points behind the mayor. Four years ago the mayor was supported by 54 per cent of voters. Voter turnout was 39 per cent, which is not unusually low for local elections in Canada. Tremblay’s Union Montreal party secured 39 seats on the 65-seat city council, thus giving the mayor a healthy majority.

The mayor’s drop in popularity was caused by allegations of corruption in City Hall. Just weeks before the elections a CAN$355-million water-meter contract was suspended over allegations of corruption and collusion when it was offered to a private consortium in 2007. In his victory speech the mayor acknowledged the impact of the accusations. He told his supporters that he was aware that the city had been shaken by the events of the past months and particularly by those of the last few weeks. "I'm aware that the confidence of Montrealers has been put to the test," the mayor admitted.

It was perhaps fortunate for the mayor that Montreal’s second biggest party, Vision Montréal, was also tainted by the scandal. A close adviser of its mayoral candidate, Harel, was forced to resign from the party after allegations that he had accepted money from companies involved in the water-meter contract.

Projet Montréal, the city’s third party and the only one not involved in the scandal saw its support surge from eight per cent four years ago to more than 25 per cent now. Its leader, Richard Bergeron, received 26 per cent of the total vote of the mayoral contest.

Mayoral contests dominate
next week’s USA elections
New York City, 26 October 2009: Voters in some of the largest US cities, including New York, Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston and Miami, will be going to the polls on 3 November to elect new mayors or confirm incumbents. Atlanta, Georgia, where Shirley Franklin is standing down, could have a white mayor for the first time in a generation. While city councillor Mary Norwood is maintaining a strong lead, she may be forced into a run-off election against one of two black candidates.

In Houston, Texas, businessman and city councillor Peter Brown, who is hoping to replace Bill White, is out-spending his rivals both on television and in the print media. So far he has spent US$2.4 million of his won money, of which 1.6 million was spent on TV advertisements. His closest rivals, city controller Annise Parker and former city attorney Gene Locke, have spent $758,000 and $630,000 respectively, while a fourth candidate, Roy Morales, did not raise enough money for any paid advertising.

The most surprising casualty of this summer’s mayoral primary elections was Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Praised nationally and internationally for his fight against former US President Bush’s environmental policies, he became deeply unpopular in his own city. The hottest campaign issue is the replacement of the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct. Joe Mallahan, a businessman, supports a million-dollar, four-lane tunnel replacement, while his main contender, former Sierra Club leader Mike McGinn, opposes the plan on cost grounds. The Seattle Times has endorsed Mallahan, saying that while the tunnel is not universally popular, the viaduct has become dangerous and needs to come down.

After the resignation of Detroit, Michigan, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick over alleged perjury in September 2008, Kenneth Cockrel became interim mayor only to be defeated in a primary election in May 2009 by former basketball player Dave Bing. Bing is now hoping to be elected mayor for a full four-year term. If the opinion polls are right, his chances are excellent. He is leading his rival, Tom Barrow, by 47 to 26 percentage points.

Pollsters in Miami, Florida, have also pronounced a winner in next week’s mayoral election before any votes have been cast. A Florida International University poll gives Tomas Regalado a 22-point lead over his closest opponent, Joe Sanchez. Regalado is strongly favoured by older voters and enjoys equal support among Cuban Americans and non-Cuban Hispanics. However, more than 40 per cent of voters are reported to be still undecided.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, incumbent mayor R.T. Rybak has been accused of spending more time on his gubernatorial ambitions than on re-election campaign. Until now, the mayor has failed to appear at a public debate with any of his mayoral rivals. Local journalist have pointed out that Rybak will have attended more gubernatorial forums than mayoral ones by the 3 November election. The Minnesota Daily newspaper writes in an editorial that fortunately there are plenty of credible alternatives to Mayor Rybak.

Tallinn mayor wins
absolute majority
Tallinn, 20 October 2009: Tallinn’s Centre Party of Mayor Edgar Savisaar won an absolute majority on the city council in local elections held last Sunday. The Centre won 44 seats in the 79-seat chamber. The Reform Party came second with 14 seats, followed by the Fatherland Party with 13 seats and the Social Democrats with eight councillors.

In his victory speech, Savisaar, who was Estonia’s Prime Minister in the 1990s, said the election results in the country’s capital were a no-confidence vote in the government. The mayor told his followers that he would continue fighting against unemployment, which had to be beaten. “I will protect the interests of young families, the elderly and all the others who have been left neglected by the government,” he said.

Claims of fraud mar Kremlin
party’s election celebrations
Moscow, 13 October 2009: United Russia, the party of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, won the majority of seats on Moscow’s city council in elections held on Sunday. The party also consolidated its power in many towns and regions across Russia.

In elections held in Moscow, United Russia gained some 66 per cent of the vote, while the Communist Party was on 13 per cent. Yabloko, Moscow’s most vocal liberal opposition to Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, failed to pass the seven per cent threshold necessary to win a seat on the council. The mayor himself was not up for re-election.

Elections were also held in 74 other of Russia’s 83 regions for posts including mayors, local and regional legislators. A spokesman for the Central Elections Commission, told reporters that United Russia had collected almost 80 per cent of seats up for election. The party picked up 107 of the 135 regional seats and 189 of the 235 seats available in municipal legislatures.

A spokesman for the liberal Yabloko party, which failed to gain any seats, condemned Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, accusing him of carrying out "one of the all-time election frauds in Russia's recent history."

The Yabloko spokesman said the party had received hundreds of calls from Moscow voters, complaining that they were unable to cast their vote because someone else had already done so, using their name. "United Russia used so-called carousel voting," he said. "This time, it was busloads of soldiers and police that they took from one polling station to another and had them cast their votes for United Russia over and over. We also have serious reason to believe that the ballot boxes were stuffed with additional ballots."

Yabloko and the Communist Party have indicated that they would challenge the election results in court. The independent election watchdog Golog has said it would make public collected evidence of election fraud.