Upcoming Elections
Bangladesh Parliamentary By-Election in Rangpur-3 – October 5, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: Bangladesh – 159.5 million; Rangpur-3 – 441,671 voters
Bangladesh held general elections to the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) in December 2018. The Rangpur-3 by-election is happening due to the death of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was Bangladesh’s military dictator during most of the 1980s. Ershad was ousted in 1990 by massive protests led by Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, bitter rivals head the country’s two dominant political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The AL and the BNP have alternated in power since the 1990s, but the AL has been in power since 2009 and is currently dominant and increasingly authoritarian. The BNP boycotted the 2014 elections, and Freedom House notes: “Hasina’s AL overwhelmingly won the December 2018 polls, taking 288 of the 300 directly elected seats. Election day and the campaign that preceded it were marked by political violence in which at least 17 people were killed, as well as legal and extralegal harassment of government opponents.”
Ershad formed Jatiya Party (JP) in 1986 and it currently holds 26 seats in parliament. Although it had previously been in talks to join the governing coalition with the AL, JP decided to be in opposition, making Ershad the official leader of the opposition. JP is strong in Rangpur, which is Bangladesh’s third-largest city, located in the north of the country.
Liakat Ali Badal, Dhaka Tribune: “Rangpur 3 by-polls: Candidates get symbols, begin campaigns”
Liakat Ali Badal, Dhaka Tribune: “Rangpur 3 by polls: AL withdraws candidate, throws weight behind JaPa [Jatiya Party]”
New Zealand Local – October 12, 2019 and Parliamentary – by November 21, 2020 (likely to be earlier)
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 4.5 million
New Zealand’s two main parties are the center-left Labour Party and center-right National Party. National won the most votes and seats in the 2017 elections, but not enough to form a government. Labour formed a coalition with New Zealand First, a populist party that has worked with both Labour and National in the past, backed by a confidence and supply agreement with the Green Party (Labour and New Zealand First combined have the same number of seats as National – 55). Labour leader Jacinda Ardern – a former DJ who is on the left wing of the party – became Prime Minister and is currently the world’s youngest female government.
Local elections in New Zealand have had low turnout for decades, but the local polls could serve as an interesting barometer ahead of next year’s parliamentary polls – which are due by November 2020 but could be called earlier – for which parties have already started campaigning.
1 News Now (New Zealand): “Voting opens today [September 19] for local elections….Voting closes midday October 12.”
Dileepa Fonseka, Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand): “Local elections 2019: Nine candidates bid to lead the capital”
India, Haryana State and Maharashtra State Assemblies – October 21, 2019 Jharkhand State Assembly – November 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Republic
Population: India – 1.3 billion; Maharashtra -112 million; Haryana – 25 million; Jharkhand – 32 million
India has 29 states and seven union territories. Indian states are big – Maharashtra, whose capital is Mumbai, has 112 million people, Haryana 25 million, and Jharkhand 32 million. Coalitions headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently control all three state legislatures. The BJP won a massive victory in elections to the Lok Sabha, India’s national parliament, earlier this year, giving it a second term in power as the majority party able to govern without coalition partners, in an increasingly polarized political climate. The main opposition social democratic Congress Party – India’s oldest party – did well in a series of state elections late last year but is reeling from the whiplash of defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
The state elections are happening in the context of a renewed push from Modi to institute “one nation, one election” – a proposal to hold state elections at the same time as elections to the Lok Sabha. Critics say the plan is a ploy to centralize power, part of a pattern that includes Modi’s surprise decision to strip the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir of its autonomy. Critics accuse Modi and the BJP of increasing authoritarianism.
Ayesha Venkataraman and Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times: “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India prepares for a big trip to the United States, human rights groups and three Nobel Peace Prize winners have criticized the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its plan to bestow a prestigious award upon Mr. Modi next week during his visit. The Nobel laureates sent a letter to the Gates Foundation stating that under Mr. Modi’s leadership, ‘India has descended into dangerous and deadly chaos that has consistently undermined human rights, democracy.’”
Updated September 21, 2019
Times of India: “The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the single-phase voting for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on October 21, while counting of votes will take place on October 24.”
Sanchita Jain, Zee News (India): “Jharkhand gears up for 2019 Assembly election; here’s what happened in the last three polls: The Election Commission (EC) is likely to take a call on the poll dates of Jharkhand Assembly elections soon. The term of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly ends on December 27, 2019.”
Sri Lanka Presidential – November 16, 2019 (confirmed) and Parliamentary – February 2020 (tentative)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 22.6 million
Sri Lanka is still feeling the aftershocks of a series of terrorist attacks over Easter 2019 and a 2018 political crisis in which President Maithripala Sirisena tried to dissolve parliament and remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office and replace him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015. Ultimately, Wickremesinghe was reinstated, but the crisis has deep roots and tensions remain high in Sri Lankan politics.
The two major parties are Sirisena’s center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Wickremesinghe’s center-right United National Party. Rajapaksa left the SLPF in 2018 and now leads the populist Sri Lanka People’s Front/Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). In the last presidential elections, Rajapaksa surprisingly lost to Sirisena, who embarked on a reform program to reverse many of the autocratic powers Rajapaksa had built up. Sirisena is eligible to run for a second term and could run again. His potential challengers include Wickremesinghe and one of Rajapaksa’s siblings (Rajapaksa is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency). Rajapaksa’s SLPP did well in local elections last year. Sri Lanka’s democracy sits on the precipice, and the upcoming elections could well determine whether it strengthens or deteriorates.
Bharatha Mallawarachi, AP: “Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Nov. 16, the elections office said Wednesday, amid calls for a strong leader to boost national security as the country recovers from deadly Easter Sunday bomb attacks.”
Shihar Aneez, Reuters: “Sri Lankan presidential nominee Gotabaya Rajapaksa would ‘restore relations’ with the country’s top lender China if he wins the Nov. 16 vote and met with a senior Chinese official this week, according to an adviser and his spokesman.”
