The Ballot Box: Elections Around the World: Recent Episodes
Jonathan Parker
Global election coverage from a team of political scientists. If there’s voting in the world, we’ve got it covered.
In a jam-packed episode we cover the Paraguayan general election, more Chilean constitutional drama and briefly share our thoughts on England’s local elections. There’s continuity, a right-wing surprise and 1000 Tory loses inside, so give it a listen!
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On 2nd April Montenegro held the second round of momentous presidential elections that saw long-term ruler Milo Đukanović leave office. And on the same day Bulgarian held yet another parliamentary election, with the potential for more to come.
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Finland and Andorra both went to the polls on 2nd April for elections which featured both continuity and change. We’ll break down the political dynamics of both countries and just what the results mean going forward.
- The Netherlands held provincial, water board and island council elections on 15th March. The results sent waves through Dutch politics- essentially all the parties lost seats to the agro-populist BBB, the BoerBurgerBeweging or Farmer-Citizen Movement, which surged to almost 20 per cent of the vote from almost nothing. The councillors elected today will also elect the Dutch Senate, directly impacting the future of the national government.
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Estonia held elections on 5th March, which saw the Reform party of incumbent PM Kaja Kallas come first with a record 31.2% of the vote. No coalition now looks feasible without Reform, thus extending the party’s dominance over Estonian politics. Issues around security and cost-of-living dominated in the election, in light of Estonia’s prominent support for Ukraine during the war. The elections also made headlines as they were the first elections in the world where more voters cast their ballots online than in person.
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Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and among the world’s biggest democracies, held its presidential election on February 25, with 76-year old Bola Tinubu of the incumbent All Progressive Congress being declared the winner with 36% of the vote. The election comes at a time when Nigeria faces multiple issues, including economic challenges. However, news reports indicate that several Nigerian opposition parties have called for a repeat of the election and called the results “heavily doctored and manipulated." To help us make sense of all of this is is Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji of the University of Nigeria.
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On 12th February Cyprus held the second round of one of its most dramatic presidential elections yet. While favourite Nikos Christodoulides had been leading the polls by massive margins in the run-up to the election, he ended up winning a very close contest. To find out why we dig into Cypriot politics and explore the runners and riders in this race.
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This week we're globe hoping, looking at a couple of smaller elections that have occurred recently. We first cover the Monegasque landslide election, where all the country's largest parties united into a single bloc. Then we travel across the Atlantic to explore Ecuador's referendum and local elections. While we're in the region, we catch up with what's been going on in Peru since we last covered it, and reflect on how institutional design played a big role in the country's current crisis.
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We're returning to Czechia, last visited in 2021, to cover the results of the presidential election. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš failed in his attempt to seize the country's top job, loosing pretty easily to former general Petr Pavel. We're joined by Dr. Sean Haley of UCL SSEES to break down why Babiš lost so badly and who exactly the man who will be Czechia's next head of state is.
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This week we're tackling that all-important topic of upper houses, or second chambers, with a special focus on the United Kingdom's bizarre House of Lords. How does the House of Lords work, and where does it come from? And what's the best way to design a second chamber? We scour the world's upper houses for the answer.
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In a quiet period for elections we're taking a look at authoritarian successor parties- the phenomenon where the ruling parties of authoritarian regimes take to electoral politics, and are often quite successful. While this might seem odd at first glance, we break down exactly why people would still want to vote for these parties when they have the choice, and debate whether they're good or bad for democracy.
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Happy new year! This week we're taking a look at the biggest and most exciting elections scheduled for 2023...and some of the ones we're looking forward to because we're massive nerds. We also make foolhardy predictions we can look back on and grimace about at Christmas.
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Do you like festive recaps of the year, do you like elections? Then this is the podcast for you! We're taking a look back at the electoral year and discussing what the most significant contests were, which ones caught us by surprise, and what the elections that brought us sadness and joy this year were. Merry Christmas everyone!
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The only conversation anyone's ever had about the Faroe Islands which doesn't make an ancient Egypt joke. Also perhaps the only reporting on the recent Faroese election in the English language, which is a shame because this was a fascinating contest. These were early parliamentary elections, and saw a political comeback for former Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen and his Social Democrats. They were called after the governing centre-right coalition collapsed, and saw disputes over abortion and LGBTQ rights, relations with Russia and inflation. Join us in a journey to the north Atlantic!
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We freely acknowledge Malaysia can be a difficult country for us to keep track of, especially over the last four years which saw dramatic governmental changes mid-term. But no need to worry as we're joined by Dr. Lynette Ong of the University of Toronto to take us through the twists and turns of recent Malaysian politics and what the results of the recent election mean for the country. None of the major coalitions managed to achieve a simple majority in parliament after the election, leading to a period of negotiation between political forces. Anwar Ibrahim, who’s been the leader of the opposition on multiple occasions since 2008, has managed to create an alliance of centre-right and centre-left political parties to become the leader of the ruling coalition.
