Upcoming Elections
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.
Hayden Donnell, The Spinoff (New Zealand): “No-one wants to stand in our local elections. No seriously, it’s bad: The number of uncontested races has been one of the talking points of these local elections. But the headlines still haven’t conveyed the true extent of the problem.”
Craig Hoyle, Stuff (New Zealand): “Local body elections: Try telling Hong Kong protesters you can’t be bothered voting”
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.
Ashish Ranjan, India Today: “The BJP has been dominating the electoral scenario in India since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But whether it can maintain its hold in Maharashtra and Haryana overcoming complex caste calculations and alliance compulsions remains to be seen.”
Press Trust of India: “Maharashtra polls: BJP eyes to sweep North Maharashtra, once citadel of Congress: Nandurbar and Dhule districts, which have significant concentration of tribal population, were traditionally the stronghold of the Congress.”
The Hindu (video): “Maharashtra and Haryana 2019 Assembly Elections in numbers”
Pretika Khanna, Livemint (India): “Anticipating early polls in Delhi, AAP appoints key campaign panel”
Mukul Kesavan, Telegraph India: “Modi’s biggest foreign policy gamble: Abolition of Jammu and Kashmir as a state – The election of two successive BJP governments with absolute majorities gives us an opportunity to test the relationship between ideology and foreign policy.”
Maroosha Muzaffar, OZY: “More and more, Kashmir in 2019 looks like it did in the early 1990s, when there was a complete breakdown of trust between India and Kashmiris, and the region’s youth felt they had little option but to pick up guns in protest. ‘There is a sense of fear among Kashmiris now,’ my friend told me. ‘But they are also ready for a long haul.’”
Thailand Parliamentary By-Election in Nakhon Pathom – October 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 68.6 million
The March 24, 2019 parliamentary election nominally returned Thailand to civilian rule following a military coup in 2014.
The main political fault line during the elections was between pro- and anti-junta political parties. Pheu Thai, a populist party founded by controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – who was ousted from office and convicted of corruption and is now living in exile – won the most seats (136 out of 500). However, Pheu Thai’s negotiations with the newly-formed progressive Future Forward Party (FFP) and several others fell through. For two decades, the (sometimes violent) fight between Thaksin and the military dominated Thai politics, and FFP originally been formed to give voters an alternative.
Former junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s new pro-junta Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) then formed a government in coalition with several other parties, including former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrats. Prayuth became prime minister. The military still wields considerable power behind the scenes.
In recent months, Thailand’s political climate has become even more polarized, and the Nakhon Pathom by-election will be a closely-watched contest. The election is happening because Jumpita Chandarakachorn from FFP, who was elected in March, became ill and has not been able to fulfill her parliamentary duties. Chandarakachorn’s husband will run for the seat on behalf of FFP, and Pheu Thai will not field a candidate. Surachai Anutto from the Democrats, who came in second in March, will run again, and PPRP has said they would not field a candidate.
Thailand is also due to hold local elections, which have been delayed since the military government took over in 2014, early next year. Thailand’s Election Commission has requested a budget for the local elections, but ultimately the government decides the country’s budget, which is expected to be presented in January 2020. The local elections could then take place several months after that, possibly in March 2020.
Chonthicha Jangrew, The Diplomat: “The Trouble with Thailand: Despite this year’s ‘elections,’ Thailand is no democracy.
Human Rights Watch: “Bangkok’s Criminal Court acquitted six prominent pro-democracy activists in an important verdict for protecting free expression in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today [September 23]. The court ruled that a 2018 rally demanding a free and fair election was a peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Thai constitution.”
Updated September 28, 2019
Bangkok Post: “The race to win Sam Phran district of Nakhon Pathom province in an upcoming by-election looks set to be a proxy war between two political camps after a royal decree calling the vote was issued on Saturday morning [September 28]. The Election Commission set Wednesday, Oct 23 as the date for the Constituency 5 by-election. Candidate applications will be accepted from Monday to Friday at the Sam Phran district office.”
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, but has not yet announced whether or not he will. His main challengers will be former defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Mahinda’s brother), who has been accused of war crimes (Mahinda is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency), as well as Sajith Premadasa from UNP, who bested Wickremesinghe in the party’s bitterly-fought nomination contest. Premadasa is the son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
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.
Krishan Francis, AP: “Sri Lanka’s governing party on Thursday named its charismatic deputy leader, Sajith Premadasa, as its candidate in November’s presidential election, ending a long tussle with the party leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, over the nomination.”
Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu: “Mr. Premadasa, 52, is the son of late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. In the November 16 election, he will face Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary and brother of Leader of Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa, from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who leads the leftist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).”
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.
Gary Cheung, South China Morning Post: “As Hong Kong marks 35 years since draft Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, is universal suffrage as out of reach as ever?”