News First (Sri Lanka): “Three candidates placed bonds for the Presidential Election today (September 19). Director-General of the National Elections Commission Saman Sri Ratnayake stated that two out of the three were independent candidates. Former Parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda, former MP of JVP S. Amarasinghe and Dr Ajantha Perera from the Sri Lanka Socialist Party placed their bonds.”
Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu: “Sri Lanka elections | Race heats up within UNP for presidential candidacy”
Hong Kong District Councils – November 24, 2019 and Legislative Council – September 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Special Administrative Region within China
Population: 7.2 million
A series of massive protests – with as many as 2 million people in the streets on at least one occasion – has been taking place in Hong Kong since the beginning of the summer. The proximate cause was a controversial extradition bill, but even though the bill has been put on hold, protesters persist, calling for more democracy and free elections. The police have responded violently and pro-Beijing forces have sought to smear and demoralize the protesters. There are fears that Beijing could send troops, but Hong Kong’s activists vow to continue until they succeed in their goals.
Hong Kong’s politicians fall into two broad camps: pro-democracy and pro-Beijing (sometimes called pro-establishment). Within these camps, parties and independent candidates have diverse ideologies, ranging from free market to social democracy. The District Councils oversee local public works and community activities, and the Legislative Council (Legco) is Hong Kong’s legislature. Following the 2015 District Council elections, the pro-Beijing camp controls all 18 councils, but the pro-democracy and localist camps currently hold 124 out of 458 seats. In the Legco, the pro-Beijing camp holds 43 seats out of 70, while the pro-democracy camp holds 24. The protest movement could boost the pro-democracy camp.
Holmes Chan, Hong Kong Free Press: “Protesters are set to march in Tuen Mun on Saturday afternoon after a police ban on the event was overturned. Meanwhile, pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho has urged his supporters to ‘clean up’ the Lennon Wall message boards across Hong Kong.”
Shibani Mahtani, Washington Post: “Hong Kong democracy activists presented their case before a congressional commission Tuesday for tougher U.S. action, including possible sanctions, to counter China’s steady erosion of the territory’s freedoms, as momentum builds in Washington for a more robust response.
Jennifer Creery, Hong Kong Free Press: “A new report from NGO Amnesty International says that Hong Kong police have used reckless tactics and retaliatory violence in their crackdown on protesters during the summer, resulting in injuries such as broken bones and internal bleeding.”
Taiwan Presidential and Legislative – January 11, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 23.5 million
Taiwan has a robust democracy. The two main parties are President Tsai Ing-Wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT, founded by Sun Yat-Sen, favors closer ties to the mainland, which it ruled from 1925 to 1948. The DPP, established in 1986 during Taiwan’s transition to democracy, supports Taiwan’s independence. Relations with China are a dominant theme in Taiwan’s political debate. Tsai won the DPP presidential primary. Beijing’s choice, Han Kuo-yu, the populist firebrand mayor of Kaohsiung, a major port city in the south, won the KMT primary. His opponent, Foxconn founder Terry Guo, Taiwan’s richest man, is mulling an independent bid in the general election.
The DPP currently controls the Legislative Yuan. Last year’s local elections swept the KMT back into many local offices that they had lost during the 2014 local elections – with some interference from China. China is expected to attempt to influence the upcoming elections as well.
Chung Kuang-cheng, Radio Free Asia: “Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen hit out at China on Friday after a second Pacific nation announced it was terminating diplomatic ties with the democratic island to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China instead. Kiribati, a Pacific island nation, announced the move on Friday, the second of Taipei’s diplomatic partners to do so in a week.”
Lawrence Chung and Kristin Huang, South China Morning Post: “Foxconn founder Terry Gou’s decision to pull out of Taiwan’s presidential campaign creates a better chance for the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) to return to power next year, analysts said, as his withdrawal helps forge unity within the opposition party.”
Stratfor: “Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, a former member of Taiwan’s ruling party and a past vice president, has announced her candidacy for the island’s presidential elections next January under the banner of the Formosa Alliance Party on a promise to strengthen the territory’s independence push, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 17. The announcement came one day after Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou dropped a planned bid to run as an independent candidate.”
Paul Huang, The News Lens: “Who Is Annette Lu and Why Is She Running for Taiwan’s President?”
George F. Will, Washington Post: “What Hong Kong’s resistance means for Taiwan
South Korea Legislative – April 15, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 51.4 million
President Moon Jae-In, who is limited to a single term in office, is facing a decrease in approval ratings ahead of the midterm legislative elections; however, his ratings tend to improve temporarily whenever there appears to be a breakthrough in the standoff with North Korea. The discontent is largely due to his management of the economy. Moon’s center-left Minjoo Party (Democratic Party) currently has 128 seats in the National Assembly, and the main opposition conservative Liberty Korea Party (formerly called the Saenuri Party and before that the Grand National Party) has 111 seats. The Minjoo Party swept the June 2018 local elections, winning 14 out of 17 mayoral and gubernatorial offices in major metropolitan areas.
Jung Da-min and Park Ji-won, Korea Times: “In its push for ‘reform,’ the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is considering replacing a considerable number of its lawmakers in the April 2020 general election, a move widely seen as an attempt to overcome the negative impact of the appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk. The DPK is planning not to give party tickets to between 30 and 40 incumbent lawmakers, according to political sources and multiple media reports.”
Philippines Village Elections – May 11, 2020 (delay to 2023 possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 105.9 million
Political parties in the Philippines are weak, and politics tends to be based not on ideology but rather personality and dynasty (for instance, a survey in 2014 found that 70 percent of elected representatives were members of political dynasties). In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency, claiming to be an outsider (although his daughter, Sara, now holds the mayorship of Davao, her father’s former job). Duterte has governed with an iron fist, waging a drug war that has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, sparking an investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The government has cracked down on critics, including elected officials and journalists. Duterte allies swept the 2019 midterm legislative and local elections.
There is currently talk of postponing the village and youth council elections to 2023 and extending the mandates of the current office-holders. The last village and youth council elections were also postponed, so this would be the second time for an election to be postponed under Duterte.