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In the US midterm elections the red tide of Republican victories singularly failed to materialise, with Republicans making modest gains at best and failing to take the Senate. But why did Democrats perform so well when all the fundamentals were against them? To break this remarkable set of results down, were joined by Prof. Chris Carman of the University of Glasgow, who takes us through how Democrats bucked the trend and what this means for the next 2 years of American politics.
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In Denmark's recent election incumbent PM Mette Frederiksen's left-leaning bloc won a narrow majority in parliament against predictions. Yet it's all change in Denmark's party system, as Frederiksen instead seeks to form a centrist government around her Social Democrats. We break down why ordering the death of some Mink triggered the downfall of a government, but also why the issue of immigration has rendered Denmark's two-bloc politics unsustainable.
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Do you like your good news moderated by terrible news? Then this is the podcast for you! We're going over the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections which saw former president Silva strike a blow fro democracy and environment, but on the other hand we're going to bring you the lowdown on the Israeli legislative elections, which saw the fantastically corrupt Benjamin Netanyahu win a parliamentary majority with the aid of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism.
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On October 2nd Brazil had its first round of presidential elections. Former president Lula got 48.43% of the vote and incumbent Bolsonaro got 43.2% of the vote. Because neither candidate got over 50% of the vote, the country will go to a runoff vote on October 30th. Fair to say that many people around the world, and not only in Brazil, are on the edge of their seats, awaiting the results of the elections. There is so much at stake. Why did Lula not win outright in the first round as some had predicted? What are the themes of the campaign? What are Brazilians talking about? Will Bolsonaro try to discredit the elections if he loses?
To talk about all of this, we are joined by a returning guest, Julia Blunck. Julia was on the show a few months ago when we talked about the biographies of the two main presidential candidates, Lula and Bolsonaro. Julia is a writer, translator, political analyst and, it is safe to say, very funny twitterer. Julia has written some very insightful texts for Prospect Magazine, The Social Review, and The New Statesman.
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Two countries this week in a bumper episode! First we tackle Bulgaria, a country we’ve visited many times before, to find out why they want us to talk about them so badly. Then we’re looking at Latvia, another postcommunist country that held very volatile elections recently.
Elections on 3rd October in Quebec saw another landslide majority for the CAQ party of premier François Legault. Leagult came to power in 2018 leading the first government not of the Liberals or PQ since the 1960s. He represents a departure in Quebecois politics from the Sovereignty-federalism divide. The size of the CAQ victory was magnified by the vote splitting of the opposition, with 4 other parties getting between 10-15% of the vote. We break down Quebec's political journey, and why this contest looks little like its predecessors.
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Italy held snap general elections on 25th September which saw a victory for its 'centre-right' coalition of parties. Chief among these was the radical right Brothers of Italy party led by presumptive PM Giorgia Meloni, who managed to triumph over a divided centre-left. We discuss what the origins and ideology of the new rightist government and the how electoral systems effects played a huge role in their victory.
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Sweden’s general election on 11th September produced a knife edge result which saw the right-wing bloc of the centre-right parties and the radical right Sweden Democrats win a small majority. The election marks the final incorporation of the Swedish Democrats into the party system and the breakdown of the cordon sanitaire around them.
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This episode was recorded before the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II
Chileans voted overwhelmingly against a new draft of the constitution last weekend.This vote comes after a long process of social protests followed by fascinating political change in one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries and one of the most solid democracies in the world.
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Angola elected its President and National Assembly on 24th August. Although the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won again, this was the closest election since Angola’s independence from Portugal in 1975. Previous elections had seen a landslide victory for the MPLA and long term president José Eduardo dos Santos, who had been in power since 1979. He was succeeded mid-term by João Lourenço, who subsequently purged Santos family loyalists from the state apparatus. We're breaking down this election and Angola's troubled post-independence history.
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Kenya held general elections on 9th August to a plethora of positions including its presidency. This contest was won narrowly by William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance, in a victory which is now being tested. We're joined by Dr. Fred Ajwang of Kings College London to dive into the world of Kenyan politics, a world of clientelism, ethnic voting and big personalities that makes for a competitive, albeit flawed, democracy.
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What is a green party? Where do they do best and who supports them? We look at this ever more relevant party family and break down their ideology, origins and supporters. From the Nordics to Mexico to New Zealand, this is a truly global guide to the greens!
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On July 26th Tunisian’s voted in favour of a Constitutional Referendum that many suggest is largely a power grab by current president Kais Saied. This referendum was marked by very low turnout (a little over 30%), but a very high percentage of “Yes” votes among those who participated (94%). The opposition boycotted the referendum. Was this constitutional referendum really as bad as the media pundits around the world said? What did the Tunisians vote for exactly? And around the world, why do citizens vote against democracy?
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We're concluding our countdown of the world's electoral systems, this week looking at the top three. Who will come out on top? Which electoral system will be known for all time as the incontrovertible best? Tune in to find out.
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This week we're embarking on an epic mission to settle once and for all what the best electoral system is. We survey a wide range of the systems in use and discuss their pros and cons, working our way up from worst to best. This week we get from the block vote all the way up to the single transferable vote, before leaving you in suspense for our top three. Tune back next week for the thrilling conclusion!
