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World elections

This Month

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores stand together after the swear-in ceremony at Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas.

Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in amid protests and international rebuke

Nicolás Maduro said his enemies’ failure to block his inauguration to a third six-year term was “a great victory” for the nation.

  • Joshua Goodman and Regina Garcia Cano
Trudeau with Donald Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in November.

Immigration, voter fatigue brought down Trudeau. Not Trump

It’s easy to blame the US president-elect for everything but what brought the Canadian prime minister down is more retail politics than global conspiracies.

  • Matthew Cranston
Trudeau announces his decision outside the official residence of the prime minister.

Trudeau bows to party rebellion, voter pressure

The Canadian prime minister, who came to power in 2015, leaves with his party trailing the Conservatives 47 per cent to 21 per cent in the latest polls.

  • Brian Platt and Thomas Seal
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has quit.

Austrian leader quits, in possible boost for far-right Freedom Party

The move raises the chances of repeat elections and may further boost support for the far-right Freedom Party, which won the most seats at the last ballot.

  • Updated
  • Marton Eder and Jonathan Tirone
Argentina’s October 2023 presidential election was the canary in the coalmine for politics across the democratic world.

Heed the election lesson of America and Argentina

This is shaping to be the year of licence and experimentation in politics, where the unthinkable can not just be thought, it can be said and done.

  • Michael Shoebridge
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a Time magazine Person of the Year event.

2024 broke a 120-year election record that is terrible news for Labor

The billions who voted in 2024 sent an angry message to incumbent governments and warmed to populists, particularly on the right.

  • Updated
  • John Burn-Murdoch

December 2024

Elon Musk has supported a far-right German party on X.

Musk supports far-right German party ahead of election

The world’s richest man endorsed a group with ties to neo-Nazis. The party’s youth wing is classified as “confirmed extremist”.

  • Updated
  • Christopher F. Schuetze and Mark Landler
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sparks chaos after declaring martial law.

How South Korea fought off a presidential power grab

Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration sparked shock and fear throughout the country. But the nation’s relatively new democratic institutions held firm.

  • Jessica Sier

November 2024

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Germany to hold early elections after government collapses

The federal ballot will be brought forwards to February 2025 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, triggering a collapse of the ruling coalition.

  • Michael Nienaber
Women turned out supporting Trump in much larger numbers than expected.

Cost of living trumped gender ‘tokenism’ for women voters

While Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won the female vote by 10 points in Tuesday’s election, this fell far short of the pink wave her party hoped for.

  • Hannah Wootton
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has his work cut out to keep trans-Atlantic ties on track.

Starmer, like Albo, faces a tricky task with Trump

Both left-wing leaders have to ensure political divergence does not disturb the US alliance. But Sir Keir has a particular problem: his name is Nigel Farage.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017.

How Trump’s win could reshape the world’s biggest war zones

“I’m going to stop wars,” the president-elect said in his victory speech. In Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East, reactions ranged from wary optimism to a truculent shrug.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Shigeru Ishiba arrives for a press conference a day after Japan’s lower house election.

Japan’s election mess goes well beyond its borders

Japan risks entering a new phase of policy inertia that could stifle its attempts to exert more influence over global politics.

  • Jessica Sier

October 2024

Elections tend to have limited, if any, long-lasting impact on markets.

Resist the temptation to adjust your portfolio for a Trump win

Wagering markets have Donald Trump winning the White House but don’t bet your investment portfolio on election results.

  • Penny Pryor
Shigeru Ishiba arrives for a press conference a day after Japan’s lower house election.

Ishiba threatens to become Japan’s Scaramucci

After years of relative stability, Japanese politics is about to enter a shaky period after a terrible showing by the LDP.

  • Gearoid Reidy
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“We couldn’t dispel public anger over the political funds issue,” Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday.

Japan PM vows to stay on after losing majority

Public support for the LDP has nosedived after revelations last year that members were secretly enriching themselves with funds from supporters.

  • Updated
  • Jessica Sier
Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is bracing for election blowback.

Japan’s new PM braces for election blow, as frustrated youngsters vent

Japanese voters headed to the polls in a snap election on Sunday that may weaken the ruling party of new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba.

  • Jessica Sier
President Prabowo Subianto takes the oath during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Parliament building in Jakarta on Sunday.

Ex-general Prabowo sworn in as Indonesian president

The ceremony marked a remarkable comeback for a man who once faced Western-imposed sanctions and had two failed election bids against the man he is replacing.

  • Chandra Asmara and Faris Mokhtar
President Prabowo Subianto takes the oath during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Parliament building in Jakarta on Sunday.

What Indonesia’s new president has to do to promote economic growth

With the right policies, there is ample opportunity for Prabowo Subianto to build a stronger, more inclusive economy.

  • Chatib Basri
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will go head-to-head in November when  Americans cast their vote.

Over a billion have voted in 2024: Has democracy won?

Half the world has taken part in elections so far this year, but with the US set to vote in less than a month, the trickiest is yet to come.

  • The Economist

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/world-elections-ho0