Aika Rey, Rappler: “Three Senate committees have approved the postponement of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to May 2023, which means current leaders could hold office for 5 years, instead of just two….If the bill hurdles Congress and gets the President’s signature, it would be the second time that the barangay and SK elections would be postponed under the Duterte administration. The last elections were held in May 2018, after being postponed twice since October 2016.”
Burma Parliamentary – Expected late 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 55.6 million
Burma, also called Myanmar, seemed to be moving toward democracy following the country’s first credible, relatively free elections in 2015, which swept Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to power following decades of military dictatorship. Once held up by the global community as a paragon of moral authority for giving up her own freedom in the fight for democracy, Suu Kyi’s tenure as the country’s de facto leader has disappointed many. Burma still has hundreds of political prisoners, including many who were arrested after the NLD came to power. Ethnic conflicts continue between the dominant Burmans, who comprise roughly 60 percent of the population, and different minority groups. The crisis in Rakhine or Arakan State with the Muslim Rohingya, which some have called a genocide, has created 700,000 refugees in neighboring Bangladesh and 128,000 internally displaced people. During by-elections in 2018, the NLD won seven out of 13 seats, but lost five out of six in non-Burman areas.
Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times: “The main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) vowed to push for proportional representation in parliament if it wins the 2020 general election, said party spokesman U Thein Tun Oo.”
Ben Rhodes, Australian Financial Review: “How Aung San Suu Kyi broke the world’s hearts”
Khin Zaw Win, Australian National University’s New Mandala: “Twin authoritarianisms in Myanmar”
Singapore General – April 2021 (snap possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 6 million
People’s Action Party (PAP), co-founded by Lee Kuan Yew Singapore’s first prime minister, has been in power since 1959. While elections aren’t rigged in the classic sense (no stuffed ballot boxes), they take place in a context that effectively prevents the opposition from actually taking power, and the opposition has not historically run to actually win – their pitch to voters has been promises to provide a check on the PAP.
The government uses a variety of tactics – including libel lawsuits, influence over the media, and laws that restrict political speech – to hamstring the opposition, while arguing that Singaporeans support PAP because it has governed competently. The 2015 elections gave PAP 83 out of the 89 elected seats in parliament. The next elections are due in 2021, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Lee Kuan Yew’s son) has hinted that he would call early elections.
Cheow Sue-Ann, The New Paper (Singapore): “The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is planning a pre-election rally at Hong Lim Park and have identified three issues it will tackle in the upcoming general election.”
Jewel Stolarchuk, The Independent (Singapore): “The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has unveiled its revamped website, in preparation for the next General Election (GE), weeks after the Elections Department announced the first firm step towards the next election with the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC).”
Past Elections
Tuvalu Parliamentary – September 9, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 11,000
Tuvalu does not have political parties, but parties are allowed should someone wish to form one. Earlier this year, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd proposed giving citizens of Tuvalu and other Pacific island nations Australian citizenship in exchange for control over their fishing zones and other natural resources. Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga categorically opposed the idea.
Al Jazeera: “Tuvalu parliament picks new PM in potential blow for Taiwan – Pacific island nation’s 16 legislators pick Kausea Natano as new leader instead of pro-Taiwan former prime minister.”
ABC News (Australia): “China has won big out of a diplomatic spat between itself and Taiwan this week, as the country has convinced both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to sever long-standing ties with Taipei — bringing the total number of countries switching to Beijing to seven since 2016.”
Cambodia General – July 29, 2018
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 16.4 million
Although Cambodia has held elections in the past that had some element of competition, the 2018 election – neither free nor fair – signified the closing of Cambodia’s political space. The main pro-democracy opposition, Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved and banned from fielding candidates, and its leader, Sam Rainsy, was sent into exile, so its supporters boycotted the polls, resulting in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) taking 58 out of 62 seats in parliament, and allowing Prime Minister Hun Sen to consolidate even more power while extending his three decades in power. The election has been described as the “death of democracy” in Cambodia. Since then, Cambodia has worked to suppress all critical voices, including journalists, civil society, and the opposition. The United States sanctioned Cambodia’s top officials in response.
Aaron Curtis, Lowell Sun: “Nov. 9 marks the 66th anniversary of Cambodia’s independence from France. The date also marks what will be an attempt to bring democracy back to the country currently enveloped in corruption, said Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. ‘We will free our country on 9 November, 2019,’ said the exiled opposition leader at a recent gathering of Cambodians in Auckland, New Zealand.”
Reuters: “U.S. calls for release of political activists held in Cambodia”
Malaysia General – May 9, 2018 (local elections TBD and parliamentary by-election in Johor likely to be announced soon)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 31.8 million
In last year’s parliamentary elections, Mahathir Mohamed led his Pakatan Haratan (Alliance of Hope) party to a surprise victory over the Barisan Nasional coalition and its primary member, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which had been in power since Malaysia’s 1957 independence. In 1976, the government abolished local elections and instituted the practice of appointing the members of the country’s 146 local councils. Malaysia is currently debating whether to hold local elections.
Anisah Shukry and Haslinda Amin, Bloomberg: “Malaysian ruling party leader Anwar Ibrahim, who cut a deal to become the country’s next prime minister ahead of last year’s election, said he should take power around May 2020.”
Zsombor Peter, VOA: “Malay Muslim Parties’ Pact Rattles Nerves in Multiethnic Malaysia: Even if Malaysia’s two largest Malay Muslim parties can’t defeat the ruling coalition, they could pull it further away from its more progressive plans.”
Moaz Nair, Free Malaysia Today: “This is not the first time PAS has engaged their political rivals in the past 62 years. They have been in and out of affairs of this nature.”
Updated September 21, 2019
Straits Times: “A 43-year old deputy minister with the Prime Minister’s Department from Johor died on Saturday (Sept 21), setting the stage for a by-election pitting Malaysia’s governing coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the new Umno-PAS alliance. MP Md Farid Md Rafik, who worked closely with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad , was reported by Malaysian media to have died of a heart attack.”
