A series of briefings from the House of Commons Library on elections from around the world.
The House of Commons Library is publishing a series of briefings on international elections. Research will be published soon after elections take place and will provide comprehensive insight and coverage.
Briefings on international elections cover:
Sierra Leone held a presidential election on 24 June 2023. In a repeat of the 2018 election, President Julius Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party beat Dr Samura Kamra of the All People’s Congress.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected for a third term as President of Turkey in a second-round election run-off on 28 May 2023. This paper provides background on the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections and Erdoğan's two decades in power in Turkey.
Thailand held a general election on 14 May 2023. The Move Forward Party won the most seats in the House of Representatives, but there is uncertainty over who will become Prime Minister.
Nigeria held a presidential election on Saturday 25 February 2023. Bola Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, won the election in the first round.
Brazil held a presidential election on 2 October 2022, with a run-off poll taking place on 30 October. Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro.
A new centre right government, led by Giorgia Meloni, took office in Italy in October 2022. Meloni's leads a party with roots in Italy's post-war neo-fascist party. This briefing provides background on the election and new government.
Australia held a general election on 21 May 2022. After almost a decade in power, the Liberal-National coalition were defeated, with Labor's Anthony Albanese forming the next government.
France held a presidential election on 10 April 2022, with a run-off poll taking place on 24 April. In a repeat of the 2017 election, Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen.
Hungary held a general election on 3 April 2022. Incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán secured a majority of seats in the new parliament and will serve a fourth consecutive term in office (his fifth in total).
Portugal held a parliamentary election on 30 January 2022. Incumbent Prime Minister Antonio Costa secured a majority of seats in the new parliament and will serve a third term in office.
Germany held a parliamentary election on 26 September 2021. After months of negotiations, a new coalition government was sworn in on 8 December.
A snap general election was held on 20 September 2021, to elect the 338 Members of the Canadian House of Commons.
Peru held a general election on 11 April 2021. No single presidential candidate gained a majority of votes cast, so a run-off poll was held on 6 June, with Pedro Castillo securing a narrow victory.
Iran held a presidential election on 18 June 2021, with Ebrahim Raisi securing a majority of votes and winning the election.
Israel held parliamentary elections on 23 March 2021. No single party gained a majority and, after two months of talks, a new coalition government was formed.
Syria held a presidential election on 26 May 2021, with President Assad securing a fourth term in office.
Chad held a presidential election on 11 April 2021. The winner died the day after the election result was announced and a Transitional Military Council has since seized power.
Ecuador held a general election on 7 February 2021. A run-off poll between the top two Presidential candidates took place on 11 April.
The Netherlands held a general election on 17 March 2021 to elect members of the House of Representatives.
Myanmar held a general election on 8 November 2020. The National League for Democracy secured a landslide win but the military later staged a coup.
The United States held an election on Tuesday 3 November 2020. The election is viewed as effectively a referendum on Trump’s presidency and his handling of the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Venezuela held a parliamentary election on Sunday 6 December 2020. Ahead of the election campaign several opposition parties announced they would not participate, declaring the election to be fraudulent and illegitimate.
Georgia is a small country in the Caucasus region whose development is watched closely because of its geopolitical importance. In November the country completed its parliamentary election process.
Côte d’Ivoire held a presidential election on Saturday 31 October 2020. Controversially, incumbent President Alassane Dramane Ouattara was permitted to run for a third consecutive term.
A general election was held on mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous Zanzibar on Wednesday 28 October 2020.
Bolivia held elections on Sunday 18 October 2020. These were the first presidential elections since 2002 in which former president Evo Morales did not appear on the ballot.
New Zealand held a General Election on Saturday 17 October 2020. The election was commonly dubbed the “Covid election”, with the coronavirus pandemic the main issue for voters throughout the campaign.
Belarus held a presidential election on Sunday 9 August 2020. There have been allegations of widespread vote-rigging and the opposition has disputed the results.