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This week we're catching up on two second rounds from elections we've looked at in the past few weeks. First, we return to Colombia, where Andres has been reporting on the ground, to hear about Petro's narrow victory. Then we go back to France where Macron's bloc looses its parliamentary majority, throwing the 5th republic into uncharted waters. We round it off by covering the recent regional elections in Andalusia which saw the PP win a historic victory.
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Bonjour! We're back in France taking a look at the first round of the French legislative elections that are following hot on the heels of Macron's reelection as President. We're unpacking where NUPE came from and why its posed such a danger to Macron, as well as the behaviour of the other parties and alliances in this contest. Because it's the Ballot Box, we're also making an appraisal of the double ballot as an electoral system- what are its strengths and weaknesses and how is it used here?
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Ontario held provincial elections last week, which saw the incumbent Progressive Conservatives win in a landslide. Their leader, Doug Ford, has been a populist figure with a controversial record. Also this week, the UK Conservatives held a vote of confidence in PM Boris Johnson, who survived, but by a fairly narrow margin. We break down what the results mean for the future of Ontario and Johnson's leadership.
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Colombia held its first round of voting for president last Sunday (May 29th) which culled the field of contenders to two candidates: Gustavo Petro who everyone expected would go on to the second round and Rodolfo Hernández whose victory is quite shocking. The fact that Gustavo Petro emerged as the highest voted candidate is already a sort of political earthquake in Colombia. He is a leftist and he would be the first left-wing candidate to win an election in Colombia in close to a century if not longer. But, the fact that Hernández took second place means that voters have rejected Uribisimo, or the political project of Colombia’s most influential politician of the 21st century, right-wing strongman, Alvaro Uribe. To break all this down we're joined by Dr. Juan Albarracín of the Keough School of Global Affairs.
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Australia's federal elections saw the ouster of Scott Morrison's Coalition government and major successes for third parties and independents. It also saw the return of the Labor Party under leader Anthony Albanese after 9 years in opposition. We're joined by Australian elections analyst Ben Raue to break down the collapse in coalition support and the decline of the two-party duopoly, as well as the key issues that shaped the 2022 contest. As usual we also take a look at Australia's constitutional setup and introduce its party system.
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Filipinos went to the polls on May 9th 2022 for an important general election, to elect president, vice-president, renew the House of Representatives, some Senate seats, and elect governors, and several local officials. The main headline is that a majority of voters in the Philippines elected Ferdinand Marcos, also referred to as Bongbong Marcos, the son of infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as president. Moreover, Sara Duterte, the daughter of illiberal president Rodrigo Duterte won the 2022 contest to become vice-president. Does this reflect a rejection of liberal norms? Nostalgia for a past that never existed? Given that this follows the tenure of authoritarian and illiberal Rodrigo Duterte, does this perhaps reflect a preference for so-called “strong men”? We're joined by Dr. Aries Arugay, Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, to break down this crucial election and the state of Philippine democracy.
On 5th May Northern Ireland elected a new Assembly in a momentous contest which saw Sinn Féin become the largest party for the first time and the hardline unionist DUP loose a significant share of the votes. The elections come at a turbulent moment for Northern Ireland, with breakdowns in power-sharing and the fallout form Brexit. We're joined by Professor Jonathan Tonge from the University of Liverpool, who takes us through the runners and riders and what all this means for Northern Ireland's future. Before that, we attempt to explain some of the region's history and its complex institutional design.
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- The Government of Ireland Act was actually passed in 1920, not 1921 as stated in the episode.
This week Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru announced plans to dramatically reform the Welsh Parliament- the Senedd. These much needed changes, which would increased the Parliament from 60 to 96 and change the electoral system, have been met with change and controversy. We break down what these changes mean for Welsh politics.
We’re discussing local elections held across England, Scotland and Wales last week, which saw heavy losses for the governing Conservatives and gains for the centre-left opposition parties. In Scotland, the SNP remained dominant and Labour returned to second place, and in Wales Labour scored a major victory as Plaid Cymru strengthened its hold over its heartlands.
Slovenia has been ruled in recent years by a rickety coalition headed by Janez Janša, who has been a mainstay of Slovenian political life its entire democratic history. Janša is an incredibly controversial figure, who has cuddled up to Viktor Orban and moved towards the radical right. He has a long history of personal corruption and abuse of power. Slovenia has a habit of producing electoral success for new parties. This year was perhaps the most notable example of that habit, with the Freedom Movement of Robert Golob winning the greatest seat haul of any Slovene party since 1990, 41, a mere 5 seats short of a majority. We're joined by Slovenian political analyst Aljaž Pengov Bitenc to break down this extraordinary election). Follow us on Twitter @ballotworld and rate and subscribe wherever you listen.
We break down the second round of France's presidential elections, which saw a wider than expected victory for President Macron over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. We discuss why this happened and what might be in store for Macron's second term and the upcoming legislative elections.