Asia This Week – September 20, 2019
Leave a Comment
Last Updated: October 1, 2019 by 21votes
September 20, 2019
Each day, 21votes gathers election news, analysis, and opinions from a different region of the world. We explore Asia and the Pacific on Fridays. Click the map pins.
Bangladesh Parliamentary By-Election in Rangpur-3 – October 5, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: Bangladesh – 159.5 million; Rangpur-3 – 441,671 voters
Bangladesh held general elections to the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) in December 2018. The Rangpur-3 by-election is happening due to the death of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was Bangladesh’s military dictator during most of the 1980s. Ershad was ousted in 1990 by massive protests led by Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, bitter rivals head the country’s two dominant political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The AL and the BNP have alternated in power since the 1990s, but the AL has been in power since 2009 and is currently dominant and increasingly authoritarian. The BNP boycotted the 2014 elections, and Freedom House notes: “Hasina’s AL overwhelmingly won the December 2018 polls, taking 288 of the 300 directly elected seats. Election day and the campaign that preceded it were marked by political violence in which at least 17 people were killed, as well as legal and extralegal harassment of government opponents.”
Ershad formed Jatiya Party (JP) in 1986 and it currently holds 26 seats in parliament. Although it had previously been in talks to join the governing coalition with the AL, JP decided to be in opposition, making Ershad the official leader of the opposition. JP is strong in Rangpur, which is Bangladesh’s third-largest city, located in the north of the country.
New Zealand Local – October 12, 2019 and Parliamentary – by November 21, 2020 (likely to be earlier)
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 4.5 million
New Zealand’s two main parties are the center-left Labour Party and center-right National Party. National won the most votes and seats in the 2017 elections, but not enough to form a government. Labour formed a coalition with New Zealand First, a populist party that has worked with both Labour and National in the past, backed by a confidence and supply agreement with the Green Party (Labour and New Zealand First combined have the same number of seats as National – 55). Labour leader Jacinda Ardern – a former DJ who is on the left wing of the party – became Prime Minister and is currently the world’s youngest female government.
Local elections in New Zealand have had low turnout for decades, but the local polls could serve as an interesting barometer ahead of next year’s parliamentary polls – which are due by November 2020 but could be called earlier – for which parties have already started campaigning.
India, Haryana State and Maharashtra State Assemblies – October 21, 2019 Jharkhand State Assembly – November 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Republic
Population: India – 1.3 billion; Maharashtra -112 million; Haryana – 25 million; Jharkhand – 32 million
India has 29 states and seven union territories. Indian states are big – Maharashtra, whose capital is Mumbai, has 112 million people, Haryana 25 million, and Jharkhand 32 million. Coalitions headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently control all three state legislatures. The BJP won a massive victory in elections to the Lok Sabha, India’s national parliament, earlier this year, giving it a second term in power as the majority party able to govern without coalition partners, in an increasingly polarized political climate. The main opposition social democratic Congress Party – India’s oldest party – did well in a series of state elections late last year but is reeling from the whiplash of defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
The state elections are happening in the context of a renewed push from Modi to institute “one nation, one election” – a proposal to hold state elections at the same time as elections to the Lok Sabha. Critics say the plan is a ploy to centralize power, part of a pattern that includes Modi’s surprise decision to strip the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir of its autonomy. Critics accuse Modi and the BJP of increasing authoritarianism.
Sri Lanka Presidential – November 16, 2019 (confirmed) and Parliamentary – February 2020 (tentative)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 22.6 million
Sri Lanka is still feeling the aftershocks of a series of terrorist attacks over Easter 2019 and a 2018 political crisis in which President Maithripala Sirisena tried to dissolve parliament and remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office and replace him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015. Ultimately, Wickremesinghe was reinstated, but the crisis has deep roots and tensions remain high in Sri Lankan politics.
The two major parties are Sirisena’s center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Wickremesinghe’s center-right United National Party. Rajapaksa left the SLPF in 2018 and now leads the populist Sri Lanka People’s Front/Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). In the last presidential elections, Rajapaksa surprisingly lost to Sirisena, who embarked on a reform program to reverse many of the autocratic powers Rajapaksa had built up. Sirisena is eligible to run for a second term and could run again. His potential challengers include Wickremesinghe and one of Rajapaksa’s siblings (Rajapaksa is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency). Rajapaksa’s SLPP did well in local elections last year. Sri Lanka’s democracy sits on the precipice, and the upcoming elections could well determine whether it strengthens or deteriorates.
Hong Kong District Councils – November 24, 2019 and Legislative Council – September 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Special Administrative Region within China
Population: 7.2 million
A series of massive protests – with as many as 2 million people in the streets on at least one occasion – has been taking place in Hong Kong since the beginning of the summer. The proximate cause was a controversial extradition bill, but even though the bill has been put on hold, protesters persist, calling for more democracy and free elections. The police have responded violently and pro-Beijing forces have sought to smear and demoralize the protesters. There are fears that Beijing could send troops, but Hong Kong’s activists vow to continue until they succeed in their goals.
Hong Kong’s politicians fall into two broad camps: pro-democracy and pro-Beijing (sometimes called pro-establishment). Within these camps, parties and independent candidates have diverse ideologies, ranging from free market to social democracy. The District Councils oversee local public works and community activities, and the Legislative Council (Legco) is Hong Kong’s legislature. Following the 2015 District Council elections, the pro-Beijing camp controls all 18 councils, but the pro-democracy and localist camps currently hold 124 out of 458 seats. In the Legco, the pro-Beijing camp holds 43 seats out of 70, while the pro-democracy camp holds 24. The protest movement could boost the pro-democracy camp.