Updated September 28, 2019
Kirsty Needham, Sydney Morning Herald: “Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has announced his intention to run for office in Hong Kong’s District Council elections next month. Wong announced his candidacy on the fifth anniversary of the Umbrella movement on Saturday in front of the fence that was stormed by protesters moving to occupy the Civic Square courtyard of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 2014.”
Hillary Leung, Time: “Wong’s announcement comes as the semi-autonomous enclave enters its 17th consecutive weekend of protests.”
Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Reuters: “Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse anti-government protesters who threw rocks, broke government office windows and blocked a key road near the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).”
Jeffie Lam and Nectar Gan, South China Morning Post: “District council elections in November could be partially cancelled if protesters attempt to disrupt polling stations, according to a plan being studied by the Hong Kong government. Word of the potential move, revealed by a government source, came as Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the poster boy of the city’s pro-democracy movement, announced on Saturday that he planned to run in the election, which comes on the heels of the months-long unrest triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.”
Kiribati Parliamentary – December 2019 and Presidential – March 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 109,367
During the last parliamentary election, held in December 2015 with a runoff in January 2016, the Boutokan te Koaua Party (BTK), whose name means Pillars of Truth, won 26 seats and two parties that merged to form the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TBK), Embrace Kiribati, won 19 seats. A full 22 out of the 44 seats were won by new representatives, with some prominent incumbents – including ministers and a former president – losing their seats.
For the presidential elections, parliament chooses three or four candidates, and then a nationwide popular vote decides the winner. During the presidential election, Taaneti Mamau, nominated by TBK and the only opposition candidate, won. Neither party had a formal manifesto for the last elections, but the major issues were climate change and economic development.
At stake: 44 out of 46 seats in the Maneaba ni Maungatabu or “supreme maneaba,” the unicameral House of Assembly (the remaining two seats are filled by the attorney general and an appointed representative of Kiribatians originally from island of Banaba who now live in Fiji.
RNZ: “The opposition in Kiribati has organised an anti-China protest march this morning [September 27] in Tarawa. The leader of the opposition Titabu Tabane said the people were not consulted by the government and vowed to switch back to Taiwan if his party were voted into power in next year’s election.”
Marshall Islands Legislative – November 18, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic (in free association with the US)
Population: 75,684
At stake: All 33 seats in the Nitijeļā, unicameral Legislature of the Marshall Islands
Reuters: “The Marshall Islands confirmed it was maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan on Wednesday, a welcome show of support for President Tsai Ing-wen who has seen two other Pacific nations drop ties in favor of China in a matter of weeks.”
Nepal By-Elections – December 30, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Republic
Population: 29.7 million
Elections for 50 vacant seats in the House of Representatives, Provincial Assembly, and local government.
Khabarhub (Nepal): “The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) has provided election symbols to 21 political parties for the by-elections slated for December 30.”
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.
Keoni Everington, Taiwan News: “A poll by a Taiwanese media outlet released on Monday (Sept. 23) found that 56 percent of respondents dislike itinerant Kaohsiung Mayor and full-time KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜)….Despite the withdrawal of Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) from the presidential race, a move that was expected to give Han a bump in the polls, Han is still trailing Tsai by 12 percentage points in the latest poll. However, 22 percent of survey respondents are still undecided.”
Gary Sergeant, Hong Kong Free Press: “Why Taiwan will remain defiant, despite two more diplomatic losses to Beijing”
George F. Will, Washington Post: “Time is on Taiwan’s side, as long as the U.S. is, too”
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.
Kim Ji-soo, Korea Times: “The April 2020 elections will take place midway through President Moon’s five-year single term. It will be an election that casts a review of the administration’s first-half achievements while laying the stones for either success or early lame duck status of Moon. The party that wins in the 2020 general election gets a head start in the next presidential election.”
Yesola Kweon and Josh M. Ryan, Washington Post’s Monkey Cage: “#MeToo crusaders in South Korea want to reform the election system. The plan could deliver more legislation on women’s issues. It’s so controversial that legislators are having fistfights on the floor and scrums in the hallways.”
AP: “South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for deeper engagement with rival North Korea in return for progress on nuclear disarmament.”
Song Jung-a, Financial Times: “Business leaders from South Korea and Japan have urged both governments to find a quick diplomatic solution for the deepening trade disputes, warning of negative economic consequences for both countries.”
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.
Miriam Grace A. Go, Rappler: “By the looks of it, not holding the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) as scheduled in May 2020 is a done deal.”