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On April 10th, Mexico held its first presidential recall vote to see whether Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) would remain in office or not. The turnout threshold of 40% was not reached, as only 17.8% of the voter’s roll turned out, which means that the results were not legally binding- in any case, 92% of voters who turned out voted for AMLO to remain president. As with many things about AMLO and Mexican politics today, this was a truly bizarre election: AMLO was the one who supported the recall vote and wanted people to turn out while the opposition campaigned for voters to just not show up at the polls. Why? Mexico is so polarized that this vote has two completely different interpretations: pro-AMLO citizens say it is a democratic innovation and hail it as a triumph of democracy, for those critical of AMLO, they see this vote and the circumstances around it as evidence of democratic backsliding in the country. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscribe wherever you're listening.
With all eyes on the French presidential election we decided to dive deep into the nature of this unusual executive, which has a reputation for being extremely powerful but doesn't operate along the lines spelled out in the constitution. We discuss the origins of the position, the sources of its power and analyse the results of the first round of the 2022 election. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscribe on twitter. * Chirac's election was actually in 1995, not 1997 as stated in the episode.
Don't listen to this episode if you're feeling down! It's not going to be easy listening as we delve into the results of Hungary and Serbia's elections on 3rd April. In both countries the authoritarian incumbents Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vučić scored new victories, despite unprecedented opposition unity and an ongoing cost of living crisis. We explore how these 21st century European autocrats have remained so popular, how they have undermined democracy in their favour, and what the opposition did wrong. We also catch up briefly with Costa Rica's second round, which isn't a wonderful story either.
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Malta held general elections on 26th March, which were won by the incumbent Labour Party of PM Robert Abela in another landslide victory. This outcome was never really in doubt, given all polls pointed towards it. The Labour government has been constantly dogged with corruption allegations, most famously the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who had exposed two Labour politicians. This led to the resignation of PM Joseph Muscat in 2019, who was replaced by Abela. Despite this Labour cruised to another easy victory over the Nationalist Party.
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Hungary will go to the polls on 3rd April for an incredibly significant election where opposition parties have united to challenge the 12 year-long and increasingly autocratic rule of Viktor Orban. Ahead of Election Day, we’re looking back at the 3 decades of Hungarian history since the fall of communism, exploring how the country’s democracy came to be in such a perilous state.
Don't know much about South Korean democracy? Well neither did we, which is why we spoke to Dr. Myungji Yang of the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, who took us through the main features of Korean politics and the key debates and personalities of this election. The election ended up a nail-bitter between two fairly inexperienced and unpopular candidates, with the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol, of the opposition conservative People Power Party emerging triumphant.
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Last week Russia began a baleful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has been fiercely resisted. While none of us feel qualified to discuss the war or offer analysis of it, we have recorded this to share some thoughts on Ukrainian democracy- particularly Chris' memories of being an election observer in Dnipro in 2012- and explain some of the background to the conflict by telling Ukraine's political history since independence.
This episode features audio recorded by Jonathan and Chris at anti-war marches in London and Manchester respectively
Red Cross crisis appeal- https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal
For UK listeners, you can donate to British Ukrainian Aid- https://british-ukrainianaid.org/?fbclid=IwAR2HWFz8x7MJyg6uneGaNml0jKDTTGEfSJO4iRXpl-nN4N-YIUN4Q3k5mlU
In London, Timeout has a handy guide as to what you can do to help: https://www.timeout.com/london/news/how-to-help-the-people-of-ukraine-if-youre-living-in-london-022522
Many ways to help can be found here: https://linktr.ee/RazomForUkraine (primarily US focused but brooder as well)
On February 13th early elections were held to the parliament of the Spanish region of Castile and León, resulting in a bit of a backfire for regional centre-right President Alfonso Fernández Mañueco. Why should we care so much about these elections in a lesser known Spanish region? Well aside from some interesting local parties and issues of rural depopulation, these elections told us a lot about the direction fo Spanish politics and had a profound national fallout. What do these elections tell us about the future of Spanish politics with a bumper election year on the horizon and polarisation growing ever stronger? Join us to find out.
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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 another vaguely centre-left candidate in a runoff following the elimination of an evangelical conservative candidate who seemed poised for success. We're digging into this election, and exploring how a stable democratic regime has endured for so long in Costa Rica.
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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 end the PS ended up achieving a small overall majority of 117 seats. While small this gives the country a much more stable outlook for the next four years than had been expected. To discuss the Portuguese election and explore the Portuguese politcal system and its many idiosyncrasies, we're joined in this episode by Dr. Pedro Magalhães of the University of Lisbon.
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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. We're joined by Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles of of the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, to explore the political dynamics of Barbados and the key issues and events of this election.
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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 others? The answers are in this podcast!
Please do rate and subscribe and, as Chris says, have a good...whatever.
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 completely different worlds. While Lula became one of the country's most significant figures and served two successful terms as President, Bolsonaro remained for years a reactionary figure of mockery in Brazilian politics. But in 2018, with Lula's PT hobbled by corruption scandals, Bolsonaro won the election and pursued a hard right and antidemocratic agenda. However, in 2022 he must face a returning Lula, one of Latin America's most skilful political operators.
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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.
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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!
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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 subscribe wherever you're listening and follow us on twitter @ballotworld.
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 11 years. We're pleased to bring a hopeful news story in Latin America for once, and to nerd-out about strange electoral systems.