Taiwan Presidential and Legislative – January 11, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 23.5 million
Taiwan has a robust democracy. The two main parties are President Tsai Ing-Wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT, founded by Sun Yat-Sen, favors closer ties to the mainland, which it ruled from 1925 to 1948. The DPP, established in 1986 during Taiwan’s transition to democracy, supports Taiwan’s independence. Relations with China are a dominant theme in Taiwan’s political debate. Tsai won the DPP presidential primary. Beijing’s choice, Han Kuo-yu, the populist firebrand mayor of Kaohsiung, a major port city in the south, won the KMT primary. His opponent, Foxconn founder Terry Guo, Taiwan’s richest man, is mulling an independent bid in the general election.
The DPP currently controls the Legislative Yuan. Last year’s local elections swept the KMT back into many local offices that they had lost during the 2014 local elections – with some interference from China. China is expected to attempt to influence the upcoming elections as well.
South Korea Legislative - April 15, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 51.4 million
President Moon Jae-In, who is limited to a single term in office, is facing a decrease in approval ratings ahead of the midterm legislative elections; however, his ratings tend to improve temporarily whenever there appears to be a breakthrough in the standoff with North Korea. The discontent is largely due to his management of the economy. Moon’s center-left Minjoo Party (Democratic Party) currently has 128 seats in the National Assembly, and the main opposition conservative Liberty Korea Party (formerly called the Saenuri Party and before that the Grand National Party) has 111 seats. The Minjoo Party swept the June 2018 local elections, winning 14 out of 17 mayoral and gubernatorial offices in major metropolitan areas.
Philippines Village Elections – May 11, 2020 (delay to 2023 possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 105.9 million
Political parties in the Philippines are weak, and politics tends to be based not on ideology but rather personality and dynasty (for instance, a survey in 2014 found that 70 percent of elected representatives were members of political dynasties). In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency, claiming to be an outsider (although his daughter, Sara, now holds the mayorship of Davao, her father’s former job). Duterte has governed with an iron fist, waging a drug war that has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, sparking an investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The government has cracked down on critics, including elected officials and journalists. Duterte allies swept the 2019 midterm legislative and local elections.
There is currently talk of postponing the village and youth council elections to 2023 and extending the mandates of the current office-holders. The last village and youth council elections were also postponed, so this would be the second time for an election to be postponed under Duterte.
Singapore General – April 2021 (snap possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 6 million
People’s Action Party (PAP), co-founded by Lee Kuan Yew Singapore’s first prime minister, has been in power since 1959. While elections aren’t rigged in the classic sense (no stuffed ballot boxes), they take place in a context that effectively prevents the opposition from actually taking power, and the opposition has not historically run to actually win – their pitch to voters has been promises to provide a check on the PAP.
The government uses a variety of tactics – including libel lawsuits, influence over the media, and laws that restrict political speech – to hamstring the opposition, while arguing that Singaporeans support PAP because it has governed competently. The 2015 elections gave PAP 83 out of the 89 elected seats in parliament. The next elections are due in 2021, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Lee Kuan Yew’s son) has hinted that he would call early elections.
Burma Parliamentary – Expected late 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 55.6 million
Burma, also called Myanmar, seemed to be moving toward democracy following the country’s first credible, relatively free elections in 2015, which swept Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to power following decades of military dictatorship. Once held up by the global community as a paragon of moral authority for giving up her own freedom in the fight for democracy, Suu Kyi’s tenure as the country’s de facto leader has disappointed many. Burma still has hundreds of political prisoners, including many who were arrested after the NLD came to power. Ethnic conflicts continue between the dominant Burmans, who comprise roughly 60 percent of the population, and different minority groups. The crisis in Rakhine or Arakan State with the Muslim Rohingya, which some have called a genocide, has created 700,000 refugees in neighboring Bangladesh and 128,000 internally displaced people. During by-elections in 2018, the NLD won seven out of 13 seats, but lost five out of six in non-Burman areas.
Tuvalu Parliamentary – September 9, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 11,000
Tuvalu does not have political parties, but parties are allowed should someone wish to form one. Earlier this year, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd proposed giving citizens of Tuvalu and other Pacific island nations Australian citizenship in exchange for control over their fishing zones and other natural resources. Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga categorically opposed the idea.
Cambodia General – July 29, 2018
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 16.4 million
Although Cambodia has held elections in the past that had some element of competition, the 2018 election – neither free nor fair – signified the closing of Cambodia’s political space. The main pro-democracy opposition, Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved and banned from fielding candidates, and its leader, Sam Rainsy, was sent into exile, so its supporters boycotted the polls, resulting in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) taking 58 out of 62 seats in parliament, and allowing Prime Minister Hun Sen to consolidate even more power while extending his three decades in power. The election has been described as the “death of democracy” in Cambodia. Since then, Cambodia has worked to suppress all critical voices, including journalists, civil society, and the opposition. The United States sanctioned Cambodia’s top officials in response.
Malaysia General – May 9, 2018 (local elections TBD and parliamentary by-election in Johor likely to be announced soon)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 31.8 million
In last year’s parliamentary elections, Mahathir Mohamed led his Pakatan Haratan (Alliance of Hope) party to a surprise victory over the Barisan Nasional coalition and its primary member, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which had been in power since Malaysia’s 1957 independence. In 1976, the government abolished local elections and instituted the practice of appointing the members of the country’s 146 local councils. Malaysia is currently debating whether to hold local elections.
Upcoming Elections
Bangladesh Parliamentary By-Election in Rangpur-3 – October 5, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: Bangladesh – 159.5 million; Rangpur-3 – 441,671 voters
Bangladesh held general elections to the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) in December 2018. The Rangpur-3 by-election is happening due to the death of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was Bangladesh’s military dictator during most of the 1980s. Ershad was ousted in 1990 by massive protests led by Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, bitter rivals head the country’s two dominant political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The AL and the BNP have alternated in power since the 1990s, but the AL has been in power since 2009 and is currently dominant and increasingly authoritarian. The BNP boycotted the 2014 elections, and Freedom House notes: “Hasina’s AL overwhelmingly won the December 2018 polls, taking 288 of the 300 directly elected seats. Election day and the campaign that preceded it were marked by political violence in which at least 17 people were killed, as well as legal and extralegal harassment of government opponents.”
