The News

This year is being defined by elections. With so many votes around the world, it can be hard to keep track of them at all.

This edition: Election rigging in Pakistan, a Tasmanian snap election, and questions over Cameroon’s long-time leader.

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400+ seats

A new projection showed the U.K.’s Labour Party potentially winning over 400 seats in the upcoming general election, a staggering prospect in the country. The latest MRP seat calculation from Electoral Calculus puts Labour at 452 out 650 total seats, with the Tories reduced to just 80. Labour has soared in polling since the brief tenure of former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Despite doubts that the party would be able to maintain its lead over a length of years, Labour is still on track for one of the U.K.’s biggest election wins ever.

Admitted rigging

An election official in Punjab admitted that results of the recent parliamentary vote were rigged, against a backdrop of intensifying protests. The official explained that despite candidates from ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI party leading by over 70,000 votes, results were changed to deny them a win. He further went on to implicate his superiors in allegations of election fraud. Khan’s party has also called for their resignation. Last week, a winning legislative candidate even gave up their seat, claiming “the vote was rigged in their favor.”

Parliamentary outlook

Despite Prabowo Subianto’s big presidential win, Indonesia’s new parliament could eventually offer some level of opposition to the incoming administration. Parties that did not back Prabowo won 57% of seats in Indonesia’s legislature, compared to 43% for his allies. But Prabowo has already “made early moves” for support from rival parties, according to reporting from The Straits Times. Prabowo, noted in international reports as a “brutal general,” stoked concerns for Indonesian democracy last week in the aftermath of his victory.

‘Influencer-in-chief’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is India’s top influencer, a new piece argued, describing him as a figure who commands an entire “virtual universe.” As the importance of the internet is now outsized within Indian politics, Modi’s vast social media presence has become a critical component of his continued electoral success, Rest of World said. India’s “digital explosion,” illustrated by its expansion from 2% of the world’s mobile data traffic a decade ago to over 21% today, has “enabled a new kind of voter bloc” — one in which Modi maintains an overwhelming advantage.

Tasmanian snap

Tasmania’s premier has called a snap election for March, which could usher in total Labor Party control of the country. The premier, citing an “unworkable” parliament, set the election date for March 23 despite a full year remaining in the legislature’s term. Australia’s Labor Party currently controls all state governments of the country’s mainland, leaving Tasmania as the only holdout. “Battler” Jacqui Lambie intends to run in this election with her own party, and could score up to 20% of the vote according to one poll.

See ya Biya?

Cameroon’s 91-year-old president, Paul Biya, couldn’t possibly run for another term in office next year … could he? Biya, the world’s longest serving non-royal leader, has maintained his position as Cameroon’s president since the 1980s — and was the country’s prime minister before that. Though Biya’s son, Franck, has been mentioned among names that could replace him, presidential allies within Cameroon have called for the nonagenarian to run again.

Sardinian election

Italy’s Sardinia region is headed to the polls on Sunday to vote for a new president, with an opportunity for the populist 5 Star Movement to score a rare victory. Alessandre Todde, a former minister in Giuseppe Conte’s federal government, appeared in the latest BiDimedia poll to hold nearly 42% of the vote compared to 46% for the candidate from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party. Italy’s 5 Star Movement has never held a regional government, and suffered a high-profile re-election loss in the first round of 2021’s Rome mayoral election.

Deby drama

Chad’s first family is split in its election loyalties, with the late former president’s brother joining the opposition ahead of a vote this year. Saleh Deby Itno, the current president’s uncle and adviser to his administration, joined the Socialist Party without Borders, “smiling and [showing] a V for victory sign.” Saleh has long clashed with other members of his family, and has come to “symbolize the family’s lack of unity.”

Out of Action

Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party could face its toughest test yet in the next election, facing corruption scandals, cost of living issues, and a baton pass. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced last November that he would hand over the top job to his deputy, Lawrence Wong. While the next vote is slated to take place in 2025, a corruption case involving the country’s former transport minister is currently unfolding, presenting a rare opening for the political opposition. “One cannot deny that the Iswaran case, together with the cost of living, could be negative points for the PAP” declared one Singaporean professor.

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