Israel
Likud-Beiteinu, Binyamin Netanyahu’s party, continued to hold the most seats in Israel’s January elections, with 31 of the 120 seats (23.3 percent). But in an unexpected development, the centrist party Yesh Atid (There is a Future) – started by television host Yair Lapid – moved up to second place with 14.3 percent of the vote. Netanyahu, who remains as Prime Minister, has formed a coalition with Yesh Atid, far-right group Jewish Home and newly formed liberal party Hatnuah. This gives the coalition control of 68 seats. Hatnua’s Tzipi Livini is to become Justice Minister under the agreement. Hatnua’s big election ticket was to advance the peace process with the Palestinians and, to that end, Livini’s role includes becoming exclusive negotiator on behalf of the government. Israel has 34 political parties, many of which have seats in parliament, and uses a system of proportional representation, meaning that an outright majority is rarely achieved. Turnout was 67.8 percent, with Labour taking 11.4 percent of seats, Bayit Yehundi 9.1 percent and smaller groups, including Arab parties, accounting for the rest of the votes.
Jordan
Islamists, and other government critics, took 25 percent of Jordan’s 150 parliamentary seats in the kingdom’s January elections, marking a departure from the house’s previous composition that was almost entirely made up of loyalists to the king. The change has come about despite the fact that the elections were boycotted by the main opposition party – the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Action. In an attempt to ward off Arab Spring-type revolutions, King Abdullah II has agreed to gradually cede more power to parliament, but the Muslim Brotherhood believes that the changes are not happening fast enough and that electoral law is stacked against it. Following these elections, the Chamber of Deputies should be more involved in drawing up legislation, while parliament chose the prime minister for the first time – a role that was previously assigned by the king. However, despite these theoretical moves towards democratisation, Abdullah Ensour remains as Prime Minister and he has chosen ministers from outside parliament, dashing hopes that there will be genuine political change. Jordan’s political parties have limited influence in parliament, with the majority of seats held by independents who gain votes from family and tribal allegiances, rather than through party support. Turnout at the elections was low, with only 56 percent of the 2.3 million registered voters attending polling stations.
Liechtenstein
Opposition party the Progressive Citizens, occupying the centre right, won 40 percent of the vote in February’s parliamentary elections in the Alpine principality of Liechtenstein. Party leader Adrian Hasler is the new Prime Minister. The result saw the Patriotic Union, also right of centre, nudged out of power. A newly formed group of independent candidates came third, with the left-leaning Free List also gaining ground with 11.1 percent of the vote. The Independents won 15 percent of the vote, with the Patriotic Union coming third in the 25-seat parliament. A coalition government has been formed between the Progressive Citizens and the Patriotic Union, with the former supplying three ministers for the five-minister government and the Patriotic Union supplying two ministers. Outgoing prime minister Klaus Tschuetscher, of the Patriotic Union, had already announced he would not be running for another term. Turnout at the polls was 79.8 percent. Liechtenstein’s monarchy retains wide-ranging political powers, including the right to dismiss the government and veto the results of national referendums. Prince Hans-Adam remains head of state, but he handed over the day-to-day running of the state to his son, Crown Prince Alois, in 2004.
Ecuador
Incumbent president Rafael Correa is to remain in power for a third term, following Ecuador’s February elections, winning 58 percent of the vote. It is the first time the country has seen a president serve more than two terms – Ecuador had seven presidents in 10 years before Correa first took the helm in 2007.
Guillermo Lasso, of the liberal Creating Opportunities party, came second with 24 percent. The left wing president has raised living standards for Ecuadorians, expanding the welfare state to improve accessibility to healthcare and education. But critics accuse him of eroding the power of opposition groups and the media. Correa’s main election pledge was to boost spending on those at the bottom of the economic scale, despite the country suffering its biggest ever budget deficit. Turn out was around 75 percent.
Cuba
Cubans went to the polls in January to vote on deputies for the National Assembly, with all candidates pre-approved by the Communist Party and a ban remaining on all other political parties. Around 95 percent of Cuba’s 9 million over 16s voted, with abstention frowned upon and polling booths on almost every street. One young woman told a Reuters reporter as she left a polling station: “I vote because I feel I have to, and it doesn’t really matter because the deputies have no power anyway.”