Ershad formed Jatiya Party (JP) in 1986 and it currently holds 26 seats in parliament. Although it had previously been in talks to join the governing coalition with the AL, JP decided to be in opposition, making Ershad the official leader of the opposition. JP is strong in Rangpur, which is Bangladesh’s third-largest city, located in the north of the country.
Liakat Ali Badal, Dhaka Tribune: “Rangpur 3 by-polls: Candidates get symbols, begin campaigns”
Liakat Ali Badal, Dhaka Tribune: “Rangpur 3 by polls: AL withdraws candidate, throws weight behind JaPa [Jatiya Party]”
New Zealand Local – October 12, 2019 and Parliamentary – by November 21, 2020 (likely to be earlier)
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 4.5 million
New Zealand’s two main parties are the center-left Labour Party and center-right National Party. National won the most votes and seats in the 2017 elections, but not enough to form a government. Labour formed a coalition with New Zealand First, a populist party that has worked with both Labour and National in the past, backed by a confidence and supply agreement with the Green Party (Labour and New Zealand First combined have the same number of seats as National – 55). Labour leader Jacinda Ardern – a former DJ who is on the left wing of the party – became Prime Minister and is currently the world’s youngest female government.
Local elections in New Zealand have had low turnout for decades, but the local polls could serve as an interesting barometer ahead of next year’s parliamentary polls – which are due by November 2020 but could be called earlier – for which parties have already started campaigning.
1 News Now (New Zealand): “Voting opens today [September 19] for local elections….Voting closes midday October 12.”
Dileepa Fonseka, Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand): “Local elections 2019: Nine candidates bid to lead the capital”
India, Haryana State and Maharashtra State Assemblies – October 21, 2019 Jharkhand State Assembly – November 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Republic
Population: India – 1.3 billion; Maharashtra -112 million; Haryana – 25 million; Jharkhand – 32 million
India has 29 states and seven union territories. Indian states are big – Maharashtra, whose capital is Mumbai, has 112 million people, Haryana 25 million, and Jharkhand 32 million. Coalitions headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) currently control all three state legislatures. The BJP won a massive victory in elections to the Lok Sabha, India’s national parliament, earlier this year, giving it a second term in power as the majority party able to govern without coalition partners, in an increasingly polarized political climate. The main opposition social democratic Congress Party – India’s oldest party – did well in a series of state elections late last year but is reeling from the whiplash of defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
The state elections are happening in the context of a renewed push from Modi to institute “one nation, one election” – a proposal to hold state elections at the same time as elections to the Lok Sabha. Critics say the plan is a ploy to centralize power, part of a pattern that includes Modi’s surprise decision to strip the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir of its autonomy. Critics accuse Modi and the BJP of increasing authoritarianism.
Ayesha Venkataraman and Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times: “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India prepares for a big trip to the United States, human rights groups and three Nobel Peace Prize winners have criticized the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its plan to bestow a prestigious award upon Mr. Modi next week during his visit. The Nobel laureates sent a letter to the Gates Foundation stating that under Mr. Modi’s leadership, ‘India has descended into dangerous and deadly chaos that has consistently undermined human rights, democracy.’”
Updated September 21, 2019
Times of India: “The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the single-phase voting for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on October 21, while counting of votes will take place on October 24.”
Sanchita Jain, Zee News (India): “Jharkhand gears up for 2019 Assembly election; here’s what happened in the last three polls: The Election Commission (EC) is likely to take a call on the poll dates of Jharkhand Assembly elections soon. The term of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly ends on December 27, 2019.”
Sri Lanka Presidential – November 16, 2019 (confirmed) and Parliamentary – February 2020 (tentative)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 22.6 million
Sri Lanka is still feeling the aftershocks of a series of terrorist attacks over Easter 2019 and a 2018 political crisis in which President Maithripala Sirisena tried to dissolve parliament and remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office and replace him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015. Ultimately, Wickremesinghe was reinstated, but the crisis has deep roots and tensions remain high in Sri Lankan politics.
The two major parties are Sirisena’s center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Wickremesinghe’s center-right United National Party. Rajapaksa left the SLPF in 2018 and now leads the populist Sri Lanka People’s Front/Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). In the last presidential elections, Rajapaksa surprisingly lost to Sirisena, who embarked on a reform program to reverse many of the autocratic powers Rajapaksa had built up. Sirisena is eligible to run for a second term and could run again. His potential challengers include Wickremesinghe and one of Rajapaksa’s siblings (Rajapaksa is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency). Rajapaksa’s SLPP did well in local elections last year. Sri Lanka’s democracy sits on the precipice, and the upcoming elections could well determine whether it strengthens or deteriorates.
Bharatha Mallawarachi, AP: “Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Nov. 16, the elections office said Wednesday, amid calls for a strong leader to boost national security as the country recovers from deadly Easter Sunday bomb attacks.”
Shihar Aneez, Reuters: “Sri Lankan presidential nominee Gotabaya Rajapaksa would ‘restore relations’ with the country’s top lender China if he wins the Nov. 16 vote and met with a senior Chinese official this week, according to an adviser and his spokesman.”
News First (Sri Lanka): “Three candidates placed bonds for the Presidential Election today (September 19). Director-General of the National Elections Commission Saman Sri Ratnayake stated that two out of the three were independent candidates. Former Parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda, former MP of JVP S. Amarasinghe and Dr Ajantha Perera from the Sri Lanka Socialist Party placed their bonds.”
Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu: “Sri Lanka elections | Race heats up within UNP for presidential candidacy”
Hong Kong District Councils – November 24, 2019 and Legislative Council – September 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Special Administrative Region within China
Population: 7.2 million
A series of massive protests – with as many as 2 million people in the streets on at least one occasion – has been taking place in Hong Kong since the beginning of the summer. The proximate cause was a controversial extradition bill, but even though the bill has been put on hold, protesters persist, calling for more democracy and free elections. The police have responded violently and pro-Beijing forces have sought to smear and demoralize the protesters. There are fears that Beijing could send troops, but Hong Kong’s activists vow to continue until they succeed in their goals.
