The Ballot Box: Elections Around the World

Latin America's most stable democracy went to the polls last weekend to elect its legislature, President and (two) vice-presidents. Costa Rica's party system is a long way from the two-party system that existed until 15 years ago, but it was the candidate of the old PLN that came out on top this time. José María Figueres, a former president with an illustrious lineage, will face off against anothe...

Portugal held legislative elections on 31st January. These were snap elections a year ahead of schedule, after the two leftist parties which supported the minority Socialist government of PM António Costa down the government's budget. Costa was hoping for a majority, but polling during the campaign showed that the opposition PSD was gaining quite considerably and that it would be a tight race. In...

The island nation of Barbados went to the polls on 19th January to elect a new Parliament, the first such elections after it became a republic last year. Prime Minister Mia Mottley's Barbados Labour Party (BLP) won a clean sweep of parliamentary seats for the second time in a row, as the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) failed to make a comeback after being ousted from government in 2018....

In an act of shameless self-promotion we're talking about Jonathan's recently completed PhD research, but we promise it's interesting! This means we're digging into regional politics, substate nationalist movements and the complex dynamics of territorial politics in Europe. Why do regional parties do better in some places than others? Why do territorial issues matter in some places more than other...

We're joined by writer Julia Blunck to discuss the two main contenders to the Brazilian presidency, former President and centre-left icon Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. With this election widely considered one of the most significant of the year, we're exploring the lives and backgrounds of these two figures, who were born in the same state but came from complete...

We're looking ahead to the elections of 2022! What are the most significant elections coming up this year (spoilers: we think its France, Hungary, Brazil, Colombia and the US)? What are the elections we're most looking forward to? We criss-cross the world looking into the upcoming electoral calendar and breaking down the runners, riders and issues at stake. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and li...

In our new year's episode, we're looking back over the year in elections. What was the most significant election of 2021? The most surprising? The ones that made us happy and sad? We're answering all these questions, as well as seeing what themes and trends can be pulled out of the 2021 electoral calendar. We'll be back in the new year to look ahead to 2022! Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and p...

Merry Christmas from the Ballot Box! This year we've got you a great present- Chile's democracy saved for now! We're discussing the results of the the second round of the Chilean presidential election, which saw leftist candidate Gabriel Boric triumph over the far-right José Antonio Kast. We break down how Boric pulled off this victory, and what a Boric presidency will look like.  Please rate and...

On 28th November Honduras went to the polls and decisively elected the leftist candidate Xiomara Castro to the presidency while giving her Libre party a legislative plurality. These elections marked a decisive break in the history of the country, shattering finally the two-party system that had been in place for most of Honduras' history and removing the right-wing National Party from power after...

After a closely fought first round battle, Chile must now choose between two candidates, both of which would mean radical change for the country but in very different directions. We break down the results of the first round of Chile's presidential election, the concurrent legislative elections and the state of the country's political alliances only a few months on from the historic constituent ass...

Curious about what went down in Argentina’s midterm legislative elections? Dying to know how coalition formation is going in Bulgaria and Germany? Perplexed at why Sweden had a new prime minister for 7 hours? Then this is the episode for you! The answers to all are inside. Remember to follow us on Twitter @ballotworld and rate and subscribe wherever you’re listening!

We're back in Bulgaria for the third time this year. Following two inconclusive parliamentary elections which featured the rise of new anti-corruption parties, new legislative elections were held alongside presidential elections. In the presidential ballot, incumbent Rumen Radev came tantalisingly close to winning outright in the first round. While in the parliamentary contest, new party We Contin...

Since returning to power in 2006, Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) has consolidated his grip on power in a very authoritarian manner. This election was no different, with the government disbanding opposition parties, imprisoning other candidates and harassing journalists. We’re exploring the sad story of Nicaragua’s democratic decline and the shape of Ortega’s regim...

The US held a spate of state and local level elections recently that often made for grim reading for Democrats (with the usual caveats about US elections applying). This comes at a time when the health of democracy in the US, and the Republican Party's commitment to democracy, are increasingly questioned, as Republican controlled states roll out a raft of restrictive voting laws that make it harde...

Japanese elections tend not to be close run affairs thanks to the dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Last month's election was no different, with the LDP and its ally Komeito cruising to an easy victory under new prime minister Fumio Kishida. We're joined by Professor Amy Catalinac of NYU to discuss the secrets of the LDP's dominance over Japanese politics, and the fragmented opposit...

This week we're discussing out-of-country voting- what it is, why it occurs and how it's used. Diaspora voting has become an ever more widely used feature in recent decades, with the majority of countries making some provision for it. We run through the different ways countries can go about it, as well as a plethora of examples of where out-of-country has had interesting repercussions on elections...

On 10th October Iraqis went to the polls to elect a new Council of Representatives. The election featured a new electoral system, sectarian and protest politics and a large-scale boycott. We're joined by Dr. Marsin Alshamary of the Brookings Institution to discuss the vote, the mass protests which preceded it, the boycott protest leaders called for, and break down who did well and who did badly of...

Parliamentary elocutions in Czechia last week saw the unexpected victory of two anti-government alliances, who together will now have a majority to oust populist prime minister Andrej Babiš. We're joined by Dr. Sean Hanley of UCL to discuss how the Czech party system fell apart, what sort of party Babiš' ANO is, and exactly what we mean when we say the mayors did significantly better than the pira...

Iceland held parliamentary elections on September 25th (sorry its taken so long), which saw remarkably little change for a country that has experienced a decade of electoral volatility. The unlikely-sounding three party coalition of eco-socialists, agrarians and conservatives led by the Green Left Movement's Katrín Jakobsdóttir maintained its majority in this election, and relatively few seats cha...

It's the big one...we're breaking down the results of the German election we previewed in the summer. As Olaf Sholz's SPD stages a remarkable comeback (vis a vis their polling earlier in the term at least), the Greens also surge and the CDU/CSU tumble to their lowest scores ever. We dig into what these results mean for the parties, and the likely coalition arrangements that could emerge from the o...

Canada's snap election was called by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the hopes of regaining the absolute parliamentary majority he lost in 2019. But despite an exciting campaign, his Liberal Party gained only one extra seat, prompting criticisms that the election was something of a waste of money. We dig into this campaign and what the results mean for the future of the parties, as well as explor...

In legislative elections held between 17th-19th September, Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won another parliamentary super-majority, with the rest of the seats filled by parties who are (to varying degrees) loyal to the Kremlin. In regional elections on the same day, United Russia won most of the contests. We're joined by Dr. Ben Noble of UCL to breakdown exactly what the elections mean in a...

A vote on whether to recall Governor of California Gavin Newsom took place on 14th September, an attempt which Newsom comfortably survived despite polling at some parts of the campaign indicating a close result. Recalling, or at least attempting to recall, elected officials is extremely common in California, where it is exceedingly easy to do it. Why does California have such liberal recall rules,...

On the 13th September Norway held regularly scheduled parliamentary elections which saw the left bloc return to power after 8 years of centre-right government. While the historically dominant Labour Party lost a seat, the success of its allies means its heading back into government after its longest spell in opposition. We dig into the background of Norway's constitutional setup and party system,...

Morocco's 8th September parliamentary election produced dramatic shifts as the Islamic-democratic Justice and Development Party (PJD) lost almost all of its seats after leading the country's government since 2011. The winners were largely parties more supportive of the country's powerful monarchy, which had disliked the PJD and sought to undermine it since it first took office. We explore how Moro...