Michael Henry Yusingco, Asia Times: “Political dynasties, democratic decay in Philippines”
Maria Ressa, Los Angeles Times: “Opinion: Americans, look to the Philippines to see a dystopian future created by social media”
Mongolia Parliamentary – June 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 3.1 million
Mongolia has been a democracy since 1990 but is currently embroiled in political turmoil, and its safeguards of democracy are beginning to unravel. Politics are gridlocked due to hostilities between President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of the center-right Democratic Party (DP) and the government, appointed by the left-wing Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which holds 65 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural, Mongolia’s unicameral parliament. Battulga narrowly won in Mongolia’s first-ever presidential runoff 2017, and his DP only seven seats in parliament. Corruption has become a perennial problem, and has sparked protests, and many Mongolians are generally disillusioned with politicians.
Matthew Campbell and Terrence Edwards, Bloomberg: “Mongolia’s President Is a Genghis Khan-Idolizing Trump of the Steppe: Battulga Khaltmaa is a wealthy businessman riding a wave of discontent to the land’s highest office and cozying up to Putin. Sound familiar?”
Michael J. Green, Foreign Policy: “The United States Should Help Mongolia Stand Up to China: On Beijing’s doorstep, Ulaanbaatar continues to defy the geopolitical odds.”
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.
Swe Lei Mon, Myanmar Times: “Ne Win supporters’ party banks heavily on next year’s election: The National Unity Party, which used to be known as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), of Myanmar’s long-time dictator General Ne Win, will field candidates in almost all constituencies in next year’s general elections.”
Htun Htun, The Irrawaddy: “NLD Celebrates 31st Anniversary, Says Myanmar’s Democracy Not Yet ‘Genuine’”
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.
Updated September 29, 2019
Toh Ee Ming, South China Morning Post: “Singapore opposition politician Chee Soon Juan launches party manifesto as election chatter grows. The 39-year-old Singapore Democratic Party is aiming for a comeback after spending the last two decades out of Parliament, which is dominated by the ruling People’s Action Party.”
Malaysia Parliamentary By-Election in Tanjong Piai – Date TBA and Local Elections – TBD
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.
Tanjong Piai is home to mainland Eurasia’s southernmost point. The parliamentary seat became open when incumbent Md Farid Md Rafik died of a heart attack on September 21 at age 42. Md Farid was a member of the PH, and he narrowly defeated incumbent Wee Jeck Seng from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a member of the BN coalition, and the PAS candidate in a three-way contest.
Dennis Ignatius, Free Malaysia Today: “This by-election, save PH by voting BN: Following the untimely death of Deputy Minister (and Member of Parliament for Tanjung Piai) Md Farid Md Rafik, the nation will soon see yet another by-election. The by-election promises to be an interesting one – a test of the popularity and effectiveness of the recently concluded Umno-PAS pact as well as a gauge of PH’s standing after a year in office.”
Zainal Epi, Malay Mail: “Opposition Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to field the former MCA candidate Wee Jeck Seng, or commonly known as ‘Jackson Wee,’ for the upcoming Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat by-election, with the date to be announced on Monday by the Election Commission (EC).”
Shamim Adam, Laurence Arnold, and Yudith Ho, Bloomberg: “How Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World”
Past Elections
Nauru Parliamentary – August 24, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 9,692
The last parliamentary elections took place in 2016. Most candidates run as independents. Of the 19 MPs, 17 support the government and two are opposition. Parliament then elects the president. In 2016, President Baron Waqa was re-elected.
Tiny Nauru may only have the population of a single street in Beijing (around 13,000), but the country stands up to China, recognizing Taiwan. At a forum for Pacific nations that Nauru hosted in 2018, Waqa called the Chinese envoy “insolent” and a “bully” when the Chinese envoy attempted to interrupt the representative from Tuvalu, another tiny Pacific nation that also recognizes Taiwan. Waqa later doubled down, demanding that China apologize for its “arrogance.”
Reuters: “The tiny Pacific country of Nauru will retain long-standing ties with Taiwan, its president said on Thursday, a welcome boost for Taipei after two regional nations switched diplomatic relations to China this month. The small developing nations lie in strategic Pacific waters dominated by the United States and its allies since World War Two, where China’s moves to expand its influence have angered Washington.”
Japan Legislative (half of upper house) – July 21, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 126.2 million
Shinzo Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) sought to gain a two-thirds majority in the upper house (which it already held in the lower house with coalition partner Komeito, a Buddhist religious party) in order to revisit and possibly amend Japan’s pacifist constitution. LDP and Komeito did maintain their majority in the upper house, but fell short of the super-majority.
Lully Miura, Japan Times: “The reason why Japan’s political landscape is so stable compared with other advanced democracies is because the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is the only party that can offer consistent policies on national security and the alliance with the United States, which is a top priority for a majority of citizens.”
Indonesia General – April 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 262.8 million
In Indonesia’s April 2019 election – the biggest single day of voting in the history of the world – incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi), widely seen as a reformer, defeated challenged Prabowo Subianto for the presidency in an election deemed free and fair by the international community. However, Prabowo didn’t accept the results, and in addition to challenging them in court, he urged his supporters to take to the streets. Rioting ensued. Prabowo ultimately accepted the results, but tensions remain, particularly regarding the role of religion in politics.
