unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180
seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year
terms); note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term
of the legislature
elections: last held 22 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
RDCP 140, SDF 14, UDC 4, UNDP 4, MP 1, vacant 17; note - vacant
seats will be determined in a yet to be scheduled by-election after
the Supreme Court nullified results in five districts
note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the
legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established
Canada
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or
Senat (105 seats; members appointed by the governor general with the
advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of
age) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats;
members elected by direct, popular vote to serve a maximum of
five-year terms starting in 2009 elections)
elections: House of Commons - last held 14 October 2008 (next to be
held 19 October 2009)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Conservative Party 37.6%, Liberal Party 26.2%, New Democratic Party
18.2%, Bloc Quebecois 10%, Greens 6.8%, other 1%; seats by party -
Conservative Party 143, Liberal Party 76, New Democratic Party 37,
Bloc Quebecois 50, other 1
Cape Verde
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January
2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAICV 52.3%, MPD 44%,
UCID 2.7%; seats by party - PAICV 41, MPD 29, UCID 2
Cayman Islands
unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats; 3
appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by
popular vote; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1
Central African Republic
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee
Nationale (105 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held
in 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
KNK 42, MLPC 11, RDC 8, PSD 4, FPP 2, ADP 2, LONDO 1, independents
34, other 1
Chad
unicameral National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the 1996 constitution
called for a Senate that has never been formed
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be
held by 2009); note - legislative elections, originally scheduled
for 2006, were first delayed by National Assembly action and
subsequently by an accord, signed in August 2007, between government
and opposition parties
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, UNDR 5, URD 3, other 11
Chile
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of
the Senate or Senado (38 seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve eight-year terms; one-half elected every four years) and the
Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 December 2005 (next to be held in
December 2009); Chamber of Deputies - last held 11 December 2005
(next to be held in December 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - CPD 20 (PDC 6, PS 8, PPD 3, PRSD 3), APC 17 (UDI 9, RN 8),
independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - CPD 65 (PDC 21, PPD 22, PS 15, PRSD 7), APC 54 (UDI
34, RN 20), independent 1; note - as of 8 January 2008: Senate -
seats by party - CPD 18, (PDC 5, PS 8, PPD 2, PRSD 3), APC 16 (UDI
9, RN 7), independent 4; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - CPD
57 (PDC 16, PPD 19, PS 15, PRSD 7), APC 53 (UDI 33, RN 20),
independent 10.
China
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin
Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal, regional,
and provincial people's congresses, and People's Liberation Army to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2007-February 2008; date of next
election - NA
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987
Christmas Island
unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for
election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire
Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for
election; last held in May 2007 (next to be held in May 2009)
Colombia
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or
Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de
Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in
March 2010); House of Representatives - last held 12 March 2006
(next to be held in March 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PSUN 20, PC 18, PL 18, CR 15, PDI 10, other parties 21;
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PL 35, PSUN 33, PC 29, CR 20, PDA 8, other parties 41
Comoros
unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 15 deputies are
selected by the individual islands' local assemblies and 18 by
universal suffrage; to serve for five years);
elections: last held 18 and 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
CdIA 12, CRC 6; note - 15 additional seats are filled by deputies
from local island assemblies
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
bicameral legislature consists of
a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote
in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list
proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve
five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by
provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be
held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held
by 2012)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15,
independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won
10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2,
independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Congo, Republic of the
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate
(66 seats; members are elected by indirect vote to serve five-year
terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held in July
2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next
to be held in 2012)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - FDU 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD
5, independents 37, other 22
Cook Islands
bicameral Parliament consisting of a Legislative
Assembly (or lower house) (24 seats; members elected by popular vote
to serve four-year terms) and a House of Ariki (or upper house) made
up of traditional leaders
note: the House of Ariki advises on traditional matters and
maintains considerable influence but has no legislative powers
elections: last held 26 September 2006 (next to be held by 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Demo 51.9%, CIP 45.5%,
independent 2.7%; seats by party - Demo 15, CIP 8, independent 1
Costa Rica
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa
(57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PLN 25, PAC 17, PML 6, PUSC 5, PASE 1, PFA 1, PRN 1, PUN 1
Cote d'Ivoire
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
(225 seats; members are elected in single- and multi-district
elections by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on
