WEEKLY WHINE

Electing the top elections

There now follows a ranking of the top sixteen elections that have been held or are to be held in 2012.

1. Puerto Rico status referendum: On the same day as the US general elections, Puerto Ricans will be asked if they want to change status, and if so, to what they want to change it [out of US statehood, independence, or free association with the US]. The interesting thing here is that everyone votes on both questions, so that those who do not want to change status can still affect the outcome if there is a change.
2. Croatia EU referendum: The Croatian public approved EU accession on SUN 22 JAN 2012, the nation’s first referendum since voting for independence from Yugoslavia. Croatia is now on track to join the EU on MON 01 JUL 2013.
3. US general elections: The American public will select a president, 435 representatives, and 33 senators to decide who will do their pointless bickering for the next few years.
4. Greece parliamentary election: This election was to be held next year, but it is now projected for APR-MAY 2012. Greece’s economic crisis is far and away the largest issue here.
5. Libya Public National Conference election: This body will select a prime minister and the Constituent Authority, tasked with drafting a new constitution.
6. Russia presidential election: As expected, Vladimir Putin won the election and will return to the presidency, in keeping with the bald/hairy tradition that has been in force since the founding of the Soviet Union.
7. Korea Rep presidential election: Current president Lee Myung Bak’s Saenuri party has not polled well, but other parties tend to poll even lower.
8. France presidential election: Expect François Hollande of the Socialist Party to defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy of the Union for a Popular Movement in a runoff.
9. Egypt presidential election: Though clearly a critical milestone in the development of Egypt’s new government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has not yet yielded power as promised.
10. Palestine general elections: These elections were to have been held in 2010 but have been postponed repeatedly. Current president Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will not seek reelection.
11. Serbia general elections: The Serbian parliament and presidency are both up for grabs, either in separate votes or a single election. The Progressive party, after splitting from the Radical party, is expected to be the ruling coalition’s largest competitor.
12. Mexico general elections: Josefina Vásquez Mota, representing the National Action Party, may well become Mexico’s first female president.
13. Maldives presidential election: Originally due for next year, it now appears the crisis last month, in which current president and global warming opponent Mohamed Nasheed was allegedly forced to resign at gunpoint, has prompted an accelerated timetable.
14. Switzerland referendum: In this vote held yesterday, topics included a new Fixed Book Price Agreement, a constitutional amendment that requires the government to use earnings from gambling for public works, and mandating a minimum of six weeks vacation time.
15. Ukraine parliamentary election: The two largest parties, the Party of Regions and the Tymoshenko bloc, are expected to take the largest shares of seats again.
16. Bhutan National Council election: Twenty of the 25 members of the upper parliamentary house are to be elected – the other five are appointed by the king. These are the first elections since the National Council was formed four years ago.