Belgium
In the June 9 parliamentary elections for the 150-seat Chamber of Representatives, right-wing parties emerged on top. The nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) remained the largest party in the Chamber, winning 24 seats. The far-right Flemish Interest party secured 20 seats, up 2 from the last elections in 2019. The Reformist Movement also won 20 seats, up from 14 in 2019; the Socialist Party secured 16; and the Workers’ Party won 15. Seven other parties shared the remaining seats. Coalition talks must now begin in order to form a government between the right-leaning, Dutch-speaking north and the left-leaning, French-speaking south. Turnout was 87.4 percent.
Bulgaria
Snap parliamentary elections for the 240-seat, unicameral National Assembly were held on June 9. The center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov won 68 seats. The Movement for Rights and Freedom (DPS), representing the country’s large ethnic-Turkish minority secured 47 seats; the pro-West We Continue the Change (PP) party won 39; the ultranationalist Revival party won 38; and smaller parties split the remainder. The snap elections were triggered when the governing coalition between GERB and PP collapsed. This was the sixth snap vote in three years, and turnout was low at only 34.4 percent.
European Union
Elections for the 720-seat European Parliament took place from June 6 to June 9 across 27 countries. The political center held, but far-right parties gained ground, especially in Germany and France. The three-group coalition of mainstream conservatives, socialists, and liberals retained its majority: The European People’s Party (EPP) won 188 seats, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) won 136, and Renew Europe won 77. Patriots for Europe, a new far-right group led by the parties of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and France’s Marine Le Pen, earned 84 seats; the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) won 78; the Greens/European Free Alliance won 53; and The Left won 46. Non-attached and non-allied members took the remaining 58 seats. Turnout was 51.1 percent.
France
The country emerged from the second round of snap parliamentary elections on July 7 with a hung parliament. The New Popular Front, a loose, hastily assembled alliance of leftist parties, won 182 out of the 577 seats in the National Assembly — now the largest bloc in parliament, but well short of the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority. President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble alliance came in second with 168 seats (though it lost more than 80 seats from the last elections in 2022). The far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies came in third with 143 seats, despite its strong showing in the first round. Other right-leaning parties won 68 seats; other left-leaning parties won 13; and smaller parties shared the remainder. President Macron called the snap election after the RN routed Ensemble in the European Parliament elections in early June. Turnout was 66.6 percent. To learn more about the election, read Jean-Yves Camus’s new essay “Why Macron’s Big Gamble Worked.”
Iran
In the country’s runoff presidential election on July 5, little-known reformist candidate and cardiac surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian won with 53.3 percent of the vote. Conservative hardliner and former Revolutionary Guardsman Saeed Jalili received 44.3 percent. The snap election was triggered after former hardline president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May. While the role is largely ceremonial — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds ultimate authority in the country — the president does have the power to shape domestic and foreign policy. Turnout was 49.6 percent, more than the historic low hit in the first round of the presidential election on June 28, but still lower than previous elections. To learn more, read Ladan Boroumand’s new JoD online exclusive “The Empty Promise of Iran’s New President.”
Mauritania
Incumbent president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of the Union for the Republic won a second term in the June 29 presidential election, with 56.1 percent of the vote. His main opponent, antislavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, received 22.1 percent but refused to accept the provisional results, calling Ghazouani’s victory an “electoral coup d’état.” Turnout was 55.4 percent.
Mongolia
In the June 28 parliamentary elections, the ruling Mongolian People’s Party won 68 of the 126 seats in the State Great Hural, a much smaller majority than it secured in the previous two contests. These were the first elections since constitutional reforms adopted last year enlarged the Hural by 50 seats, implemented a proportional-representation system, and reinstated gender quotas for party candidates. The opposition Democratic Party won 42 seats. The HUN Party secured 8 seats, 6 of which were awarded through proportional representation. The National Coalition and the Civil Will–Green party were each awarded 4. Turnout was at least 69.3 percent.
San Marino
All 60 seats were at stake in the June 9 elections for the Grand and General Council. The Democracy and Liberty coalition won 41.5 percent of the vote and 26 seats. The coalition of the Libera/Socialist Party and the Party of Socialists and Democrats won 28.3 percent and 18 seats. Three other parties split the remainder. Turnout was 50.7 percent.
United Kingdom
The Conservative Party, led by former prime minister Rishi Sunak, lost its fourteen-year majority in the 650-seat House of Commons in elections on July 4. The party won only 121 seats, the worst electoral outcome in its history. The center-left Labour Party of now prime minister Keir Starmer won a landslide majority of 411 seats. The Liberal Democrats won 72 seats, and twelve smaller parties shared the remainder. Voter turnout was 59.9 percent, the lowest it has been since since 2001.