Indonesia will hold regional elections in September 2020, and the next presidential election is due in 2024.
Richard C. Paddock, New York Times: “Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, preparing for his second term, faces a sudden loss of public support amid mounting crises, including student protests, burning forests and deadly violence in distant Papua province.”
Stefania Palma, Financial Times: “Indonesian student protesters have refused an invitation to hold a meeting with the country’s President Joko Widodo on Friday, deepening a political crisis in south-east Asia’s biggest economy.”
BBC: “The most headline-grabbing issue is a proposed ban on extramarital sex, but the protests go far beyond that. They focus on corruption, plans to outlaw insulting the president and a toughening of blasphemy laws.”
Endy M. Bayuni, Nikkei Asian Review: “Widodo needs to fix Indonesia’s growing democratic deficit: Plans to move capital distract from addressing the nation’s core problem.”
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.
AP: “A Cambodian court has charged seven top opposition politicians with plotting armed rebellion for planning to return from self-imposed exile to seek a change in government through mass peaceful protests.”
Radio Free Asia: “A member of Cambodia’s banned opposition party was attacked by unknown assailants on Wednesday, causing severe injuries and making him the twelfth opposition activist assaulted since acting party president Sam Rainsy announced plans to return from self-imposed exile in November.”
Tonga General – November 16, 2017
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 106,398
RNZ: “Tonga MPs choose Tu’i’onetoa as new prime minister: Tonga’s Parliament has elected a new prime minister to replace the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva.”
Asia This Week – September 27, 2019
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Last Updated: October 8, 2019 by 21votes
September 27, 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.
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.
Thailand Parliamentary By-Election in Nakhon Pathom - October 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 68.6 million
The March 24, 2019 parliamentary election nominally returned Thailand to civilian rule following a military coup in 2014.
The main political fault line during the elections was between pro- and anti-junta political parties. Pheu Thai, a populist party founded by controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – who was ousted from office and convicted of corruption and is now living in exile – won the most seats (136 out of 500). However, Pheu Thai’s negotiations with the newly-formed progressive Future Forward Party (FFP) and several others fell through. For two decades, the (sometimes violent) fight between Thaksin and the military dominated Thai politics, and FFP originally been formed to give voters an alternative.
Former junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s new pro-junta Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) then formed a government in coalition with several other parties, including former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrats. Prayuth became prime minister. The military still wields considerable power behind the scenes.
In recent months, Thailand’s political climate has become even more polarized, and the Nakhon Pathom by-election will be a closely-watched contest. The election is happening because Jumpita Chandarakachorn from FFP, who was elected in March, became ill and has not been able to fulfill her parliamentary duties. Chandarakachorn’s husband will run for the seat on behalf of FFP, and Pheu Thai will not field a candidate. Surachai Anutto from the Democrats, who came in second in March, will run again, and PPRP has said they would not field a candidate.
Thailand is also due to hold local elections, which have been delayed since the military government took over in 2014, early next year. Thailand’s Election Commission has requested a budget for the local elections, but ultimately the government decides the country’s budget, which is expected to be presented in January 2020. The local elections could then take place several months after that, possibly in March 2020.
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, but has not yet announced whether or not he will. His main challengers will be former defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Mahinda’s brother), who has been accused of war crimes (Mahinda is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency), as well as Sajith Premadasa from UNP, who bested Wickremesinghe in the party’s bitterly-fought nomination contest. Premadasa is the son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
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.
Kiribati Parliamentary - December 2019 and Presidential - March 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 109,367
During the last parliamentary election, held in December 2015 with a runoff in January 2016, the Boutokan te Koaua Party (BTK), whose name means Pillars of Truth, won 26 seats and two parties that merged to form the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TBK), Embrace Kiribati, won 19 seats. A full 22 out of the 44 seats were won by new representatives, with some prominent incumbents – including ministers and a former president – losing their seats.
For the presidential elections, parliament chooses three or four candidates, and then a nationwide popular vote decides the winner. During the presidential election, Taaneti Mamau, nominated by TBK and the only opposition candidate, won. Neither party had a formal manifesto for the last elections, but the major issues were climate change and economic development.
At stake: 44 out of 46 seats in the Maneaba ni Maungatabu or “supreme maneaba,” the unicameral House of Assembly (the remaining two seats are filled by the attorney general and an appointed representative of Kiribatians originally from island of Banaba who now live in Fiji.
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.
