Upcoming Elections
Algeria Presidential – July 4, 2019 (cancelled)
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Algerian politics are dominated by Le Pouvoir, a small group of elite from the military and the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, aged 82 and unable to walk or talk, was going to run for a fifth term in the election originally scheduled for April, but tens of thousands of Algerians protestedfor two months, and Bouteflika resigned. The election was moved to July 4, but then the Constitutional Council cancelled the vote and has not set a new date. Protests continue. Protesters are demanding assurances that any new elections will be free and fair.
Al-Jazeera: “Demonstrators returned to central Algiers on Friday for their latest weekly rally, brandishing the Algerian flag that has been a mainstay of the protests that ended the rule of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April.”
Israel Snap Parliamentary – September 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free – Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
Israel – nicknamed the “startup nation” – is a vibrant democracy. In September, Israelis head to the polls again in an unprecedented do-over of parliamentary elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s center-right Likud was unable to form a coalition following April’s elections. While parties friendly to Netanyahu won more seats than those friendly to Netanyahu’s main rival, former IDF chief Benny Gantz, coalition talks collapsed over the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox into the military. One of Likud’s coalition partners, Avgidor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, supported conscription – and refused to budge – while religious parties adamantly opposed it, highlighting growing tensions between secular and religious Israelis. Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset and called for new elections rather than giving Gantz the chance to try to form a government. Additionally, Netanyahu faces corruption charges. The elections are happening in the middle of U.S. President Donald Trump’s quixotic attempt to seal the “deal of the century” between Israelis and Palestinians.
Times of Israel: “Netanyahu says he’s considering proposal to cancel September election. Knesset speaker says he found a legal way to nix new national vote, but it is unclear how PM could form a government without Blue and White, which rejects the plan as ‘spin’”
Michael Bachner, Times of Israel: “Netanyahu offered Gantz rotating premiership in bid to avert elections – report. Likud denies making last-ditch offer to form unity government with Blue and White before vote was called last month to dissolve Knesset”
Jonathan Lis, Haaretz: “Netanyahu Trying to Form Coalition With Arab Parties, Says Lieberman. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman bases statement in part on an op-ed written by the prime minister’s close associate, Nathan Eshel, which was published in Haaretz”
Afghanistan Presidential – September 28, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Islamic Republic
Afghanistan held long-delayed parliamentary elections in October 2018, marred by violence and administrative problems. In order to fix problems from the legislative elections, the presidential election has been delayed twice. President Ashraf Ghani’s term ended on May 22, 2019, but he has remained in office, despite calls for a caretaker government, infuriating some. Ghani became president in 2014 in a power sharing deal with his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, following a flawed election. Presidential campaign is gearing up right in the middle of peacenegotiations between the United States and the Taliban.
Mujib Mashal and Jawad Sukhanyar, New York Times: “Long, Rowdy Feud in Afghan Parliament Mirrors Wider Political Fragility”
Shabeer Ahmadi, TOLO News: “Pompeo Hopes There Is A Peace Deal Ahead Of Afghan Elections”
Tunisia Parliamentary – October 6, 2019 and Presidential – November 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Tunisia began transitioning to democracy in 2011, amid the Arab Spring protests, and this year, the country will hold the third national elections since the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ennadha, which presents itself as a moderate, pro-democracy Islamist party but holds some retrograde views, won the first post-Ben Ali elections, but in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the secularist Nidaa Tounes won the most seats. In 2018, Tunisia held long-delayed municipal elections, which saw independent candidates win the most seats, followed by Ennadha. President Beji Caid Essebsi of Nidaa Tounes, who became Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president in 2014, has said he will not seek a second term this year, even though the constitution allows it, saying it was time to “open the door to the youth” (Essebsi is 92). Prime Minister Youssef Chahed broke off from Nidaa Tounes to form Tahya Tounes, another secularist party, and it looks to be a close contest between the fractious secularist parties and Ennadha (Machrouu Tounes, another secularist party, broke from Nidaa Tounes in 2016 and currently has 25 seats in parliament).
Robert Mahoney, Committee to Protect Journalists: “Upcoming elections could make or break Tunisia’s fledgling free press”
Iran Parliamentary – February 2020
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Theocratic Republic
Some analysts argue that “moderates” or “reformers” won Iran’s 2016 parliamentary elections, but the country’s opaque politics make it difficult to know for sure how to characterize the results. All candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council, which rejected thousands during the 2016 elections. Parliament is less powerful than the Supreme Leader and other institutions such as the Guardian Council, the judiciary, and the security services. The elections are happening in the context of escalating tensions with the United States.
