Botswana
The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) led by President Mokgweetsi Masisi was roundly rejected in National Assembly elections on October 30, losing its 58-year majority. Of the 61 directly elected seats, the BDP won only 4, down from 38 in the previous election in 2019. The left-leaning Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) coalition won 36 seats, and its candidate, Duma Boko, was sworn in as president on November 8. The Botswana Congress Party won 15 seats in the unicameral parliament; the Botswana Patriotic Front secured 5; and the final seat went to an independent candidate. Voter turnout exceeded 80 percent.
Bulgaria
The center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party of former prime minister Boiko Borisov was the biggest winner in snap parliamentary elections on October 27. GERB won 69 of the 240 seats in the National Assembly; the We Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria coalition secured 37; the ultranationalist Revival party won 35; and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms–A New Beginning, an offshoot of the party that traditionally represented the country’s large ethnic-Turkish minority but recently split into two rival factions, received 30 seats. Smaller parties split the remainder. The snap elections — the seventh in three years — were triggered by the failure of the country’s parties to agree on a coalition government after the previous snap election in June of this year. Turnout was 38.9 percent.
Georgia
The ruling Georgian Dream party of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze won 89 out of 150 seats in parliamentary elections on October 26, giving it the majority but not one large enough to enact drastic constitutional overhauls. Four pro-Western opposition parties split the remaining 61 seats. Irregularities and violations, including ballot stuffing, bribery, voter intimidation, and violence near polling stations, had been reported by election-monitoring groups, and the opposition parties refused to recognize the result. President Salome Zourabichvili called the election a “Russian special operation” and the results “illegitimate.” The Central Election Commission recounted 14 percent of the vote, but the recount did not significantly change the official results. Turnout was 50.6 percent.
Ghana
In December 7 elections, former president John Mahama of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) emerged victorious with 56.6 percent of the vote. Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came in second with 41.6 percent. In the parliamentary contest, while not all 275 seats have yet been allocated, the NDC has secured a majority. Turnout stands at 60.9 percent. Read more about the election in John J. Chin’s new essay, “Why Ghana’s Election Matters Across Africa.”
Lithuania
Parliamentary elections took place throughout October: Half of the 141-seat unicameral Seimas was elected by a national popular vote on October 13; single-seat constituencies chose the remainder on October 27 in runoff elections between the top two candidates. The center-left opposition Social Democratic Party (LSDP) led by Vilija Blinkevičiūtė won 52 seats and will begin coalition talks with other left-leaning parties. The conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS–LKD) coalition of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė won 28 seats, ending its four-year rule. The populist Dawn of Nemunas party came in third with 20 seats but will be excluded from an alliance with LSDP. The Union of Democrats “For Lithuania” (DSVL) won 14 seats; the Liberal Movement secured 12; the Peasant and Greens Union (LVŽS) won 8; and smaller parties split the remainder. Turnout was 52.1 percent in the first round and 41 percent in the second.
Mauritius
The opposition Alliance of Change (ADC) won a landslide victory in National Assembly elections on November 10, securing former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam a fourth term. The party won 62.6 percent and 60 out of 62 directly elected seats. The Lepep Alliance of incumbent prime minister Pravind Jugnauth won 27.8 percent of the vote and 2 seats, down from the 42 it won in 2019. Voter turnout was strong at 79.3 percent.
Moldova
In the presidential runoff on November 3, pro-EU president Maia Sandu won a second term with 55.4 percent of the vote. Her opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, received 44.6 percent of the vote. Russia has been accused of “massive interference” in the electoral process, including allegations of vote buying and voter intimidation. Voter turnout exceeded 54.3 percent, and Moldova’s diaspora population played a key role in the outcome.
Mozambique
General elections were held on October 9, and turnout was 43.5 percent. In the presidential contest, Daniel Chapo of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) won with 70.7 percent of the vote according to the National Election Commission, extending the party’s 49 years in power. Independent candidate Venâncio Mondlane came in second with 20.3 percent; Ossufo Momade of the main opposition party, Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo), placed third with 5.8 percent; and Lutero Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) earned fourth with 3.21 percent.
Frelimo also swept the legislative contest, winning 195 of the 250 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. The opposition Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), which supported Mondlane, secured 31 seats. Renamo won 20, and MDM, the final 4 seats. Independent observers have reported irregularities in the vote count, and the opposition parties have alleged massive fraud and called for protests, which have led to deadly clashes with police.