Mongolia Parliamentary – June 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 3.1 million
Mongolia has been a democracy since 1990 but is currently embroiled in political turmoil, and its safeguards of democracy are beginning to unravel. Politics are gridlocked due to hostilities between President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of the center-right Democratic Party (DP) and the government, appointed by the left-wing Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which holds 65 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural, Mongolia’s unicameral parliament. Battulga narrowly won in Mongolia’s first-ever presidential runoff 2017, and his DP only seven seats in parliament. Corruption has become a perennial problem, and has sparked protests, and many Mongolians are generally disillusioned with politicians.
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.
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.
Malaysia Parliamentary By-Election in Tanjong Piai - Date TBA and Local Elections - TBD
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.
Tanjong Piai is home to mainland Eurasia’s southernmost point. The parliamentary seat became open when incumbent Md Farid Md Rafik died of a heart attack on September 21 at age 42. Md Farid was a member of the PH, and he narrowly defeated incumbent Wee Jeck Seng from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a member of the BN coalition, and the PAS candidate in a three-way contest.
Nauru Parliamentary – August 24, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 9,692
The last parliamentary elections took place in 2016. Most candidates run as independents. Of the 19 MPs, 17 support the government and two are opposition. Parliament then elects the president. In 2016, President Baron Waqa was re-elected.
Tiny Nauru may only have the population of a single street in Beijing (around 13,000), but the country stands up to China, recognizing Taiwan. At a forum for Pacific nations that Nauru hosted in 2018, Waqa called the Chinese envoy “insolent” and a “bully” when the Chinese envoy attempted to interrupt the representative from Tuvalu, another tiny Pacific nation that also recognizes Taiwan. Waqa later doubled down, demanding that China apologize for its “arrogance.”
Japan Legislative (half of upper house) – July 21, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 126.2 million
Shinzo Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) sought to gain a two-thirds majority in the upper house (which it already held in the lower house with coalition partner Komeito, a Buddhist religious party) in order to revisit and possibly amend Japan’s pacifist constitution. LDP and Komeito did maintain their majority in the upper house, but fell short of the super-majority.
Lully Miura, Japan Times: “The reason why Japan’s political landscape is so stable compared with other advanced democracies is because the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is the only party that can offer consistent policies on national security and the alliance with the United States, which is a top priority for a majority of citizens.”
Indonesia General – April 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 262.8 million
In Indonesia’s April 2019 election – the biggest single day of voting in the history of the world – incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi), widely seen as a reformer, defeated challenged Prabowo Subianto for the presidency in an election deemed free and fair by the international community. However, Prabowo didn’t accept the results, and in addition to challenging them in court, he urged his supporters to take to the streets. Rioting ensued. Prabowo ultimately accepted the results, but tensions remain, particularly regarding the role of religion in politics.
Indonesia will hold regional elections in September 2020, and the next presidential election is due in 2024.
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.
Tonga General - November 16, 2017
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 106,398
Marshall Islands Legislative - November 18, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic (in free association with the US)
Population: 75,684
At stake: All 33 seats in the Nitijeļā, unicameral Legislature of the Marshall Islands
Upcoming Elections
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.
Hayden Donnell, The Spinoff (New Zealand): “No-one wants to stand in our local elections. No seriously, it’s bad: The number of uncontested races has been one of the talking points of these local elections. But the headlines still haven’t conveyed the true extent of the problem.”
Craig Hoyle, Stuff (New Zealand): “Local body elections: Try telling Hong Kong protesters you can’t be bothered voting”
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.
Ashish Ranjan, India Today: “The BJP has been dominating the electoral scenario in India since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But whether it can maintain its hold in Maharashtra and Haryana overcoming complex caste calculations and alliance compulsions remains to be seen.”
Press Trust of India: “Maharashtra polls: BJP eyes to sweep North Maharashtra, once citadel of Congress: Nandurbar and Dhule districts, which have significant concentration of tribal population, were traditionally the stronghold of the Congress.”
The Hindu (video): “Maharashtra and Haryana 2019 Assembly Elections in numbers”
Pretika Khanna, Livemint (India): “Anticipating early polls in Delhi, AAP appoints key campaign panel”
Mukul Kesavan, Telegraph India: “Modi’s biggest foreign policy gamble: Abolition of Jammu and Kashmir as a state – The election of two successive BJP governments with absolute majorities gives us an opportunity to test the relationship between ideology and foreign policy.”
Maroosha Muzaffar, OZY: “More and more, Kashmir in 2019 looks like it did in the early 1990s, when there was a complete breakdown of trust between India and Kashmiris, and the region’s youth felt they had little option but to pick up guns in protest. ‘There is a sense of fear among Kashmiris now,’ my friend told me. ‘But they are also ready for a long haul.’”
Thailand Parliamentary By-Election in Nakhon Pathom – October 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 68.6 million
The March 24, 2019 parliamentary election nominally returned Thailand to civilian rule following a military coup in 2014.