Reza Haqiqatnezhad, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda: “Led by Tehran’s former mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s neo-cons hope to win a sizeable majority in the next round of the country’s parliamentary elections to be held in February 2020.”
Past Elections
Turkey, Istanbul Mayoral Re-Run, June 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free (downgraded from Party Free in 2018) – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Turkey held local elections on March 31, but invalidated the results of the Istanbul mayoral election after Ekrem Imamoglu from the opposition Republican Party (CHP) won by a small margin. They re-ran the election on June 23 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) alleged fraud. The move did not pay off – Imamoglu defeated AKP’s Binali Yildirim once again, by an even bigger margin. The election is happening in the context of Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism.
Dorian Jones, Voice of America: “Opposition Victory Shows Turkey Still Capable of Competitive Elections”
Selim Koru, New York Times: “Mr. Imamoglu won Istanbul by reorienting Turkey toward a politics that might enable democratic coexistence. He achieved his victory by recognizing that dispossession can generate political power, something all populists understand. What sets him apart is that he has managed to do this by alleviating polarization, not deepening it.”
Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations: “Istanbul’s Election: What Does Erdogan’s Loss Mean for Turkey? After his party suffered a humiliating loss in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is down but far from out.”
Middle East This Week – June 25, 2019
Leave a Comment
Last Updated: July 2, 2019 by 21votes
June 25, 2019
Each day, 21votes gathers election and political news from a different region of the world. We explore the greater Middle East and North Africa on Tuesdays. Click the map pins.
Algeria Presidential - July 4, 2019 (cancelled)
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Algerian politics are dominated by Le Pouvoir, a small group of elite from the military and the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, aged 82 and unable to walk or talk, was going to run for a fifth term in the election originally scheduled for April, but tens of thousands of Algerians protested for two months, and Bouteflika resigned. The election was moved to July 4, but then the Constitutional Council cancelled the vote and has not set a new date. Protests continue. Protesters are demanding assurances that any new elections will be free and fair.
Al-Jazeera: “Demonstrators returned to central Algiers on Friday for their latest weekly rally, brandishing the Algerian flag that has been a mainstay of the protests that ended the rule of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April.”
Israel Snap Parliamentary - September 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free – Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
Israel – nicknamed the “startup nation” – is a vibrant democracy. In September, Israelis head to the polls again in an unprecedented do-over of parliamentary elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s center-right Likud was unable to form a coalition following April’s elections. While parties friendly to Netanyahu won more seats than those friendly to Netanyahu’s main rival, former IDF chief Benny Gantz, coalition talks collapsed over the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox into the military. One of Likud’s coalition partners, Avgidor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, supported conscription – and refused to budge – while religious parties adamantly opposed it, highlighting growing tensions between secular and religious Israelis. Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset and called for new elections rather than giving Gantz the chance to try to form a government. Additionally, Netanyahu faces corruption charges. The elections are happening in the middle of U.S. President Donald Trump’s quixotic attempt to seal the “deal of the century” between Israelis and Palestinians.
Times of Israel: “Netanyahu says he’s considering proposal to cancel September election. Knesset speaker says he found a legal way to nix new national vote, but it is unclear how PM could form a government without Blue and White, which rejects the plan as ‘spin’”
Michael Bachner, Times of Israel: “Netanyahu offered Gantz rotating premiership in bid to avert elections – report. Likud denies making last-ditch offer to form unity government with Blue and White before vote was called last month to dissolve Knesset”
Jonathan Lis, Haaretz: “Netanyahu Trying to Form Coalition With Arab Parties, Says Lieberman. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman bases statement in part on an op-ed written by the prime minister’s close associate, Nathan Eshel, which was published in Haaretz”
Afghanistan Presidential - September 28, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Islamic Republic
Afghanistan held long-delayed parliamentary elections in October 2018, marred by violence and administrative problems. In order to fix problems from the legislative elections, the presidential election has been delayed twice. President Ashraf Ghani’s term ended on May 22, 2019, but he has remained in office, despite calls for a caretaker government, infuriating some. Ghani became president in 2014 in a power sharing deal with his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, following a flawed election. Presidential campaign is gearing up right in the middle of peacenegotiations between the United States and the Taliban.