Hong Kong’s politicians fall into two broad camps: pro-democracy and pro-Beijing (sometimes called pro-establishment). Within these camps, parties and independent candidates have diverse ideologies, ranging from free market to social democracy. The District Councils oversee local public works and community activities, and the Legislative Council (Legco) is Hong Kong’s legislature. Following the 2015 District Council elections, the pro-Beijing camp controls all 18 councils, but the pro-democracy and localist camps currently hold 124 out of 458 seats. In the Legco, the pro-Beijing camp holds 43 seats out of 70, while the pro-democracy camp holds 24. The protest movement could boost the pro-democracy camp.
Holmes Chan, Hong Kong Free Press: “Protesters are set to march in Tuen Mun on Saturday afternoon after a police ban on the event was overturned. Meanwhile, pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho has urged his supporters to ‘clean up’ the Lennon Wall message boards across Hong Kong.”
Shibani Mahtani, Washington Post: “Hong Kong democracy activists presented their case before a congressional commission Tuesday for tougher U.S. action, including possible sanctions, to counter China’s steady erosion of the territory’s freedoms, as momentum builds in Washington for a more robust response.
Jennifer Creery, Hong Kong Free Press: “A new report from NGO Amnesty International says that Hong Kong police have used reckless tactics and retaliatory violence in their crackdown on protesters during the summer, resulting in injuries such as broken bones and internal bleeding.”
Taiwan Presidential and Legislative – January 11, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 23.5 million
Taiwan has a robust democracy. The two main parties are President Tsai Ing-Wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT, founded by Sun Yat-Sen, favors closer ties to the mainland, which it ruled from 1925 to 1948. The DPP, established in 1986 during Taiwan’s transition to democracy, supports Taiwan’s independence. Relations with China are a dominant theme in Taiwan’s political debate. Tsai won the DPP presidential primary. Beijing’s choice, Han Kuo-yu, the populist firebrand mayor of Kaohsiung, a major port city in the south, won the KMT primary. His opponent, Foxconn founder Terry Guo, Taiwan’s richest man, is mulling an independent bid in the general election.
The DPP currently controls the Legislative Yuan. Last year’s local elections swept the KMT back into many local offices that they had lost during the 2014 local elections – with some interference from China. China is expected to attempt to influence the upcoming elections as well.
Chung Kuang-cheng, Radio Free Asia: “Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen hit out at China on Friday after a second Pacific nation announced it was terminating diplomatic ties with the democratic island to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China instead. Kiribati, a Pacific island nation, announced the move on Friday, the second of Taipei’s diplomatic partners to do so in a week.”
Lawrence Chung and Kristin Huang, South China Morning Post: “Foxconn founder Terry Gou’s decision to pull out of Taiwan’s presidential campaign creates a better chance for the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) to return to power next year, analysts said, as his withdrawal helps forge unity within the opposition party.”
Stratfor: “Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, a former member of Taiwan’s ruling party and a past vice president, has announced her candidacy for the island’s presidential elections next January under the banner of the Formosa Alliance Party on a promise to strengthen the territory’s independence push, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 17. The announcement came one day after Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou dropped a planned bid to run as an independent candidate.”
Paul Huang, The News Lens: “Who Is Annette Lu and Why Is She Running for Taiwan’s President?”
George F. Will, Washington Post: “What Hong Kong’s resistance means for Taiwan
South Korea Legislative – April 15, 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 51.4 million
President Moon Jae-In, who is limited to a single term in office, is facing a decrease in approval ratings ahead of the midterm legislative elections; however, his ratings tend to improve temporarily whenever there appears to be a breakthrough in the standoff with North Korea. The discontent is largely due to his management of the economy. Moon’s center-left Minjoo Party (Democratic Party) currently has 128 seats in the National Assembly, and the main opposition conservative Liberty Korea Party (formerly called the Saenuri Party and before that the Grand National Party) has 111 seats. The Minjoo Party swept the June 2018 local elections, winning 14 out of 17 mayoral and gubernatorial offices in major metropolitan areas.
Jung Da-min and Park Ji-won, Korea Times: “In its push for ‘reform,’ the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is considering replacing a considerable number of its lawmakers in the April 2020 general election, a move widely seen as an attempt to overcome the negative impact of the appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk. The DPK is planning not to give party tickets to between 30 and 40 incumbent lawmakers, according to political sources and multiple media reports.”
Philippines Village Elections – May 11, 2020 (delay to 2023 possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 105.9 million
Political parties in the Philippines are weak, and politics tends to be based not on ideology but rather personality and dynasty (for instance, a survey in 2014 found that 70 percent of elected representatives were members of political dynasties). In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency, claiming to be an outsider (although his daughter, Sara, now holds the mayorship of Davao, her father’s former job). Duterte has governed with an iron fist, waging a drug war that has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, sparking an investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The government has cracked down on critics, including elected officials and journalists. Duterte allies swept the 2019 midterm legislative and local elections.
There is currently talk of postponing the village and youth council elections to 2023 and extending the mandates of the current office-holders. The last village and youth council elections were also postponed, so this would be the second time for an election to be postponed under Duterte.
Aika Rey, Rappler: “Three Senate committees have approved the postponement of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to May 2023, which means current leaders could hold office for 5 years, instead of just two….If the bill hurdles Congress and gets the President’s signature, it would be the second time that the barangay and SK elections would be postponed under the Duterte administration. The last elections were held in May 2018, after being postponed twice since October 2016.”
Burma Parliamentary – Expected late 2020
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 55.6 million
Burma, also called Myanmar, seemed to be moving toward democracy following the country’s first credible, relatively free elections in 2015, which swept Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to power following decades of military dictatorship. Once held up by the global community as a paragon of moral authority for giving up her own freedom in the fight for democracy, Suu Kyi’s tenure as the country’s de facto leader has disappointed many. Burma still has hundreds of political prisoners, including many who were arrested after the NLD came to power. Ethnic conflicts continue between the dominant Burmans, who comprise roughly 60 percent of the population, and different minority groups. The crisis in Rakhine or Arakan State with the Muslim Rohingya, which some have called a genocide, has created 700,000 refugees in neighboring Bangladesh and 128,000 internally displaced people. During by-elections in 2018, the NLD won seven out of 13 seats, but lost five out of six in non-Burman areas.
Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times: “The main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) vowed to push for proportional representation in parliament if it wins the 2020 general election, said party spokesman U Thein Tun Oo.”
Ben Rhodes, Australian Financial Review: “How Aung San Suu Kyi broke the world’s hearts”
Khin Zaw Win, Australian National University’s New Mandala: “Twin authoritarianisms in Myanmar”
Singapore General – April 2021 (snap possible)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 6 million
People’s Action Party (PAP), co-founded by Lee Kuan Yew Singapore’s first prime minister, has been in power since 1959. While elections aren’t rigged in the classic sense (no stuffed ballot boxes), they take place in a context that effectively prevents the opposition from actually taking power, and the opposition has not historically run to actually win – their pitch to voters has been promises to provide a check on the PAP.
The government uses a variety of tactics – including libel lawsuits, influence over the media, and laws that restrict political speech – to hamstring the opposition, while arguing that Singaporeans support PAP because it has governed competently. The 2015 elections gave PAP 83 out of the 89 elected seats in parliament. The next elections are due in 2021, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Lee Kuan Yew’s son) has hinted that he would call early elections.
Cheow Sue-Ann, The New Paper (Singapore): “The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is planning a pre-election rally at Hong Lim Park and have identified three issues it will tackle in the upcoming general election.”
Jewel Stolarchuk, The Independent (Singapore): “The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has unveiled its revamped website, in preparation for the next General Election (GE), weeks after the Elections Department announced the first firm step towards the next election with the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC).”
Past Elections
Tuvalu Parliamentary – September 9, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy (a Commonwealth realm)
Population: 11,000
Tuvalu does not have political parties, but parties are allowed should someone wish to form one. Earlier this year, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd proposed giving citizens of Tuvalu and other Pacific island nations Australian citizenship in exchange for control over their fishing zones and other natural resources. Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga categorically opposed the idea.
Al Jazeera: “Tuvalu parliament picks new PM in potential blow for Taiwan – Pacific island nation’s 16 legislators pick Kausea Natano as new leader instead of pro-Taiwan former prime minister.”
ABC News (Australia): “China has won big out of a diplomatic spat between itself and Taiwan this week, as the country has convinced both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to sever long-standing ties with Taipei — bringing the total number of countries switching to Beijing to seven since 2016.”
Cambodia General – July 29, 2018
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 16.4 million
Although Cambodia has held elections in the past that had some element of competition, the 2018 election – neither free nor fair – signified the closing of Cambodia’s political space. The main pro-democracy opposition, Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved and banned from fielding candidates, and its leader, Sam Rainsy, was sent into exile, so its supporters boycotted the polls, resulting in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) taking 58 out of 62 seats in parliament, and allowing Prime Minister Hun Sen to consolidate even more power while extending his three decades in power. The election has been described as the “death of democracy” in Cambodia. Since then, Cambodia has worked to suppress all critical voices, including journalists, civil society, and the opposition. The United States sanctioned Cambodia’s top officials in response.
Aaron Curtis, Lowell Sun: “Nov. 9 marks the 66th anniversary of Cambodia’s independence from France. The date also marks what will be an attempt to bring democracy back to the country currently enveloped in corruption, said Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. ‘We will free our country on 9 November, 2019,’ said the exiled opposition leader at a recent gathering of Cambodians in Auckland, New Zealand.”
Reuters: “U.S. calls for release of political activists held in Cambodia”
Malaysia General – May 9, 2018 (local elections TBD and parliamentary by-election in Johor likely to be announced soon)
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 31.8 million
In last year’s parliamentary elections, Mahathir Mohamed led his Pakatan Haratan (Alliance of Hope) party to a surprise victory over the Barisan Nasional coalition and its primary member, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which had been in power since Malaysia’s 1957 independence. In 1976, the government abolished local elections and instituted the practice of appointing the members of the country’s 146 local councils. Malaysia is currently debating whether to hold local elections.
Anisah Shukry and Haslinda Amin, Bloomberg: “Malaysian ruling party leader Anwar Ibrahim, who cut a deal to become the country’s next prime minister ahead of last year’s election, said he should take power around May 2020.”
Zsombor Peter, VOA: “Malay Muslim Parties’ Pact Rattles Nerves in Multiethnic Malaysia: Even if Malaysia’s two largest Malay Muslim parties can’t defeat the ruling coalition, they could pull it further away from its more progressive plans.”
Moaz Nair, Free Malaysia Today: “This is not the first time PAS has engaged their political rivals in the past 62 years. They have been in and out of affairs of this nature.”
Updated September 21, 2019
Straits Times: “A 43-year old deputy minister with the Prime Minister’s Department from Johor died on Saturday (Sept 21), setting the stage for a by-election pitting Malaysia’s governing coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the new Umno-PAS alliance. MP Md Farid Md Rafik, who worked closely with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad , was reported by Malaysian media to have died of a heart attack.”
21votes does not necessarily endorse all of the views in all of the linked articles or publications. More on our approach here.
The Year Ahead: Asia
Japan, provincial elections throughout the year; Bangladesh parliamentary by-election in Rangpur (October 5); New Zealand local (October 12); India, Maharashtra and Haryana states (October 21); Marshall Islands legislative (November); India Jharkhand State (November); Sri Lanka presidential (November 16); Hong Kong local (November 24); Kiribati legislative (December); Nepal by-elections (December 30); Taiwan presidential and legislative (January 11); Kiribati presidential (March); Maldives local (April); South Korea parliamentary (April 15); Niue parliamentary (May); Philippines village and youth council (May 11 – delay to 2023 possible); Mongolia parliamentary (June)
Comments
Share this:
Related
Category: This Week Tags: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tuvalu