The main political fault line during the elections was between pro- and anti-junta political parties. Pheu Thai, a populist party founded by controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – who was ousted from office and convicted of corruption and is now living in exile – won the most seats (136 out of 500). However, Pheu Thai’s negotiations with the newly-formed progressive Future Forward Party (FFP) and several others fell through. For two decades, the (sometimes violent) fight between Thaksin and the military dominated Thai politics, and FFP originally been formed to give voters an alternative.
Former junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s new pro-junta Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) then formed a government in coalition with several other parties, including former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrats. Prayuth became prime minister. The military still wields considerable power behind the scenes.
In recent months, Thailand’s political climate has become even more polarized, and the Nakhon Pathom by-election will be a closely-watched contest. The election is happening because Jumpita Chandarakachorn from FFP, who was elected in March, became ill and has not been able to fulfill her parliamentary duties. Chandarakachorn’s husband will run for the seat on behalf of FFP, and Pheu Thai will not field a candidate. Surachai Anutto from the Democrats, who came in second in March, will run again, and PPRP has said they would not field a candidate.
Thailand is also due to hold local elections, which have been delayed since the military government took over in 2014, early next year. Thailand’s Election Commission has requested a budget for the local elections, but ultimately the government decides the country’s budget, which is expected to be presented in January 2020. The local elections could then take place several months after that, possibly in March 2020.
Chonthicha Jangrew, The Diplomat: “The Trouble with Thailand: Despite this year’s ‘elections,’ Thailand is no democracy.
Human Rights Watch: “Bangkok’s Criminal Court acquitted six prominent pro-democracy activists in an important verdict for protecting free expression in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today [September 23]. The court ruled that a 2018 rally demanding a free and fair election was a peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Thai constitution.”
Updated September 28, 2019
Bangkok Post: “The race to win Sam Phran district of Nakhon Pathom province in an upcoming by-election looks set to be a proxy war between two political camps after a royal decree calling the vote was issued on Saturday morning [September 28]. The Election Commission set Wednesday, Oct 23 as the date for the Constituency 5 by-election. Candidate applications will be accepted from Monday to Friday at the Sam Phran district office.”
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, but has not yet announced whether or not he will. His main challengers will be former defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Mahinda’s brother), who has been accused of war crimes (Mahinda is not eligible to run for president again due to term limits adopted during Sirisena’s presidency), as well as Sajith Premadasa from UNP, who bested Wickremesinghe in the party’s bitterly-fought nomination contest. Premadasa is the son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
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.
Krishan Francis, AP: “Sri Lanka’s governing party on Thursday named its charismatic deputy leader, Sajith Premadasa, as its candidate in November’s presidential election, ending a long tussle with the party leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, over the nomination.”
Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu: “Mr. Premadasa, 52, is the son of late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. In the November 16 election, he will face Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary and brother of Leader of Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa, from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who leads the leftist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).”
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.
Gary Cheung, South China Morning Post: “As Hong Kong marks 35 years since draft Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, is universal suffrage as out of reach as ever?”
Updated September 28, 2019
Kirsty Needham, Sydney Morning Herald: “Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has announced his intention to run for office in Hong Kong’s District Council elections next month. Wong announced his candidacy on the fifth anniversary of the Umbrella movement on Saturday in front of the fence that was stormed by protesters moving to occupy the Civic Square courtyard of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 2014.”
Hillary Leung, Time: “Wong’s announcement comes as the semi-autonomous enclave enters its 17th consecutive weekend of protests.”
Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok, Reuters: “Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse anti-government protesters who threw rocks, broke government office windows and blocked a key road near the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).”
Jeffie Lam and Nectar Gan, South China Morning Post: “District council elections in November could be partially cancelled if protesters attempt to disrupt polling stations, according to a plan being studied by the Hong Kong government. Word of the potential move, revealed by a government source, came as Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the poster boy of the city’s pro-democracy movement, announced on Saturday that he planned to run in the election, which comes on the heels of the months-long unrest triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.”
Kiribati Parliamentary – December 2019 and Presidential – March 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 109,367
During the last parliamentary election, held in December 2015 with a runoff in January 2016, the Boutokan te Koaua Party (BTK), whose name means Pillars of Truth, won 26 seats and two parties that merged to form the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TBK), Embrace Kiribati, won 19 seats. A full 22 out of the 44 seats were won by new representatives, with some prominent incumbents – including ministers and a former president – losing their seats.
For the presidential elections, parliament chooses three or four candidates, and then a nationwide popular vote decides the winner. During the presidential election, Taaneti Mamau, nominated by TBK and the only opposition candidate, won. Neither party had a formal manifesto for the last elections, but the major issues were climate change and economic development.
At stake: 44 out of 46 seats in the Maneaba ni Maungatabu or “supreme maneaba,” the unicameral House of Assembly (the remaining two seats are filled by the attorney general and an appointed representative of Kiribatians originally from island of Banaba who now live in Fiji.