Mujib Mashal and Jawad Sukhanyar, New York Times: “Long, Rowdy Feud in Afghan Parliament Mirrors Wider Political Fragility”
Shabeer Ahmadi, TOLO News: “Pompeo Hopes There Is A Peace Deal Ahead Of Afghan Elections”
Tunisia Parliamentary - October 6, 2019 and Presidential - November 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Tunisia began transitioning to democracyin 2011, amid the Arab Spring protests, and this year, the country will hold the third national elections since the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ennadha, whichpresents itself as a moderate, pro-democracy Islamist party but holds someretrograde views, won the first post-Ben Ali elections, but in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the secularist Nidaa Tounes won the most seats. In 2018, Tunisia held long-delayed municipal elections, which saw independent candidates win the most seats, followed by Ennadha. President Beji Caid Essebsi of Nidaa Tounes, who became Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president in 2014, has said he will not seek a second term this year, even though the constitution allows it, saying it was time to “open the door to the youth” (Essebsi is 92). Prime Minister Youssef Chahed broke off from Nidaa Tounes to form Tahya Tounes, another secularist party, and it looks to be a close contestbetween the fractious secularist parties and Ennadha (Machrouu Tounes, another secularist party, broke from Nidaa Tounes in 2016 and currently has 25 seats in parliament).
Robert Mahoney, Committee to Protect Journalists: “Upcoming elections could make or break Tunisia’s fledgling free press”
Iran Parliamentary - February 2020
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Theocratic Republic
Some analysts argue that “moderates” or “reformers” won Iran’s 2016 parliamentary elections, but the country’s opaque politics make it difficult to know for sure how to characterize the results. All candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council, which rejected thousands during the 2016 elections. Parliament is less powerful than the Supreme Leader and other institutions such as the Guardian Council, the judiciary, and the security services. The elections are happening in the context of escalating tensions with the United States.
Reza Haqiqatnezhad, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda: “Led by Tehran’s former mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s neo-cons hope to win a sizeable majority in the next round of the country’s parliamentary elections to be held in February 2020.”
Turkey, Istanbul Mayoral Re-Run - June 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free (downgraded from Party Free in 2018) – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Turkey held local elections on March 31, but invalidated the results of the Istanbul mayoral election after Ekrem Imamoglu from the opposition Republican Party (CHP) won by a small margin. They re-ran the election on June 23 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) alleged fraud. The move did not pay off – Imamoglu defeated AKP’s Binali Yildirim once again, by an even bigger margin. The election is happening in the context of Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism.
Dorian Jones, Voice of America: “Opposition Victory Shows Turkey Still Capable of Competitive Elections”
Selim Koru, New York Times: “Mr. Imamoglu won Istanbul by reorienting Turkey toward a politics that might enable democratic coexistence. He achieved his victory by recognizing that dispossession can generate political power, something all populists understand. What sets him apart is that he has managed to do this by alleviating polarization, not deepening it.”
Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations: “Istanbul’s Election: What Does Erdogan’s Loss Mean for Turkey? After his party suffered a humiliating loss in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is down but far from out.”
Upcoming Elections
Algeria Presidential – July 4, 2019 (cancelled)
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Algerian politics are dominated by Le Pouvoir, a small group of elite from the military and the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, aged 82 and unable to walk or talk, was going to run for a fifth term in the election originally scheduled for April, but tens of thousands of Algerians protestedfor two months, and Bouteflika resigned. The election was moved to July 4, but then the Constitutional Council cancelled the vote and has not set a new date. Protests continue. Protesters are demanding assurances that any new elections will be free and fair.
Al-Jazeera: “Demonstrators returned to central Algiers on Friday for their latest weekly rally, brandishing the Algerian flag that has been a mainstay of the protests that ended the rule of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April.”
Israel Snap Parliamentary – September 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free – Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
Israel – nicknamed the “startup nation” – is a vibrant democracy. In September, Israelis head to the polls again in an unprecedented do-over of parliamentary elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s center-right Likud was unable to form a coalition following April’s elections. While parties friendly to Netanyahu won more seats than those friendly to Netanyahu’s main rival, former IDF chief Benny Gantz, coalition talks collapsed over the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox into the military. One of Likud’s coalition partners, Avgidor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, supported conscription – and refused to budge – while religious parties adamantly opposed it, highlighting growing tensions between secular and religious Israelis. Netanyahu dissolved the Knesset and called for new elections rather than giving Gantz the chance to try to form a government. Additionally, Netanyahu faces corruption charges. The elections are happening in the middle of U.S. President Donald Trump’s quixotic attempt to seal the “deal of the century” between Israelis and Palestinians.
Times of Israel: “Netanyahu says he’s considering proposal to cancel September election. Knesset speaker says he found a legal way to nix new national vote, but it is unclear how PM could form a government without Blue and White, which rejects the plan as ‘spin’”
Michael Bachner, Times of Israel: “Netanyahu offered Gantz rotating premiership in bid to avert elections – report. Likud denies making last-ditch offer to form unity government with Blue and White before vote was called last month to dissolve Knesset”
Jonathan Lis, Haaretz: “Netanyahu Trying to Form Coalition With Arab Parties, Says Lieberman. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman bases statement in part on an op-ed written by the prime minister’s close associate, Nathan Eshel, which was published in Haaretz”
Afghanistan Presidential – September 28, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Presidential Islamic Republic
Afghanistan held long-delayed parliamentary elections in October 2018, marred by violence and administrative problems. In order to fix problems from the legislative elections, the presidential election has been delayed twice. President Ashraf Ghani’s term ended on May 22, 2019, but he has remained in office, despite calls for a caretaker government, infuriating some. Ghani became president in 2014 in a power sharing deal with his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, following a flawed election. Presidential campaign is gearing up right in the middle of peacenegotiations between the United States and the Taliban.