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NOTE: The Ley de Lemas system was only in place in the 1985 election, contrary to what was suggested in the episode.
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 assembly elections. Will Chile turn down a hard right path of populism and border controls with José Antonio Kast, or will Gabriel Boric lead the country down a leftist path focused on addressing social inequality? We ponder this question and more!
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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 Continue the cChange swept into first place with prime ministerial candidate Kiril Petkov looking more likely to succeed in forming a government than in the previous two elections.
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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 regime.
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 harder for tradioanlly democratic-supporting groups to vote. We're joined by Kevin Morris of the Brennan Center and CUNY to talk about election integrity in the US and the deeply troubling racial turnout gap. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and rate and subscribe wherever you're listening.
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 opposition parties that challenged it without much success.
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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.
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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 Iraq's multitudinous parties and alliances.
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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 pirates.
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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 changed hands. We dig into Iceland's now fractured party system, and how politics works in one of Europe's smallest democracies.
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The blog for this episode can be found here.
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 ongoing negotiations.
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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 explore the Canadian party system and the country's constitutional conventions.
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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 context which is so uncompetitive and what this contest means for the future of both Putin and the opposition. Follow us on twitter @Ballotworld, and please rate and subscribe wherever you're listening.
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, and how are they abused? And how did Newsom survive this attempt?
Please rate and subscribe wherever you listen, follow us on twitter @Ballotworld and apologies for Andres' unusual views that the 2012 version of Total Recall is better than the original.
The accompanying blogpost: https://medium.com/@Ballotworld/gavin-newsom-and-californias-recall-madness-3b58efedd34
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, as well as exploring the fortunes of the country's various parties in this election.
As usual please do rate and subscribe wherever you're listening, and follow us on twitter @BallotWorld.
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 Morocco's Kings have managed to maintain such a powerful role in Moroccan politics, how the institutions of the country are designed to undermine royal opponents and how the PJD lost support a decade on from the Arab Spring.
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We're diving into the murky world of semi-authoritarianism, where there are still somewhat competitive elections but where the system is heavily slanted in one direction. We discuss what's behind the rise of this unlikely (and now rather common) regime type, and why authoritarians who hold elections can actually be quite stable and long-lived. Filled with examples from Hungary to Mexico and from Malaysia to Turkey!
As usual please rate and subscribe wherever you listen!
On 12th August Zambians went to the polls in an election which was surrounded by concerns around creeping authoritarianism and the actions of President Lungu to skew the vote in his favour. A knife edge contest was predicted. Instead opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema won a landslide victory and his UPND party won a parliamentary majority, reversing Zambia's course towards authoritarianism. We dive into the main issues of the campaign and Zambia's history of alternating democratisation and authoritarianisation. To do so we're joined by our unofficial Sub-Saharan Africa correspondent Michael Bankole of Kings College London.
Please do rate and subscribe wherever you're listening, follow us on twitter @ballotworld and check out Mike's excellent podcast Politics JaM!
Nova Scotia held provincial elections on the 17th August, which were won in a shock victory by the opposition Progressive Conservatives. We dig into the runners and riders and the main issues in the election. But with a snap federal election upcoming in September, it wouldn't make much sense to leave Canada without previewing events at the national level, where Justin Trudeau is hoping to turn his minority government into a majority one.
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This week we're looking at ways you can twist elections to your advantage. We're covering Gerrymandering, biased electoral laws, voter suppression, electoral registration and misinformation- and we've tried not to just talk about the US all episode. If you've ever wanted to learn more about the 'Tullymander' now's your chance!
As always please rate and subscribe wherever you're listening and follow us on twitter @ballotworld.
On 1st August Mexicans went to the polls for the first exercise of direct democracy in the modern history of the country. It was a weird, ultimately vacuous exercise that asked a nearly incomprehensible question. The referendum, asking voters if they approved the prosecution of former presidents, was also useless, considering this is already the law. We break down exactly why this weird vote happened, and also have a bit more of a discussion around referenda/ums- what they're used for and how different countries do them.
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In September Germany will hold one of the most consequential elections in its recent history, with huge ramifications for the direction of that country and Europe as a whole. We're breaking down where the parties are standing at the moment and what the likely outcomes of September's contest are. And as usual we'll also fill you in on some of the background of the German party system and the country's institutional design.
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The United Kingdom is an oddity in Europe for many reasons, but not least through its use of the majoritarian first-past-the-post voting system. We discuss why efforts to change the UK's electoral system have failed, from the end of the first world war, to the New Labour era to the AV referendum. We also ruminate if and how such efforts could ever succeed in the future, and break down what effects FPTP has had on the the British party system and British political culture.
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Our first return elections and they both happened on the same day! In this election we're returning to Bulgaria, which we last explored in April and which held its second parliamentary election this year on the 11th June. While the parties shifted a little, the overall result remains inconclusive. And in Moldova, which we covered on our very first episode last November, new president Maia Sandu's pro-european and anti-corruption PAS party won a stunning landslide victory in snap parliamentary elections.
Follow us on twitter @Ballotworld, rate and subscribe wherever you listen and enjoy some lovely Moldovan wine while listening to this episode!
