September 13, 2024

A weekly review of key news and analysis of elections in Asia and the Indo-Pacific, usually posted on Fridays and occasionally updated throughout the week.

Fushimi Castle in Kyoto, Japan, built in the 1590s. Photo credit: Wikimedia/Ujigis (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Upcoming Asia/Pacific Elections

Australia, Local Elections in New South Wales: September 14, 2024 (next federal elections due by September 2025)

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (September 13, 2024): Council candidate shortage sees 14 NSW local government areas have no vote on September 14

India, Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir: September 18-October 1, 2024

AFP (September 10, 2024): India Grants Bail To Jailed Kashmir Leader To Campaign In Polls

Zulfikar Majid, Deccan Herald (September 9, 2024): Jamaat-e-Islami makes strategic comeback, holds first election rally in Kashmir after 37 years

Sri Lanka Presidential Election: September 21, 2024

Krishan Francis, AP (September 13, 2024): Sri Lanka’s opposition leader says the rich will pay more if he wins the presidential election

Saroj Pathirana, Al Jazeera (September 13, 2024): Could Marxist Anura Dissanayake become Sri Lanka’s next president?

Rathindra Kuruwita, The Diplomat (September 9, 2024): Which Candidate Is China Likely to Back in Sri Lanka’s 2024 Presidential Election? Sino-Sri Lankan relations have been stronger when left-of-center parties or politicians are in power on the Indian Ocean island.

Japan, LDP Leadership Election: September 27, 2024 (general elections due in 2025 but could be called earlier)

Kyodo News (September 12, 2024): Japan ruling party leadership race begins with record 9 candidates

Mari Yamaguchi, AP (September 12, 2024): The candidates to be Japan’s next leader include a former premier’s son and a defense expert

Macau Chief Executive Election: October 13, 2024 (indirect)

Kensaku Ihara, Nikkei Asia (September 13, 2024): Macao’s former top judge to run unopposed in leadership race

Indonesia Regional Elections: November 27, 2024

Ian Wilson, Fulcrum (September 9, 2024): The Twilight of Electoral Competition in Indonesia

Joseph Rachman, Foreign Policy (September 9, 2024): Indonesia’s Democracy Still Looks Unsteady

Liam Gammon, East Asia Forum (September 8, 2024): Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo steps back from Widodo’s constitutional shenanigans

Bangladesh Snap Elections: Forthcoming

Faisal Mahmud, Nikkei Asia (September 13, 2024): Bangladesh pushes ‘groundbreaking’ reforms after Hasina exit

Husain Haqqani, GIS (September 12, 2024): Ouster in Bangladesh fuels instability

Past Asia/Pacific Elections

Papua New Guinea Parliamentary Elections: July 4-22, 2022

Michael Kabuni, DevPolicyBlog (September 13, 2024): Marape defeats vote of no confidence: What next?

Elections On Deck