RNZ: “The opposition in Kiribati has organised an anti-China protest march this morning [September 27] in Tarawa. The leader of the opposition Titabu Tabane said the people were not consulted by the government and vowed to switch back to Taiwan if his party were voted into power in next year’s election.”
Marshall Islands Legislative – November 18, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic (in free association with the US)
Population: 75,684
At stake: All 33 seats in the Nitijeļā, unicameral Legislature of the Marshall Islands
Reuters: “The Marshall Islands confirmed it was maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan on Wednesday, a welcome show of support for President Tsai Ing-wen who has seen two other Pacific nations drop ties in favor of China in a matter of weeks.”
Nepal By-Elections – December 30, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Federal Parliamentary Republic
Population: 29.7 million
Elections for 50 vacant seats in the House of Representatives, Provincial Assembly, and local government.
Khabarhub (Nepal): “The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) has provided election symbols to 21 political parties for the by-elections slated for December 30.”
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.
Keoni Everington, Taiwan News: “A poll by a Taiwanese media outlet released on Monday (Sept. 23) found that 56 percent of respondents dislike itinerant Kaohsiung Mayor and full-time KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜)….Despite the withdrawal of Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) from the presidential race, a move that was expected to give Han a bump in the polls, Han is still trailing Tsai by 12 percentage points in the latest poll. However, 22 percent of survey respondents are still undecided.”
Gary Sergeant, Hong Kong Free Press: “Why Taiwan will remain defiant, despite two more diplomatic losses to Beijing”
George F. Will, Washington Post: “Time is on Taiwan’s side, as long as the U.S. is, too”
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.
Kim Ji-soo, Korea Times: “The April 2020 elections will take place midway through President Moon’s five-year single term. It will be an election that casts a review of the administration’s first-half achievements while laying the stones for either success or early lame duck status of Moon. The party that wins in the 2020 general election gets a head start in the next presidential election.”
Yesola Kweon and Josh M. Ryan, Washington Post’s Monkey Cage: “#MeToo crusaders in South Korea want to reform the election system. The plan could deliver more legislation on women’s issues. It’s so controversial that legislators are having fistfights on the floor and scrums in the hallways.”
AP: “South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for deeper engagement with rival North Korea in return for progress on nuclear disarmament.”
Song Jung-a, Financial Times: “Business leaders from South Korea and Japan have urged both governments to find a quick diplomatic solution for the deepening trade disputes, warning of negative economic consequences for both countries.”
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.
Miriam Grace A. Go, Rappler: “By the looks of it, not holding the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) as scheduled in May 2020 is a done deal.”
Michael Henry Yusingco, Asia Times: “Political dynasties, democratic decay in Philippines”
Maria Ressa, Los Angeles Times: “Opinion: Americans, look to the Philippines to see a dystopian future created by social media”
Mongolia Parliamentary – June 2020
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Semi-Presidential Republic
Population: 3.1 million
Mongolia has been a democracy since 1990 but is currently embroiled in political turmoil, and its safeguards of democracy are beginning to unravel. Politics are gridlocked due to hostilities between President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of the center-right Democratic Party (DP) and the government, appointed by the left-wing Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which holds 65 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural, Mongolia’s unicameral parliament. Battulga narrowly won in Mongolia’s first-ever presidential runoff 2017, and his DP only seven seats in parliament. Corruption has become a perennial problem, and has sparked protests, and many Mongolians are generally disillusioned with politicians.
Matthew Campbell and Terrence Edwards, Bloomberg: “Mongolia’s President Is a Genghis Khan-Idolizing Trump of the Steppe: Battulga Khaltmaa is a wealthy businessman riding a wave of discontent to the land’s highest office and cozying up to Putin. Sound familiar?”
Michael J. Green, Foreign Policy: “The United States Should Help Mongolia Stand Up to China: On Beijing’s doorstep, Ulaanbaatar continues to defy the geopolitical odds.”
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.
Swe Lei Mon, Myanmar Times: “Ne Win supporters’ party banks heavily on next year’s election: The National Unity Party, which used to be known as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), of Myanmar’s long-time dictator General Ne Win, will field candidates in almost all constituencies in next year’s general elections.”
Htun Htun, The Irrawaddy: “NLD Celebrates 31st Anniversary, Says Myanmar’s Democracy Not Yet ‘Genuine’”
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.
Updated September 29, 2019
Toh Ee Ming, South China Morning Post: “Singapore opposition politician Chee Soon Juan launches party manifesto as election chatter grows. The 39-year-old Singapore Democratic Party is aiming for a comeback after spending the last two decades out of Parliament, which is dominated by the ruling People’s Action Party.”
Malaysia Parliamentary By-Election in Tanjong Piai – Date TBA and Local Elections – TBD
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.
