Many Russian-speaking residents interviewed in eastern Latvia say they identify with Latvia and do not want Moscow's help as parliamentary elections approach on October 3. In Rezekne, less than 50 kilometres from the Russian border, residents at a harvest fes…
An African Union committee urged South Sudan on Tuesday to resolve remaining obstacles before its first national election, scheduled for December 22, and to set a clear roadmap for a credible vote. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chairs the AU co…
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally will be able to form a group in the French Senate for the first time, election results showed Monday. The National Rally and a smaller allied party will have at least 15 seats in the 348-seat upper house, above the 10…
Swiss voters appeared set to reject a referendum proposal to tighten the country's neutrality, according to a projection by the gfs.bern political institute on Sunday. “The trend is to No,” the institute said on X after polling stations closed. The proposal w…
The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to use a federal database to help check whether people on voter rolls are US citizens. The unsigned ruling lifted a lower court order that had blocked use of the Department of Homeland Security's…
Democratic leaders sued President Donald Trump's administration in federal court in Washington to block armed federal officers from polling places, ballot drop boxes and vote-counting sites during the November midterm elections. The case, filed late Wednesday…
Sweden has received a record level of challenges to this month's general election after a narrow opposition victory, officials said Thursday, while police and prosecutors look into reports of potential vote-tampering. A representative of Sweden's parliamentar…
Republicans and allied groups have booked about $888 million in advertising for the final six weeks before the November 3 US midterm elections, compared with roughly $666 million for Democrats, according to political advertising tracker AdImpact. The election…
Moroccan authorities said Wednesday night that turnout in the kingdom’s parliamentary election was 38 percent, the lowest level in almost two decades. The figure was below the 50 percent turnout recorded in 2021 and was the second-lowest since 2007, when turn…
The OSCE said Wednesday that its monitors had not been invited to the US midterm elections in November, calling the decision unprecedented and “regrettable.” The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Huma…
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday that Palestinians must hold fresh elections. “They absolutely must be held,” Barrot said. He noted that legislative polls had been slated for November 2026 and presidential elections for the first quarte…
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Tuesday he will seek the defence minister post in the next government, as the country prepares for elections next month. Ben Gvir, a key minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-w…
Former US vice president Kamala Harris campaigned with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Detroit area on Tuesday, seeking to help Democrats hold a key Michigan seat in November. Harris appeared with El-Sayed at a roundtable on Black maternal h…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU was projected to fall out of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state parliament after exit polls put it at 4.9% in Sunday's election, below the 5% threshold for seats. The latest exit polls from public broad…
Germany's far-left Die Linke led Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU in Berlin's city-state election on Sunday, exit polls by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed. Die Linke, led by top candidate Elif Eralp, was projected at 24.5% to 26%. The CDU,…
Morocco's parliamentary election on Wednesday will test whether political parties can regain the trust of younger voters, with only four percent of registered voters aged 18 to 24. Nearly 16 million Moroccans have registered to elect 395 members of the House…
The European Union criticised Russia's parliamentary elections on Friday, accusing the Kremlin of using repression to deny voters “a genuine choice about the future of their country”. European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said the way the State Duma…
French far-right politician Eric Zemmour said Friday that he would run in next year's presidential election, joining a race in which Marine Le Pen is widely projected to lead the first round. “I will be a candidate in the presidential election,” Zemmour, head…
Russia said it will open 10 voting points near border crossings with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for Russians living in those EU countries to vote in a three-day parliamentary election starting Friday. Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's electoral comm…
Exit polls put Die Linke first in Berlin's election on Sunday with about 25 percent, making lead candidate Elif Eralp the top contender to become the next mayor of Germany's capital. The result was described by AFP as a historic first for Berlin. The centre-r…
Berlin voters will elect a new local parliament on September 20, with the winning party expected to get the first chance to form a coalition and propose the German capital's next mayor. The race is being watched beyond the city because of its possible impact…
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will tell US President Donald Trump “not to meddle in Brazil's elections” if they cross paths during next week's United Nations General Assembly in New York. Lula, who is seeking reelection in Brazil's Oct…
Brazil's October 4 elections have put El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's hardline security model at the centre of the country's crime debate, with right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro promising to import parts of it. Crime and insecurity are major voter co…
Voters in the Russian city of Tambov are heading into September 18-20 parliamentary elections after Ukrainian drone attacks hit a major local warehouse, while the only candidate calling for an end to Russia's offensive says the word “peace” has become dangero…
The Washington Capitals said Alex Ovechkin had been “asked by his country” to appear in a campaign video linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the hockey star's appearance drew criticism. A Capitals spokesman said Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who…
The UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway condemned Russia's parliamentary voting in occupied parts of Ukraine as a “sham”, calling it “part of a wider system of occupation”. In a joint statement on Monday, the five countries said holding Russia's Sta…
US democracy indicators have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years and the decline is encouraging hardline leaders abroad, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said Tuesday. International IDEA said major US in…
Polls closed on Monday in the Philippines' Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after election-day violence left five people dead and raised security concerns around the region's first parliamentary vote. More than two million voters were eligible…
Kenyan senator Edwin Sifuna is drawing large crowds as he criticises President William Ruto ahead of Kenya's August 2027 election, positioning himself as a voice for young voters angry over corruption and political violence while stopping short of formally de…
Genta Koja, a candidate backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling party, won Okinawa's gubernatorial election, bringing in a leader who accepts a contentious US military base relocation plan for the first time in 12 years. Koja, 42, defeated i…
Voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao began casting ballots on Monday in the region's first elected parliamentary vote, hours after a shooting outside a polling station killed at least three people and wounded 15 others, police said. M…
Sweden's Social Democrats were leading a very close general election count early Monday, party leader Magdalena Andersson said, after more than 86 percent of votes had been counted. “It looks like it will be very close,” Andersson told supporters after Sunday…
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is preparing to hold its first election on Monday, moving from appointed parliamentarians to elected representatives after a long peace process in the southern Philippines. The vote is a major test for a Mus…
Cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo said on September 11 that he had donated £36 million, or $49 million, to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, describing it as a single payment meant to help the party prepare for government. Delo made the announcement in a Daily Tele…
Former French prime minister Gabriel Attal is facing accusations from anti-addiction groups that a campaign video showing him with a beer violated France's rules on alcohol promotion. Attal, a contender in the race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, launch…
Exit polls showed Germany's AfD ahead of the centre-left SPD in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election on September 20. The vote in the northeastern former East German state had been closely watched because state premier Manuela Schwesig was trying…
Nigeria's police chief Olatunji Disu said the country's January national elections would be safe and secure, despite election-season violence, a jihadist insurgency and a kidnapping crisis. President Bola Tinubu is seeking re-election in the vote. Past Nigeri…
US Vice President JD Vance called Democrats the “party of hatred” in a prime-time convention speech in Dallas, urging voters to back Republicans in November’s midterm elections. “The Democrats are the party of hatred. They're the party that despises America a…
Sweden's general election remained too close to call early Monday after more than 90 percent of votes had been counted, with the left-wing opposition narrowly ahead and the far-right Sweden Democrats losing ground. The four opposition parties led by Social De…
Independent candidate Dan Osborn is giving Democrats hope in Nebraska's US Senate race after the party chose not to field its own candidate against Republican Senator Pete Ricketts. Osborn, a 51-year-old Navy veteran, industrial mechanic and former union lead…
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied President Donald Trump's request to let his administration enforce new mail-in ballot restrictions before the November 3 midterm elections, leaving an order blocking the plan in place. Only two of the six conservative jus…
Right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro is drawing visible support from farmers and rodeo-goers at Brazil's Barretos Cowboy Festival ahead of October's elections. The festival in Barretos, in Sao Paulo state, drew around one million people for its…
President Donald Trump's promise to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives and Senate in November could cost about $1.4 trillion. The pledge has raised questions about legality, cost and funding. Federa…
South Sudan still lacks many safeguards for peaceful and credible elections, a United Nations-appointed human rights commission warned Thursday after touring the country. The government says it intends to hold the country's first elections in December, 15 yea…
Fatah secretary-general Jibril Rajoub said on September 10 that Palestinian legislative elections due on November 28 would not be held on time, and called for presidential elections to be held first. Rajoub told reporters in Ramallah that elections should fol…
Campaigning for Morocco’s legislative election opened Thursday, with economic and regional inequalities set to be a central issue before the September 23 vote. Nearly 16 million people have registered to elect 395 members of the House of Representatives. The…
The detention of Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile on treason charges after last month's election has intensified concerns about the country's democratic resilience, according to analysts and regional figures. Mundubile, the main challenger and distan…
Sweden's general election on Sunday is putting renewed attention on Sjobo, a southern municipality where residents voted almost 40 years ago against accepting refugees and where anti-migrant politics now has strong support. In a September 1988 referendum, alm…
Exiled Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin has urged Russians who oppose the war in Ukraine to vote against President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party at noon on September 20. The protest campaign, called “noon for peace,” asks anti-war Russi…
Voters in Nebraska, a strong Republican state, are ready for the war with Iran to end as the United States approaches key midterm elections on November 3. Kristin Benson, a 39-year-old stay-at-home mother who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, said she did not w…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party accused Palestinian political figure Mohammad Dahlan on Wednesday of foreign interference before Israel's October 27 election, saying he was behind a newspaper report that Netanyahu had been warned about Hamas's…
Raam is fielding its first Jewish candidate in Israel's October 27 general election after Yoav Segalovitz, a former police officer and former lawmaker, joined the Arab party's ticket. Segalovitz, who previously served in parliament with the centrist Yesh Atid…
Israel heads to the polls on October 27 in its first election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party facing a crowded field of rivals. Some seven million Israelis will be eligible to vote. Thirty…