Cyprus
Centre-right presidential candidate Nico Anastasiades won in Cyprus’s February elections, with 57.5 percent of the vote, beating communist-backed Stavros Malas of AKEL who got 42.5 percent. The outgoing president was Dimitris Christofi as of AKEL. The elections, which had a turnout of 82 percent, were dominated by concerns over the island’s economy, which has followed Greece’s into deep recession. The Republic of Cyprus’ House of Representatives currently has 59 members, who are elected for a fi ve-year term. Fifty-six members are voted in using proportional representation, with three observers representing the island’s Armenian, Latin and Moronite communities. A further 24 seats are allocated to the Turkish community but have been vacant since 1964.
Monaco
The Horizon Monaco Alliance took 20 of the 24 seats in the February elections for Monaco’s governing body, the National Council. The alliance wrested power from coalition, the Union for Monaco, which was left with just three seats. The remaining seat was taken by Société de Bains de Mer de Monaco in an election that saw a 75 percent turnout. The new ruling party comprises a group of conservative and centre-left politicians. The country’s monarch, currently Albert II, retains wide-ranging political powers, with the National Council accepting or rejecting legislation proposed by the prince and voting on budgets. The prince appoints the executive, the five-member Council of Government, and represents Monaco in foreign affairs. France liaises with the prince over the selection of some ministers. Elections are held every five years, with 16 members elected through a list majority system and eight via proportional representation. Michel Roger remains as minister of state.
Italy
Italy’s February elections saw the country plunged into chaos with no party getting the outright majority it needs to govern. Centre-left and centre-right coalitions came first and second, with the centre-left Italy Common Good party taking a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, but not the Senate, Italy’s upper house. A majority in both houses is needed in order to run the country successfully. Comedian Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement (see ‘Rise of the celebrity politician’, right) came third, which means it has been courted by both sides to form a coalition. But Grillo is standing fast and wants no coalition deal with any other party. Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left Italy Common Good party won 345 of the 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Silvio Berlusconi’s Centre Right Coalition took 125 seats, Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement took 109 seats and Prime Minister Mario Monti’s centrist coalition, Monti for Italy, holds 47 seats. The other four seats went to smaller parties. In the Senate, the Common Good got 117 of the 315 seats, the Centre Right Coalition got 116 seats, the Five Star Movement got 54 seats and Monti for Italy 19 seats. Italy uses proportional representation, with all seats in the Chamber of Deputies elected and 630 seats in the Senate elected, plus four appointed life senators. Turnout was 75 percent.
Kenya
Former Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta of the right-leaning Kenya African National Union (KANU) won Kenya’s presidential election in March, taking 50.5 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Raila Odinga, representing the centrally-aligned Orange Democratic Movement, came second with 43.7 percent and lost a legal challenge disputing the outcome. Musalia Mudavadi of the left-leaning United Democratic Forum Party (UDF) received four percent of the vote. But Kenyatta is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, following the massacre that accompanied the 2007 general election in which over 1,200 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were displaced. The new President is accused of organising the violence and while he has promised to answer to the charges, he is also seeking to have them dropped. Prior to the election, diplomats had expressed concern that they might have to weaken ties with the nation if Kenyatta was elected. Voter turnout was 85.9 percent and, despite widespread fear that the event would see a re-enactment of the 2007 election aftermath, the 2013 elections avoided these levels of violence. The count was delayed by technological breakdowns, forcing polling staff to use printed lists. Once voting had finished, officials discovered a fault with disk capacity in the system designed to securely send results to the national tallying centre in Nairobi. The whole operation was scrapped and a manual tally called for, when it was discovered that only 40 percent of the results had come in.
Malta
Parliamentary elections in March caused a shift of government in Malta after more than 15 years under the Nationalist Party. The centre-left Labour Party won 55 percent of the 67 seats, which saw party leader Joseph Muscat sworn in as Prime Minister. The centre-right Nationalist Party, headed by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi won 43 percent of the vote, with the Democratic Alternative, Malta’s green party, failing to win any seats. The new cabinet was sworn in on 13 March, with George Vella as Foreign Minister, Manuel Mallia as Home Affairs and National Security Minister. The election, called after the government collapsed in December, saw a high turnout of 93 percent with queues at polling stations.