Following a referendum in 2019 preferential voting came to New York City this month, with all eyes focused on the all important Democratic primary and how its dynamics would change under the new system. We discuss what exactly is 'ranked choice voting'- as it was referred to here- what its political effects are, just who uses preferential systems (Irish and Australian listeners, get ready to hear about yourselves), and what exactly their names should be.
Also featuring reporting by Andrés on the streets of Harlem!
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On the Mediterranean island of Corsica nationalist parties have achieved a hitherto undreamt of hegemony over island politics. Regional elections over last week confirmed this dominance, and we're breaking down how this has been achieved and the history of Corsican nationalism. While we're there, we survey the results of the rest of the French regional elections, which saw surprisingly good results for the traditional left and right blocs. Also featured- horrible mispronunciations of Corsican AND French names.
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Three elections for the price one one! This week we're covering the Mongolian presidential election, which saw a landslide victory for the candidate of the governing party and a potential restructuring of this surprising democracy's party system. But we're also examining Iran's unique brand of authoritarianism in its presidential elections, and heading over to Armenia, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has managed to pull off an impressive victory in a race which was considered to be close.
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We're back in Latin America! We first tackle Peru's incredibly close run-off result, where leftist candidate Pedro Castillo edged out right-winger Keiko Fujimori to claim the presidency. Next we head north to Andres' homeland of Mexico, where a bumper set of federal, state and local elections have been taking place. While president Andrés Manuel López Obrador's alliance retained its congressional majority, his Morena party suffered a setback and the coalition as a whole lost the super-majority that allowed it to alter the constitution. We dig into the results and the country's new political alignment.
DISY, AKEL, DIKO, EDEK...if its all (Cypriot) Greek to you then we're here to decode Cyprus' recent legislative elections, which saw something of a shakeup to its unique but long-lived party system. New parties made some waves in this election- and the old parties suffered some setbacks- in an election that featured surprisingly little mention of the Cyprus dispute but plenty of talk about corruption and immigration.
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In a break form our regular election coverage, we're talking through some of our favourite strange conditional choices and weird electoral laws. Covered in this episode- Chile's binomial system, Israeli prime ministerial elections, Italy's ever-changing electoral laws, Serbia's turnout debacle, Alberta senate nominee elections, Mexico's 1977 electoral reform, Hereditary Peer by-elections, the Seanad Éireann and IRV at the Oscars.
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Last week Chileans voted in the second stage of a process to rewrite the Pinochet-era constitution which has ensured significant parts of the dictators' antidemocratic and neoliberal agenda have remained in place and constrained governments ever since he left office. Last year, following a turbulent periods of protests and repressive government response, Chileans voted in a referendum to call a constitutional convention to write a new constitution, which was elected last last week. Voting saw historic lows for the classic centre-left and centre-right blocs that have governed Chile since the transition, and a wave of support for left-leaning lists. We dig into the origins of Chile's flawed constitution and what's behind these changes in voting patterns.
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In the second part of our UK coverage, we're tackling the largest component of the union, England. Home to 56 million people and a truly bizarre system of local government, the country held local elections on the 6th which revealed a changing party system. We explain the intricacies of local government in England, plus what the results mean for the Conservatives, Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats as they head into the post-Brexit political era. Beneath the headline of Labour woes and Conservative gains, intriguing voter shifts were going on all over the country, as the Conservatives made inroads in traditionally Labour-voting areas while loosing to progressive parties across its southern heartlands.
Please rate and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on twitter (@Ballotworld), and buy Brexitland, for which we have received no renumeration whatsoever.
It's part one of our big UK elections bonanza coverage. This episode we're diving into the parliamentary elections that took place in Scotland and Wales. For both of these countries this can credibly claim to be one of the most important contests since the advent of devolution. For Scotland it will play a key role in determining the shape of the country's independence debate for years to come, and for Wales it represents the first vote since the massively raised profile of the Welsh government after the pandemic.
But for those not in the know, what's behind the unique drivers of Scottish and Welsh politics? What sets their political cultures and party system's apart from England? And just where does Mark Drakeford get all his cheese from? Tune in to find out!
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Don't worry, UK election coverage is inbound, but for now we're analysing the regional elections in the Madrid Community that took place last week. While Madrid's elections are normally pretty dull, this was the region's first early election and saw dramatic changes in the vote from 2019 when the last election took place. We dissect what these elections- which saw a troubling rise of rightwing populism in a mainstream right party- mean for the Community and for Spain as a whole. There's also some updates on Israel and El Salvador and a brief overview of the Tasmanian election if you could possibly be left wanting more.
Please do rate and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on twitter @BalllotWorld.
Albania went to the polls on 25th April and re-elected the incumbent Socialist Party to a record third term in office. We dive into the political dynamics of this unique country which both conforms and deviates from regional trends. Religiously diverse but without religiously orientated politics, Albania maintains a stable two-party system which has alluded its neighbours. Key themes in this election were the position of charismatic and controversial Prime Minister Edi Rama, corruption, organised crime and creeping authoritarianism. We break down all the key trends and the significance of the results. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast and do follow us on twitter @ballotworld.