Tanjong Piai is home to mainland Eurasia’s southernmost point. The parliamentary seat became open when incumbent Md Farid Md Rafik died of a heart attack on September 21 at age 42. Md Farid was a member of the PH, and he narrowly defeated incumbent Wee Jeck Seng from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a member of the BN coalition, and the PAS candidate in a three-way contest.
Dennis Ignatius, Free Malaysia Today: “This by-election, save PH by voting BN: Following the untimely death of Deputy Minister (and Member of Parliament for Tanjung Piai) Md Farid Md Rafik, the nation will soon see yet another by-election. The by-election promises to be an interesting one – a test of the popularity and effectiveness of the recently concluded Umno-PAS pact as well as a gauge of PH’s standing after a year in office.”
Zainal Epi, Malay Mail: “Opposition Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to field the former MCA candidate Wee Jeck Seng, or commonly known as ‘Jackson Wee,’ for the upcoming Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat by-election, with the date to be announced on Monday by the Election Commission (EC).”
Shamim Adam, Laurence Arnold, and Yudith Ho, Bloomberg: “How Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World”
Past Elections
Nauru Parliamentary – August 24, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Population: 9,692
The last parliamentary elections took place in 2016. Most candidates run as independents. Of the 19 MPs, 17 support the government and two are opposition. Parliament then elects the president. In 2016, President Baron Waqa was re-elected.
Tiny Nauru may only have the population of a single street in Beijing (around 13,000), but the country stands up to China, recognizing Taiwan. At a forum for Pacific nations that Nauru hosted in 2018, Waqa called the Chinese envoy “insolent” and a “bully” when the Chinese envoy attempted to interrupt the representative from Tuvalu, another tiny Pacific nation that also recognizes Taiwan. Waqa later doubled down, demanding that China apologize for its “arrogance.”
Reuters: “The tiny Pacific country of Nauru will retain long-standing ties with Taiwan, its president said on Thursday, a welcome boost for Taipei after two regional nations switched diplomatic relations to China this month. The small developing nations lie in strategic Pacific waters dominated by the United States and its allies since World War Two, where China’s moves to expand its influence have angered Washington.”
Japan Legislative (half of upper house) – July 21, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 126.2 million
Shinzo Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) sought to gain a two-thirds majority in the upper house (which it already held in the lower house with coalition partner Komeito, a Buddhist religious party) in order to revisit and possibly amend Japan’s pacifist constitution. LDP and Komeito did maintain their majority in the upper house, but fell short of the super-majority.
Lully Miura, Japan Times: “The reason why Japan’s political landscape is so stable compared with other advanced democracies is because the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is the only party that can offer consistent policies on national security and the alliance with the United States, which is a top priority for a majority of citizens.”
Indonesia General – April 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Partly Free
Government Type: Presidential Republic
Population: 262.8 million
In Indonesia’s April 2019 election – the biggest single day of voting in the history of the world – incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi), widely seen as a reformer, defeated challenged Prabowo Subianto for the presidency in an election deemed free and fair by the international community. However, Prabowo didn’t accept the results, and in addition to challenging them in court, he urged his supporters to take to the streets. Rioting ensued. Prabowo ultimately accepted the results, but tensions remain, particularly regarding the role of religion in politics.
Indonesia will hold regional elections in September 2020, and the next presidential election is due in 2024.
Richard C. Paddock, New York Times: “Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, preparing for his second term, faces a sudden loss of public support amid mounting crises, including student protests, burning forests and deadly violence in distant Papua province.”
Stefania Palma, Financial Times: “Indonesian student protesters have refused an invitation to hold a meeting with the country’s President Joko Widodo on Friday, deepening a political crisis in south-east Asia’s biggest economy.”
BBC: “The most headline-grabbing issue is a proposed ban on extramarital sex, but the protests go far beyond that. They focus on corruption, plans to outlaw insulting the president and a toughening of blasphemy laws.”
Endy M. Bayuni, Nikkei Asian Review: “Widodo needs to fix Indonesia’s growing democratic deficit: Plans to move capital distract from addressing the nation’s core problem.”
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.
AP: “A Cambodian court has charged seven top opposition politicians with plotting armed rebellion for planning to return from self-imposed exile to seek a change in government through mass peaceful protests.”
Radio Free Asia: “A member of Cambodia’s banned opposition party was attacked by unknown assailants on Wednesday, causing severe injuries and making him the twelfth opposition activist assaulted since acting party president Sam Rainsy announced plans to return from self-imposed exile in November.”
Tonga General – November 16, 2017
Freedom House Rating: Free
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Population: 106,398
RNZ: “Tonga MPs choose Tu’i’onetoa as new prime minister: Tonga’s Parliament has elected a new prime minister to replace the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva.”
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); Thailand parliamentary by-election (October 23); 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)
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Category: This Week Tags: Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga