"2009 Japanese general election A general election for the Japanese House of Representatives was held on August 30, 2009. The opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition (Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito Party) in a sweeping victory, winning 221 of the 300 electoral districts and receiving 42.4% of the proportional block votes for another 87 seats, a total of 308 seats to only 119 for the LDP (64 districts and 26.7% of the proportional votes). Under Japan's constitution, this result virtually assured DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama would be the next Prime Minister of Japan. He was formally"
"to a conclusion after 541 days. It also ended what was believed to be the longest period in which a developed country has been without an elected government, at 589 days, until the record was surpassed by Northern Ireland in August 2018; Leterme had been serving as caretaker prime minister since his resignation on 26 April 2010. Towards the end of July 2011, party leaders of the Rattachist-separatist Walloon Rally (which does not have any seats in parliament) have had talks with the Union for a Popular Movement of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the French Socialist Party resulting that"
"were lifted and a value added tax was due to be applied to companies, along with an opening up to foreign investment. After the 2009 election, the Social Democratic Party achieved a plurality of seats but fell one seat short of an overall majority, thus providing for more deadlock during key pieces of legislation. The government fell two years before its full four-year term was due to end after failing to pass the budget with an absolute majority. Jaume Bartumeu effectively called for an election by requesting that the country's co-princes dissolve parliament. Twenty-eight ""general councillors"" were elected, based on"
"civil unrest in April 2009 antagonized the society, and the communists were unable to secure one additional vote out of the 41 MPs from the three opposition parties; a snap parliamentary election was necessary. In the snap parliamentary election in July 2009, the PCRM won 44.69% of the vote, which is more votes than any other individual party, and gained 48 seats, but it lost its parliamentary majority to a coalition of opposition parties which has 53 seats. However, the opposition also failed to obtain enough seats to elect a President, thereby producing more uncertainty. Voronin announced on 2 September"
"strong. Many were not satisfied with this new dynastical succession and were pushing for a more democratic government. Ilham Aliyev was re-elected in 2008 with 87% of the polls, while opposition parties boycotted the elections. In a constitutional referendum in 2009, term limits for the presidency were abolished and freedom of the press was restricted. The 2010 parliamentary elections produced a Parliament completely loyal to Aliyev: for the first time in Azerbaijani history, not a single candidate from the main opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front or Musavat parties was elected. ""The Economist"" scored Azerbaijan as an authoritarian regime, placing it 135th"
"the 22 million voters with alleged voter turnout of 99%) on 10 May 2008 in the first phase of a two-stage referendum and Cyclone Nargis. It was the first national vote since the 1990 election. Multi-party elections in 2010 would end 5 decades of military rule, as the new charter gives the military an automatic 25% of seats in parliament. NLD spokesman Nyan Win, inter alia, criticised the referendum: ""This referendum was full of cheating and fraud across the country. In some villages, authorities and polling station officials ticked the ballots themselves and did not let the voters do anything""."
"people wanted him to remain in office, Tandja dissolved the National Assembly in May 2009 and subsequently appointed a new Constitutional Court, enabling him to push forward with a constitutional referendum in August 2009 that extended his mandate for an additional three years. The new constitution also enhanced Tandja's power by scrapping the semi-presidential system of government in favor of a presidential system. The opposition reacted furiously to Tandja's efforts to remain in office and denounced him as a dictator. Tandja also faced strong international and regional criticism as a result of the events of 2009; Niger was suspended from"
"the independence from the Soviet Union, together with the economic situation severely deteriorating, due to the world financial crisis. The popularity of the governing parties melted and was below the parliamentary threshold. By the end of 2008, parties had a hard time agreeing on further budget cuts, (mainly in the social sphere) the planned reorganization of the government, and layoffs. On 13 January 2009, there were severe riots in Riga, with protesters attacking the building of the parliament. The President Valdis Zatlers gave an ultimatum to parties, saying that should they not agree on constitutional amendments about the dissolution of"
"as corrupt. The subsequent protests led to a bloodless coup on 24 March 2005, after which Akayev fled the country with his family and was replaced by acting president Kurmanbek Bakiyev (see: Tulip Revolution). On 10 July 2005, acting president Bakiyev won the presidential election in a landslide, with 88.9% of the vote, and was inaugurated on 14 August. However, initial public support for the new administration substantially declined in subsequent months as a result of its apparent inability to solve the corruption problems that had plagued the country since its independence from the Soviet Union, along with the murders"
"corners of the country – not only in the south and east, but also in the west and north that had been comparatively quiet until recent weeks around the election – signalling an expanding insurgency despite record numbers of U.S. and coalition troops in the eight-year war since the 2001 U.S. invasion. On September 16, 2009, the IEC released its final uncertified results for the presidential election, with Hamid Karzai winning the election in one round with 54.6% of the vote: Total Valid Votes: 5,662,758. The IEC claimed that voter turnout was 38.7%. However, anectdotal evidence from observers suggests it"
"won 81% of the seats in Parliament, but the results were nullified, as the military refused to hand over power, resulting in an international outcry. She had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the elections. She remained under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from 1989 to 2010, becoming one of the world's most prominent political prisoners. Her party boycotted the 2010 elections, resulting in a decisive victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Aung San Suu Kyi became a Pyithu Hluttaw MP while her party won 43 of the 45 vacant seats"
"council seats, took place in August 2009, but remained unresolved during a lengthy period of vote counting and fraud investigation. Two months later, under international pressure, a second round run-off vote between Karzai and remaining challenger Abdullah was announced, but a few days later Abdullah announced that he would not participate in 7 November run-off because his demands for changes in the electoral commission had not been met. The next day, officials of the election commission cancelled the run-off and declared Hamid Karzai as President for another five-year term. In the 2005 parliamentary election, among the elected officials were former"
"Party), its policies were still considered to be largely secular and conservative. However, the Tunisian Revolution in 2011 saw its removal from power. The Tunisian national elections of 2009, overseen by the Interior Ministry and held on October 25, 2009, elected candidates for president and legislative offices. During the campaign, speeches by candidates were aired on Tunisian radio and television stations. Participation was 89% of resident citizens and 90% of citizens living abroad. In the presidential vote, Ben Ali soundly defeated his challengers, Mohamed Bouchiha (PUP), Ahmed Inoubli (UDU) and Ahmed Ibrahim (Ettajdid Movement) for a fifth term in office."
"during 2003-4 with an adopted Public Transition Charter. The Military Committee appointed two civilians as interim President and Prime Minister. Elections were held for a five year term on 24 July 2005 with a multi party representation. There was a military coup in 2012, after which EU and international donations stopped. The latest elections were held during April 2014 with 13 Presidential candidates and representaiton from 15 parties. The elections were monitored by 550 international observers. Jose Mario Vaz and his party, won the Presidential and parliamentary elections against the military backed Nuno Gomes Nabiam. As of 2009, the total"
"and a new constitution with free and open elections. In Asia, the country of Burma (also known as Myanmar) had long been ruled by a military junta; however, in 2011, the government changed to allow certain voting rights and released democracy-leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. However, Burma still will not allow Suu Kyi to run for election and still has major human rights problems and not full democratic rights. However, this was later partially abrogated with the election of Suu Kyi's national league for democracy party and her appointment as the de facto leader of Burma (Myanmar)"
"Socialists eroded and the ruling party lost its majority in the 2009 election. The second government of José Sócrates faced a deterioration of the economic and financial state of the country, with skyrocketing deficit and growing debt. Austerity was resumed in 2010 while the country entered a hard financial crisis in the context of the European debt crisis. On 23 March 2011, Sócrates submitted his resignation to President Cavaco Silva after the Parliament rejected a new austerity package (the fourth in a year), leading to the 2011 snap election. Financial status of the country deteriorated and on 6 April Sócrates"
"70.92 percent of the vote, although the opposition alleged widespread fraud. Biya was sworn in on 3 November. After being re-elected in 2004, Biya was barred by a two-term limit in the 1996 Constitution from running for President again in 2011, but he sought to revise this to allow him to run again. In his 2008 New Year's message, Biya expressed support for revising the Constitution, saying that it was undemocratic to limit the people's choice. The proposed removal of term limits was among the grievances expressed during violent protests in late February 2008. Nevertheless, on 10 April 2008, the"
"shape of the political organisation, the Cape Party. The Cape Party contested their first elections on 22 April 2009. Spain (known officially as ""the Kingdom of Spain"") was assembled in the 15th and 16th centuries from various component kingdoms, some having lost their secession wars. Spain has several secessionist movements, the most notable being in Catalonia and in the Basque Country. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, operated a de facto independent state for Tamils called Tamil Eelam in eastern and northern Sri Lanka until 2009. A referendum took place in Southern Sudan from 9 to 15 January 2011, on"
"that lasted 35 years, from 1954 to 1989. Paraguay is one of the poorest countries of South America. This dominant-party authoritarian system was temporary broken in the Paraguayan general election, 2008, when practically the entire opposition united in the Patriotic Alliance for Change manage to elect former Bishop Fernando Lugo of the Christian Democratic Party as President of Paraguay. Lugo's government was praised for its social reforms including such as investments in low-income housing, the introduction of free treatment in public hospitals, the introduction of cash transfers for Paraguay's most impoverished citizens and indigenous rights. Nevertheless, Lugo did not finish"
"president, while giving the Broad Front a majority in both houses of Parliament. Vázquez stuck to economic orthodoxy. As commodity prices soared and the economy recovered from the recession, he tripled foreign investment, cut poverty and unemployment, cut public debt from 79% of GDP to 60%, and kept inflation steady. In 2009, José Mujica, a former left-wing militant who spent almost 15 years in prison during the country's military rule, emerged as the new President as the Broad Front won the election for a second time. Abortion was legalized in 2012, followed by same-sex marriage and cannabis in the following"
"in the Arab world"". In November 1987, doctors declared Bourguiba unfit to rule and, in a bloodless coup d'état, Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumed the presidency in accordance with Article 57 of the Tunisian constitution. The anniversary of Ben Ali's succession, 7 November, was celebrated as a national holiday. He was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every five years (well over 80 percent of the vote), the last being 25 October 2009, until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011. Ben Ali and his family were accused of corruption and plundering the country's money."
"Although the opposition boycotted the referendum, official results reported that turnout was 68%, with 92.5% of voters in favor. The new constitution was accordingly promulgated on 18 August 2009. The full details of the referendum proposal were not finalized, but elements of the proposed constitution were outlined by government spokesmen and by a commission set up by the president to draft a proposed document. Tandja would extend his term for a transitional mandate of three years, during which a new constitution would be written and approved. The system of government would be changed from a semi-presidential system to a full"
"of the 52 MPs in the House. On 27 November 2009, Natapei became ineligible to continue serving as Prime Minister. His parliamentary seat was declared vacant as he had missed three parliamentary sittings without informing the Speaker of the House. Despite being overseas on legitimate parliamentary business, his staff had failed to file the necessary paperwork with the Speaker to give notice of his absence. Serge Vohor became the acting Prime Minister. On December 5, however, Chief Justice Vincent Lunabek ruled that ""the Speaker’s decision to unseat the PM on 27 November 2009 was ‘unconstitutional and of no legal effect’""."
