The clear winner was – as had been predicted – the ANO movement (29,64%). The other two major winners of the elections were the Pirate Party and the extreme right-wing SPD, that both for the first time ever surpassed the ten percent election threshold and made their way to the parliament. The biggest winners of the elections were thus the Anti-Establishment Parties and their candidates.
By
Riikka Palonkorpi
October 25, 2017
After five months of struggling and political crisis following the general elections in December 2016, Macedonia is finally getting a government. These fourth consecutive early elections were supposed to be a fresh restart and a means to overcome a longer period of deepening political crisis. But the effect was rather the opposite: the governing party lost the elections and have ever since done their utmost to prevent handing over power.
By
Jessica Giandomenico
May 25, 2017
On April 2, Armenia held its first parliamentary election with the newly adopted constitution, transforming the country from a presidential to a parliamentary republic. In short the change transfers the substantial executive power from the presidential office to the prime minister and the parliament. The elections have widely been regarded as an important test of the democracy in Armenia.
By
Vahagn Avedian
April 7, 2017
The low turnout is one of the most worrying signals in these elections. Only 51.6 percent of the electorate went out to vote. The incumbent party the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD) did win a striking mandate with 115 of the total 150 seats in the Georgian Parliament. The party will now be able to govern without support from other parties, and it also passed the 113 seats required to make constitutional changes.
By
Per Ekman
November 8, 2016
The European willingness to interact with Belarus at any cost and Lukashenko’s interest in maintaining such interaction can be, and has become already to some extent, some kind of window of opportunity. Even though it does not change the fact that political decision making is only conducted top-down, as such completely inaccessible not only for the general public but for the house of representatives as well this new ‘thaw’ is seemingly bringing with it some more room for maneuvering.
By
Ulyana Kaposhka and Sofie Bedford
October 10, 2016
The outcome of the 2016 Duma elections further consolidates the Russian authoritarian system. The changes in the electoral legislation resulting in the reintroduction of the mixed voting system could, in theory, have helped open up the system to other parties. This did not prove to be the case, however, as it instead favoured Putin’s current constellation of power.
By
Lena Jonson
October 8, 2016
When the media informed about an unexpectedly high electoral turnout shortly after the election, no one still had any idea just how surprising the results of the Slovak general election would be.
By
Michal Smrek
March 27, 2016
While the ongoing ideological struggle between the right-wing parties in government and the center-left opposition is in full swing, Croatia continues to face an adverse economic climate and an unresolved problem with its neighbors regarding the issue of migrant and refugee movements on the way to northern Europe. It is far from certain that MOST will be able to act as the bridge over troubled waters that it framed itself as during the election campaign.
By
Roland Kostić
February 23, 2016
in October, the parliamentary elections took place and PiS got a landslide victory and a singlehanded majority in both chamber of the Polish parliament, the Lower House Sejm and the Upper House Senate. Polish and foreign press alike have been alarmed of the election results in Poland. PiS's main policy concerns are domestic and Polish politicians have long been more value conservative than society at large.
By
Jaakko Turunen
November 5, 2015
The political landscape in the parliament has changed quite drastically due to party mergers and the appearance of three new parties which made it over the threshold. And although SDPK increased their share of the votes, they’re still far from being able to form a single party government.
By
Henrik Ohlsson
October 15, 2015