Namibia
In the country’s presidential election on November 27, Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) won with 57.3 percent of the vote. She will be the country’s first woman president, and her victory extends SWAPO’s 34 years in power, since Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party placed second with 25.5 percent.
Parliamentary elections were also held on November 27. At stake were all 94 directly elected seats in the 104-seat National Assembly. SWAPO won 51 seats, while the IPC secured 20. Thirteen smaller opposition parties split the remaining seat share. Technical glitches and ballot shortages caused a three-day extension of the vote; the opposition called the results illegal, but the Electoral Commission rejected calls for a redo. Turnout was nearly 77 percent.
Palau
In general elections on November 5, President Surangel Whipps Jr. was reelected to a second term with 58.1 percent of the vote, beating his brother-in-law and former president Thomas Remengesau Jr., who earned 41.7 percent. At stake in the legislative elections were all 16 seats in the House of Delegates and 13 seats in the Senate. In the House, 9 incumbents retained their seats, and 7 new representatives were elected. In the Senate, 8 incumbents won reelection, and 5 new Senators will enter Congress. Though not prohibited by law, no political parties exist in the country and all candidates run as independents. Turnout was 44.4 percent.
Romania
General elections in late November and early December plunged the country into its most intense period of political turmoil since the fall of communism in 1989. In a shocking first-round presidential election on November 24, Călin Georgescu, a little-known ultranationalist independent and admirer of Putin who campaigned primarily through TikTok, won the most votes. A runoff against Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union (USR) was scheduled for December 8. The Constitutional Court ordered a recount and validated the first-round results on December 2, only to subsequently annul the election after intelligence emerged of a Russian online influence campaign. Learn more about the election in Veronica Anghel’s essay “Why Romania Just Canceled Its Presidential Election.”
Senegal
PASTEF, the party of newly elected president Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, won a huge majority in National Assembly elections on November 17 — 130 of 165 seats in parliament, the largest majority ever won by a single party. The coalition of former president Macky Sall garnered just 16 seats, down from 82 in the previous elections in 2022. Former prime minister Amadou Ba’s coalition won 7 seats, and smaller coalitions and independents shared the remainder. President Faye dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament in September, six months into his term, and called snap elections. Turnout was 49.5 percent.
Sri Lanka
On November 14, the left-leaning National People’s Power (NPP) coalition of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) won a landslide victory in snap elections for the 225-seat Parliament, a major shift that signals the economically depressed country’s dissatisfaction with dynastic elites. The NPP won 61.6 percent of the vote and 159 seats. The United People’s Power (SJB) coalition led by Sajith Premadasa, came in second with 17.7 percent and 40 seats. Smaller parties split the remaining 26 seats. Many former MPs from the former ruling Rajapaksa dynasty’s Sri Lanka People’s Front (SLPP) chose not to run for reelection. The snap elections were triggered after AKD dissolved Parliament a day after taking office. The president called the election’s outcome a “renaissance.” Turnout was 68.9 percent.
Uruguay
Presidential and legislative elections were held on October 27. Turnout was 89 percent. In the legislative contest, all 99 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and all 30 seats in the Chamber of Senators were at stake. In the Senate, the center-left Broad Front secured a majority with 16 seats. The center-right National Party (PN) won 9 and the Colorado Party, 5. In the Chamber of Representatives, Broad Front was just shy of a majority, winning 48 seats. The Republican Coalition, consisting of PN, Colorado, and other right-wing parties, won 49 seats. The anti-establishment Sovereign Identity party took the remaining 2 seats.
In the first round of the presidential contest, former mayor Yamandú Orsi, representing the Broad Front, won 43.9 percent of the vote but did not meet the required threshold of 50 percent to avoid a runoff. Álvaro Delgado of the PN came in second with 26.8 percent. In a runoff vote on November 24, Orsi won with 49.8 percent of the vote to Delgado’s 45.9 percent.
Uzbekistan
Elections for the 150-seat Legislative Assembly, the lower house of parliament, took place on October 27 under a new electoral system: Half the seats will be elected directly, and the other half will be awarded proportionally to parties based on how many votes they receive. Forty percent of candidates must also be women. Five political parties registered, and all support President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. No new parties or independents were allowed; genuine opposition did not exist in the election. The Liberal Democratic Party won 64 seats; the National Revival Democratic Party received 29; the Justice Social Democratic Party, 21; the People’s Democratic Party, 20; and the Ecological Movement, 16. Voter turnout was 74.7 percent.