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said the country should fight corruption and cut the cost of government to help ease its cost-of-living crisis as cam…
Two French presidential hopefuls have rebuffed former prime minister Edouard Philippe’s call for right and centrist forces to discuss a possible alliance ahead…
US President Donald Trump praised Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany after the party became the largest party in elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. "Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night," Trump wrote Tuesday on…
The UN Security Council hailed an agreement by Libya's rival political groups that is intended to lead to national elections within two years. The UN-backed deal was signed in Tripoli on August 30. Jerome Bonnafont, France's permanent representative to the Un…
Nigerian opposition leader Peter Obi's convoy was blocked on September 8 during a campaign-period visit to Yelwata, a village in Benue state where more than 15…
Sweden votes in a general election on September 13 with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson and Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson at the centre of a close race. Kristersson, 62, became prime minister in 2022 after h…
Sweden votes on September 13 in a tight general election that could bring the left-wing opposition back to power after a campaign focused on healthcare, welfar…
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 2022 promise to put picanha back on voters' plates has become a campaign problem as he seeks a fourth term in O…
Thousands of Brazilians rallied in Sao Paulo on Monday to support right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro as he criticised corruption in Brazil's co…
Gadi Eisenkot, the founder of the Yashar party and a former military commander, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting political survival ahead of Israel's security at a rally in Rosh Haayin, central Israel, on Monday. Eisenkot unveiled…
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dissolved parliament on Wednesday and called snap parliamentary elections for October 25, meeting a key demand of a long-run…
Sven Schulze, the defeated centre-right premier of Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state, said Monday that the far-right AfD had won the right to try to form a governing majority. "We are the opposition -- the mandate to govern now lies with the AfD," said Schulze, a…
Supporters of US President Donald Trump praised Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany after the party won a key regional election on Sunday. Trump did n…
Two allies of French President Emmanuel Macron urged moderate parties on Monday to unite behind a single candidate for the 2027 presidential election, arguing…
Ulrich Siegmund, the far-right AfD's lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, said Monday that his party had started talks on building a governing majority after winni…
Vice President JD Vance will use his Thursday keynote at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to talk about fatherhood, his populist vision and Charlie Kirk, AFP reported, citing a person familiar with the address. Vance is scheduled to speak before Pr…
Germany's far-right AfD won Saxony-Anhalt's regional election on Sunday, according to projections by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, prompting French Europe minister Benjamin Haddad to call the result a “serious moment” for Europe. The projections gave the a…
Alternative for Germany supporters celebrated in Magdeburg on Sunday after exit polls put the far-right party at 44 percent in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, far ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU. Votes were still being counted, and it wa…
Thousands of people marched in Magdeburg on September 5 in a pro-democracy demonstration a day before Saxony-Anhalt votes in a regional election where polls put the far-right Alternative for Germany ahead. The march in the eastern German state capital was org…
The Alternative for Germany hopes to take power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in Sunday's election, a result AFP says would be a first for a far-right party in post-war Germany. The anti-immigration and Moscow-friendly AfD is expected to perform stron…
Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission has validated final results from a constitutional referendum in which voters backed giving the president greater power. The National Electoral Commission said no appeals had been filed, making the August 30 results final.…
The US midterm election season opened on September 4 as North Carolina began sending mail ballots, while a federal judge extended a temporary block on Presiden…
The far-right Alternative for Germany was projected to win 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, putting Chancellor Friedrich Merz under pressure after a major defeat for his CDU in the eastern German state. German public broadcasters projected the CDU at about 1…
Zack Polanski, leader of Britain's Green Party, announced on September 3 that he intends to seek the party's candidacy for the Holborn and St Pancras parliamen…
The far-right Alternative for Germany won at least 44 percent in Saxony-Anhalt state in eastern Germany on Sunday, according to exit polls, giving its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund a historic election result. “We have made history today,” Siegmund said, while…
Brazilian psychiatrist and self-help author Augusto Cury has reached 10 percent in a Quaest poll for the October presidential election, placing him behind Luiz…
Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that the country would hold elections “when ready,” rejecting calls for a quick vote. “Have no do…
Polls currently put Marine Le Pen ahead in France's 2027 presidential race as divided moderate and left-wing forces struggle to unite before the vote. Le Pen,…
Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro was cleared Tuesday of a possible electoral-law violation after showing an AI-generated video of his father,…
Daniel Ortega called the United States the “enemy” of countries like Nicaragua after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged international partners to “stop bu…
Polls opened on Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany is the clear frontrunner in a regional election that could give it a path toward its first state government. About 1.7 million voters in the eastern German state have until 6…
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday while main opposition leader Brian Mundubile, the runner-up in last month's election, remained in jail on treason charges he denies. Thousands of supporters wearing the red colours…
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party won three special elections on Monday, strengthening his parliamentary majority as Canada's trade dispute with the United States escalates. The Liberals took Chicoutimi—Le Fjord in French-speaking Quebec fro…