Mujib Mashal and Jawad Sukhanyar, New York Times: “Long, Rowdy Feud in Afghan Parliament Mirrors Wider Political Fragility”
Shabeer Ahmadi, TOLO News: “Pompeo Hopes There Is A Peace Deal Ahead Of Afghan Elections”
Tunisia Parliamentary – October 6, 2019 and Presidential – November 17, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Free Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Tunisia began transitioning to democracy in 2011, amid the Arab Spring protests, and this year, the country will hold the third national elections since the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ennadha, which presents itself as a moderate, pro-democracy Islamist party but holds some retrograde views, won the first post-Ben Ali elections, but in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the secularist Nidaa Tounes won the most seats. In 2018, Tunisia held long-delayed municipal elections, which saw independent candidates win the most seats, followed by Ennadha. President Beji Caid Essebsi of Nidaa Tounes, who became Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president in 2014, has said he will not seek a second term this year, even though the constitution allows it, saying it was time to “open the door to the youth” (Essebsi is 92). Prime Minister Youssef Chahed broke off from Nidaa Tounes to form Tahya Tounes, another secularist party, and it looks to be a close contest between the fractious secularist parties and Ennadha (Machrouu Tounes, another secularist party, broke from Nidaa Tounes in 2016 and currently has 25 seats in parliament).
Robert Mahoney, Committee to Protect Journalists: “Upcoming elections could make or break Tunisia’s fledgling free press”
Iran Parliamentary – February 2020
Freedom House Rating: Not Free – Government Type: Theocratic Republic
Some analysts argue that “moderates” or “reformers” won Iran’s 2016 parliamentary elections, but the country’s opaque politics make it difficult to know for sure how to characterize the results. All candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council, which rejected thousands during the 2016 elections. Parliament is less powerful than the Supreme Leader and other institutions such as the Guardian Council, the judiciary, and the security services. The elections are happening in the context of escalating tensions with the United States.
Reza Haqiqatnezhad, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda: “Led by Tehran’s former mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s neo-cons hope to win a sizeable majority in the next round of the country’s parliamentary elections to be held in February 2020.”
Past Elections
Turkey, Istanbul Mayoral Re-Run, June 23, 2019
Freedom House Rating: Not Free (downgraded from Party Free in 2018) – Government Type: Presidential Republic
Turkey held local elections on March 31, but invalidated the results of the Istanbul mayoral election after Ekrem Imamoglu from the opposition Republican Party (CHP) won by a small margin. They re-ran the election on June 23 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) alleged fraud. The move did not pay off – Imamoglu defeated AKP’s Binali Yildirim once again, by an even bigger margin. The election is happening in the context of Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism.
Dorian Jones, Voice of America: “Opposition Victory Shows Turkey Still Capable of Competitive Elections”
Selim Koru, New York Times: “Mr. Imamoglu won Istanbul by reorienting Turkey toward a politics that might enable democratic coexistence. He achieved his victory by recognizing that dispossession can generate political power, something all populists understand. What sets him apart is that he has managed to do this by alleviating polarization, not deepening it.”
Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations: “Istanbul’s Election: What Does Erdogan’s Loss Mean for Turkey? After his party suffered a humiliating loss in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is down but far from out.”
The Year Ahead: Middle East
Egypt local (planned for the first half of 2019 – delays possible); Libya (international community wants presidential or legislative elections by June – delays highly likely); Algeria presidential (July 4 – cancelled); Israel snap parliamentary (September 17); Afghanistan presidential (September 28); Oman consultative assembly (October – assembly is advisory only with no actual legislative power); Tunisia parliamentary and presidential (October 6 and November 17); Iraq provincial (November 16); Iran parliamentary (February 2020); Palestinian Authority legislative (elections overdue – new government says they aim to hold elections but no date set)
Ekrem Imamoglu once again won Istanbul’s mayoral election. Photo credit: Wikimedia/MHIRM
21votes does not necessarily endorse all of the views in all of the linked articles or publications. More on our approach here.
Comments
Share this:
Related
Category: This Week Tags: Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Israel, Tunisia, Turkey