We're setting sail to two island nations with healthy democracies which held elections in the last few weeks. Cabo Verde stands as a democratic beacon off the west African coast, with a stable two-and-a-half party system and robust institutions for the last three decades. Its incumbent party scored a second term in office in this election. Samoa lies in a different ocean and has unusual governing structures, where a Westminster system is combined traditional Polynesian features. Its ruling party faced an unexpectedly strong challenger in these elections, bringing a degree of competition to a system dominated by one force for many decades.
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Two elections with shocking and unexpected outcomes took place last week in the Andean countries of South America. In Peru, an incredibly fractured first round of presidential elections will lead to an unforeseen runoff between leftist Pedro Castillo and the ultra-neoliberal Keiko Fujimori, while congressional elections produced a legislature that will provide no President with a comfortable governing majority. We also return to Ecuador, where despite a supermajority for leftwing candidates in the first round and in legislative elections, the candidate of the centre-right emerged triumphant. Follow us on twitter where we are @Ballotworld
It's a battle of old and new parties in Bulgaria as the country's three largest historic, and very corrupt, parties head off against three new parties of varying hues that have emerged from the country's anticorruption movement. New parties made major gains in this election, but failed to overturn the political scene completely. With all possible coalition formations looking fraught with complications, Bulgarians look to be in for a protracted period of government formation.
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Greenland went to the polls this week for a historic election which had environmental concerns at its heart. Disputes over a new mining project polarised the arctic nation, with the largest party in this election- the leftist Inuit Ataqatigiit- profiting from its opposition. Despite happening in a tiny country (population wise), which hasn't yet achieved full sovereignty, this was an election of global significance, feeding into issues surrounding the climate crisis and decolonisation.
This was originally supposed to be a Greenland-Bulgaria omnibus episode, as you can tell from Andres' introduction, but we've cut it for time reasons. Bulgaria will be with you later in the week!
Please do rate and subscribe wherever you're listening to help other people discover the show.
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We're covering two elections this week- one is very much our bread and butter and the other one is a bit of a departure. Firstly, we're taking a look at the Newfoundland and Labrador general election, which took place on 25th March and was Canada's first postal-only election. Then there's the unionisation ballot that took place in the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, a city in the US state of Alabama. This was a vote which has a huge amount of significance for the US and indeed many other countries, even if it's being held in a single workplace, given the global significance of Amazon.
Israel held its fourth election in three years last week, which offered up a result that looks likely to pave the way for a fifth contest. It was an election dominated by a growing secular-religious divide, divisions in the Arab-Israeli community, a successful vaccine rollout and of course Benjamin Netanyahu, a figure a who has contrived to polarise the entire Israeli party system around him. We're here as usual to examine the major cleavages facing Israeli society today, and to cover which parties did well and not so well out of Israel Election 4.
The Netherlands held its general election earlier this week, and as usual we're here to cover who gained and lost, and what the key issues were. This election produced a couple fo surprises and some interesting results, with gains for social-liberal party D66, losses for the classical left parties and a fracturing of the (fairly large) radical right bloc. And at the centre of it all there remains, as ever, Mark Rutte and his VVD, looking set for another term in office. Follow us on Twitter @BallotWorld
In this episode we're taking a look at three elections (which explains the longer-than-usual running time, sorry!) which have taken place in federal countries last weekend. There's Western Australia, where the governing Labor Party won a larger than landslide victory at the polls, and then two elections in German states- Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate- which have some interesting things to tell us about German politics in a bumper electoral year for that country. If you want to finally know what traffic-light, Jamaica and Kenya coalitions are, then this is the episode to listen to!
Australia until 00:45 then Germany after that.
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We're taking a bit of a break from current electoral coverage to look at some upcoming elections in our own countries. Very soon we'll be releasing Jonathan and Chris' discussion of the upcoming election bonanza in the UK in May, but for now we're listening to Andres tell us about the midterm elections in Mexico this year, where the Congressional elections and numerous state-level contests are taking place. They will be an important set of elections for Mexico, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador playing an outsized role and his coalition going head to head with an unprecedented alliance of the country's three historic parties.
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A few newsworthy events related to elections we've previously covered have occurred in recent days, so we thought we'd drop back in and Gove a quick explainer. After recounts, the candidates advancing to the second round of Ecuador's presidential elections looks clearer, and Bolivia has been to the polls again in local elections. And in Spain, another regional election in Madrid is unexpectedly on the horizon.
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This week we're spotlighting the legislative elections that took place in El Salvador on 28th February. This was a remarkable election which saw the New Ideas and GANA parties win an impossible-to-believe landslide majority. These parties are loyal to president Nayib Bukele, a figure who has upended Salvadoran politics and displays authoritarian tendencies that have opened up a concerning new chapter in the history of the country. This election saw the president's party and its ally sweep away the parties that had dominated the country since its bloody civil war of the 1980s, and remove his problem of a legislature that had sometimes served as a frustration for some of his worst excesses.