"consultative institutions at both national and local levels, with official results showing 99.6% voting in favour. A constitutional referendum two years later saw the new constitution approved by a similar margin. Another constitutional referendum in 1992, which proposed reintroducing multi-party democracy, was approved by 90% of voters. The 1996 coup led to a referendum that saw a new constitution approved by 92% of voters, whilst the 1999 coup resulted in another new constitution receive the approval of 90% of voters. A referendum in 2009 proposed suspending the constitution pending a rewrite, and was approved by 92.5% of voters, although it"
"adopted via referendum in 2009, providing for a unitary secular state. The president is directly elected to a five-year term by popular vote. In the case that no candidate receives an absolute majority of the direct vote, congress will elect the president from among the two candidates most voted. Hence, Hugo Banzer Suarez was elected president in 1997. Although no candidate had received more than 50% of the popular vote in the national election, Hugo Banzer Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming the so-called ""megacoalition"" with other parties. He resigned in August 2001 and"
"elections saw some isolated protests, but no significant disturbances. Omar Bongo's son, ruling party leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, was formally declared the winner after a 3-week review by the Constitutional Court; his inauguration took place on October 16, 2009. The court's review had been prompted by claims of fraud by the many opposition candidates, with the initial announcement of election results sparking unprecedented violent protests in Port-Gentil, the country's second-largest city and a long-time bastion of opposition to PDG rule. The citizens of Port-Gentil took to the streets, and numerous shops and residences were burned, including the French Consulate and"
"or 32 percent of the vote. The CUD alone won 20 percent of the vote. A parliamentary election took place on 23 May 2010. , preliminary election results indicated that the ruling EPRDF party had won 499 of the 536 seats in parliament. The provisional results indicated the EPRDF had won a landslide victory in 9 of the 11 regions and cities. 90% of eligible voters participated the election. Chief European Union (EU) observer Thijs Berman reported that the elections were ""peaceful and well organised"", but noted an ""uneven playing field"" and criticized the use of state resources in the"
"1987. On 3 August 2005, Taya was ousted in a bloodless military coup while he was out of the country. A group of officers took power as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy and announced that Vall was the head of the council. He did not take the title of President because he said it should be reserved for elected leaders. The new regime, condemning Ould Taya's government as ""totalitarian"", promised to lead the country to elections and the restoration of civilian rule within two years; a referendum on a new constitution was planned to be held within a"
"one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. According to a US Embassy cable, the 2009 presidential elections were ""carefully choreographed and heavily controlled"", with the official turnout figure ""exaggerated"" by at least 45%. Until 12 November 2008, presidents were limited to two terms; on this date, amendments to the constitution were passed which removed the term limits. Term limits were later reinstated in the 2016 constitution reform by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The last legislative election was held in May 2017. These elections were marked by a"
"5 April 2009, the PCRM won 49.48% of the vote and 60 seats, one seat too few to elect a President. Vladimir Voronin, up to then president, was elected Speaker of Parliament and also retained the presidency with an interim status. Protests and riots by opposition activists amidst civil unrest followed in April 2009. PCRM were then unable to secure one additional vote during the May–June 2009 presidential election out of the 41 MPs from the three opposition parties; a snap parliamentary election was necessary. The parliamentary election of July 2009 led to the PCRM losing further seats to a"
"health and education services offered by the government and all the government departments have operated in a limited fashion. A transitional government was selected during 2003-4 with an adopted Public Transition Charter. The Military Committee appointed two civilians as interim President and Prime Minister. Elections were held for a five year term on 24 July 2005 with a multi party representation. There was a military coup in 2012, after which EU and international donations stopped. The latest elections were held during April 2014 with 13 Presidential candidates and representation from 15 parties. The elections were monitored by 550 international observers."
"only the fourth such election in the country's history following the end of Hastings Banda's period of one-man rule in 1994. Bingu wa Mutharika, who had won the 2004 election, picked his Foreign Minister Joyce Banda to be Vice President after successfully contesting the 2009 election. She was expelled from the Democratic Progressive Party and formed the People's Party when she refused to endorse President Bingu wa Mutharika's younger brother Peter Mutharika for president in the 2014 general election. Bingu wa Mutharika died of a heart attack on 5 April 2012, and Joyce Banda took the presidency according to the"
"elections, which were held on 16 October 2009 and returned his Botswana Democratic Party with a majority of 35 (total of 45) seats in the 61 seat Parliament. There also exists a body known as Ntlo ya Dikgosi, (""The House of Chiefs""), which is an advisory body that does not form part of the Parliament. Botswana is one of the two only nations on the African continent since the end of colonial rule to have achieved a clean record of free and fair elections since independence, having held 10 elections since 1966 without any serious incidents of corruption. The other"