14 January 2001 (next to be held in November 2008 after the
government postponed the elections in 2005 and 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
FPI 96, PDCI-RDA 94, RDR 5, PIT 4, other 2, independents 22, vacant 2
note: a Senate that was scheduled to be created in the October 2006
elections never took place
Croatia
unicameral Assembly or Sabor (153 seats; members elected
from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2007 (next to be held in November
2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by
party - HDZ 66, SDP 56, HNS 7, HSS 6, HDSSB 3, IDS 3, SDSS 3, other 9
Cuba
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea
Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly
is based on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from
slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year
terms)
elections: last held 20 January 2008 (next to be held in January
2013)
election results: Cuba's Communist Party is the only legal party,
and officially sanctioned candidates run unopposed
Cyprus
unicameral - area under government control: House of
Representatives or Vouli Antiprosopon (80 seats, 56 assigned to the
Greek Cypriots, 24 to Turkish Cypriots; note - only those assigned
to Greek Cypriots are filled; members are elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms); area administered by Turkish Cypriots:
Assembly of the Republic or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: area under government control: last held 21 May 2006
(next to be held 2011); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: last
held 14 December 2003 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: area under government control: House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - AKEL 31.1%, DISY 30.3%,
DIKO 17.9%, EDEK 8.9%, EURO.KO 5.8%, Greens 2.0%; seats by party -
AKEL (Communist) 18, DISY 18, DIKO 11, EDEK 5, EURO.KO 3, Greens 1;
area administered by Turkish Cypriots: Assembly of the Republic -
percent of vote by party - CTP 35.8%, UBP 32.3%, Peace and
Democratic Movement 13.4%, DP 12.3%; seats by party - CTP 19, UBP
18, Peace and Democratic Movement 6, DP 7; note - "TRNC" seats by
party as of September 2006 - CTP 25, OP 3, UBP 13, DP 6, BDH 1,
independents 2
Czech Republic
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the
Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the
Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 17-18 and 24-25 October
2008 (next to be held in October 2010); Chamber of Deputies - last
held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - ODS 35, CSSD 29, KDU-CSL 7, others 8, independents 2;
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD
32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by
party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6; note - seats
by party as of December 2007 - ODS 81, CSSD 72, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13,
Greens 6, unaffiliated 2 (former CSSD members)
Denmark
unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats,
including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are
elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation
to serve four-year terms unless the Folketinget is dissolved earlier)
elections: last held 13 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 26.2%,
Social Democrats 25.5%, Danish People's Party 13.9%, Socialist
People's Party 13.0%, Conservative People's Party 10.4%, Social
Liberal Party 5.1%, New Alliance 2.8%, Red-Green Alliance 2.2%,
other 0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 46, Social Democrats 45,
Danish People's Party 25, Socialist People's Party 23, Conservative
People's Party 18, Social Liberal Party 9, New Alliance 5, Red-Green
Alliance 4; note - does not include the two seats from Greenland and
the two seats from the Faroe Islands
Djibouti
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65
seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2008 (next to be held 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats - UMP
(coalition of parties associated with President Ismail Omar GUELLAH)
65
Dominica
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats; 9 members
appointed, 21 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010);
note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five
years of the last election, but technically it is five years from
the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace
period
election results: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.1%, UWP 43.6%,
DFP 3.2%, other 1.1%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1
Dominican Republic
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of
Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May
2010); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be
held in May 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PLD 22, PRD 6, PRSC 4; House of Representatives - percent of
vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 96, PRD 60, PRSC 22
Ecuador
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100
seats; members are elected through a party-list proportional
representation system to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 October 2006 (next to be held in October
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PRIAN 28; PSP 24; PSC 13; ID 7; PRE 6; MUPP-NP 6; RED 5; UDC 5;
other 6; note - defections by members of National Congress are
commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats
held by the various parties; as of 29 November 2007, Congress is on
indefinite recess while a Constituent Assembly is convened
Egypt
bicameral system consists of the People's Assembly or Majlis
al-Sha'b (454 seats; 444 elected by popular vote, 10 appointed by
the president; members serve five-year terms) and the Advisory
Council or Majlis al-Shura that traditionally functions only in a
consultative role but 2007 constitutional amendments could grant the
Council new powers (264 seats; 176 elected by popular vote, 88
appointed by the president; members serve six-year terms; mid-term
elections for half of the elected members)
elections: People's Assembly - three-phase voting - last held 7 and
20 November, 1 December 2005;(next to be held November-December
2010); Advisory Council - last held June 2007 (next to be held
May-June 2010)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - NDP 311, NWP 6, Tagammu 2, Tomorrow Party 1,
independents 112 (12 seats to be determined by rerun elections, 10
seats appointed by President); Advisory Council - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - NDP 84, Tagammu 1, independents 3
El Salvador
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa
(84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve
three-year terms)
elections: last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
ARENA 34, FMLN 32, PCN 10, PDC 6, CD 2
Equatorial Guinea
unicameral House of People's Representatives or
Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held 4 May 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PDGE 98, CPDS 2
note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all
executive authority in the president
Eritrea
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members elected by
direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new
constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old
Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member
Constituent Assembly, which had been established in 1997 to discuss
and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans
living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to
serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections
to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of
the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution
stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the
National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible
voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were
postponed indefinitely
Estonia
unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Estonian Reform Party
27.8%, Center Party of Estonia 26.1%, Union of Pro Patria and Res
Publica 17.9%, Social Democratic Party 10.6%, Estonian Greens 7.1%,
Estonian People's Union 7.1%, other 5%; seats by party - Estonian
Reform Party 31, Center Party 29, Union of Pro Patria and Res
Publica 19, Social Democratic Party 10, Estonian Greens 6, Estonian
People's Union 6
Ethiopia
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation
(or upper chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and
federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members are chosen by state
assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's
Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing
legislation) (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular
vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 327,
CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1,
others 6, undeclared 2
note: some seats still remain vacant as detained opposition MPs did
not take their seats
European Union
two legislative bodies consisting of the Council of
the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the
number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states'
population; note - the Council is the main decision-making body of
the EU) and the European Parliament (785 seats, as of 1 January
2007; seats allocated among member states by proportion to
population; members elected by direct universal suffrage for a
five-year term)
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPP-ED 268,
PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27,
independents 28; note - seats by party as of 1 December 2007 -
EPP-ED 275, PES 217, ALDE 104, UEN 44, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41,
IND/DEM 24, independents 34, 4 unaccounted for
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
unicameral Legislative Council (10
seats; 2 members are ex officio and 8 are elected by popular vote;
to serve four-year terms); presided over by the governor
elections: last held 17 November 2005 (next to be held in November
2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 8
Faroe Islands
unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (33 seats;
members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the
seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 19 January 2008 (next to be held no later than
January 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - Union Party 21%, Social
Democratic Party 19.4%, Republican Party 23.3%, People's Party
20.1%, Center Party 8.4%, Self-Government Party 7.2%, other 0.6%;
seats by party - Republican Party 8, Union Party 7, Social
Democratic Party 6, People's Party 7, Center Party 3, Independence
Party 2
note: election of two seats to the Danish Parliament was last held
on 13 November 2007 (next to be held no later than November 2011);
results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican
Party 1, Union Party 1
Fiji
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (32 seats; 14
appointed by the president on the advice of the Great Council of
Chiefs, 9 appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime
Minister, 8 on the advice of the Opposition Leader, and 1 appointed
on the advice of the council of Rotuma) and the House of
Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19
reserved for ethnic Indians, 3 reserved for other ethnic groups, 1
reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the
whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 6-13 May 2006 (next
to be held in 2011)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - SDL 44.6%, FLP 39.2%, UPP 0.8%, independents 4.9%, other
10.5%; seats by party - SDL 36, FLP 31, UPP 2, independents 2
Finland
unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are
elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 18 March 2007 (next to be held March 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 23.1%, Kok 22.3%,
SDP 21.4%, VAS 8.8%, VIHR 8.5%, KD 4.9%, SFP 4.5%, True Finns 4.1%,
other 3.4%; seats by party - Kesk 51, Kok 50, SDP 45, VAS 17, VIHR
15, SFP 9, KD 7, True Finns 5, other 1
France
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or
Senat (331 seats, 305 for metropolitan France, 9 for overseas
departments, 5 for dependencies, and 12 for French nationals abroad;
members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve
six-year terms; one third elected every three years); note - between
2006 and 2011, 15 new seats will be added to the Senate for a total
of 348 seats - 326 for metropolitan France and overseas departments,
2 for New Caledonia, 2 for Mayotte, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon,
1 for Saint-Barthelemy, 1 for Saint-Martin, 3 for overseas
territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; starting in 2008,
members will be indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve
six-year terms, with one-half elected every three years; and the
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats, 555 for
metropolitan France, 15 for overseas departments, 7 for
dependencies; members are elected by popular vote under a
single-member majority system to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in
September 2008); National Assembly - last held 10 and 17 June 2007
(next to be held in June 2012)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - UMP 156, PS 97, UDF (now MoDem) 33, PCF 23, RDSE 15, other
7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - UMP 46.37%, PS
42.25%, miscellaneous left wing parties 2.47%, PCF 2.28%, NC 2.12%,
PRG 1.65%, miscellaneous right wing parties 1.17%, the Greens 0.45,
other 1.24%; seats by party - UMP 313, PS 186, NC 22, miscellaneous
left wing parties 15, PCF 15, miscellaneous right wing parties 9,
PRG 7, the Greens 4, other 6