In the second part of our Valentine's Day election series, we're taking a trip to the heart of the Balkans to discuss Kosovo's parliamentary elections, which saw a historic victory for the left-nationalist and anti-corruption Vetëvendosje (which we can't pronounce, and refer to as 'self-determination throughout this). This was a remarkable election in a small country only recognised by half of UN member states, and we're here to discuss the reason's behind Vetëvendosje's massive success and how it reshapes the political landscape of Kosovo.
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It's the first of our two-part Valentine's Day election extravaganza (Kosovo later this week!). Catalonia held parliamentary elections on the 14th and we're breaking down the results and what they mean for a region that has seen more than its fair share of voting over the past decade. Despite the frequency of elections in Catalonia, this one still brings up a lot of discussion points, including the polarisation of politics into two blocs, the rise and fall of Citizens, and battles between pro-independence forces.
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This isn't a pairing of countries you see very often- but both Ecuador and Liechtenstein held their elections on Sunday 7th February. We examine the intricacies of Liechtenstein's small-scale politics, then jump to discussing the main themes of Ecuador's general elections. We cover the main candidates, prospects for the second round and the shadow of Rafael Correa.
Coming soon we'll also be releasing some bonus material recorded with this episode about Correa and Latin America's pink wave.
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We're back next week with a look at Sunday's contests in Ecuador and Lichtenstein, but in a bit of a quiet electoral period we decided to take a deep dive into the political history of Turkey with returning guest Begum Zorlu and Dr Mark Sinan Winrow. We start right at the beginning electorally with the few elections held near the end of the Ottoman Empire, and then then work our way froward chronologically covering the one-party era, the first two periods of multiparty competition, the two coups, the postmodern coup and the AKP's rise to power. We end with an assessment of the Turkish political landscape as it stands today.
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Portugal held presidential elections on 24th January. We discuss the highlights and lowlights of that race, including the highly predictable outcome. But it's also a good jumping of point for thinking about semi-presidentialism, a type of institutional design whose basic definition is much disputed by political scientists.
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No full episode this week unfortunately- but we have the first podlet, or Little Ballot Box, to keep you going until next week. This is a chat Chris and Andres had about the politics of corruption when we were discussing Peru for our 2021 Preview episode, which we thought was interesting enough to stand on its own!
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We're joined once again by Michael Bankole to discuss the Ugandan General Election, a contest marked by a charismatic opposition figure and regime repression. We then discuss the health of democracy in Africa in general, and what the main factors are that have made democratic success stories so few and far between on the continent. Follow us on Twitter at @Ballotworld
We discuss the ramifications of last week's attack on the US Capitol, whether Trump committed autogolpe and what this means for the future of the Republicans, Democrats and American democracy. There's also a deep dive intro the run-off elections for the Georgia Senate seats as well. Follow us on Twitter @BallotWorld
We take a look at the upcoming electoral year of 2021, one that's jam packed with interesting elections. We limit ourselves to three though- The Netherlands, Catalonia and Peru- and discuss what those contests are looking like a few months out! Follow us on twitter @Ballotworld
We're taking a look back at the extremely unusual electoral year of 2020 in this episode. We've each chosen to highlight one election from 2020 we think has been particularly symptomatic of 2020, or just very interesting, and along the way find time to discuss the rise of green parties and the politics of COVID-19 responses. We also bite the bullet and talk about the US elections for a bit, so be warned. While its another epic-length instalment, its worth it I promise!
Elections discussed in this episode-
- US Presidential and Congressional Elections
- Irish General Election
- Belarusian Presidential Election
- South Korean Legislative Election
Part two of our look at the elections of December 2020. We're covering the Romanian legislative election in this episode, on which Chris has a lot to say. This was an interesting election with somewhat unexpected results, and we're here to dissect the fortunes of the PSD, PNL and USR-PLUS, as well as examining the return of the far-right to the Romanian parliament.
Come back next week for our 2020 retrospective!
In this episode we begin our look at three key elections that have taken place this month. We are joined by Begum Zorlu and Michael Bankole to talk about the elections to the Venezuelan National Assembly and the Ghanaian General Election.
Elections featured in this episode
- Venezuela
- Ghana
Tune in next week to hear about Romania's legislative elections and please do follow Begum and Mike on twitter at @begumz_ and @mxkes_. And also follow us at @BallotWorld!
Episode 2 is here! We conclude our look at the November elections with an examination of Puerto Rico, Georgia and Moldova. For the Georgian Parliamentary election we are joined by Ido Vock, international correspondent at the New Statesman.
Elections featured in this episode
- Puerto Rican general election
- Georgian parliamentary election
- Moldovan presidential election
Follow us on Twitter @BallotWorld and please do rate and subscribe!
Welcome to the Ballot Box! In this episode we begin our look at the November (and some October) 2020 elections, although those expecting to hear about Joe Biden will be disappointed.
Elections featured in this episode:
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Belize
- Bihar (India)
- Burma/Myanmar
- Chile
- Bolivia
- US electoral reform referenda
Tune in next week to hear about Moldova, Puerto Rico and Georgia, when we will be joined by Ido Vock, international correspondent for the New Statesman. Follow us on twitter @BallotWorld