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 (736 seats; seats allocated
among member states in proportion to population; members elected by
direct universal suffrage for a five-year term)
elections: last held 4-7 June 2009 (next to be held in June 2014)
election results: percent of vote - EPP 35.9%, PES 21.9%, ALDE
10.9%, Greens/EFA 7.2%, UEN 4.8%, GUE/NGL 4.3%, IND/DEM 2.4%, others
12.6%; seats by party - EPP 266, PES 161, ALDE 80, Greens/EFA 53,
UEN 35, GUE/NGL 32, IND/DEM 18, others 93
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 (343 seats, 321 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; 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 21 September 2008 (next to be held in
September 2014); 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 151, PS 116, UC-UDF 29, CRC 23, RDSE 17, 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
French Polynesia
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee
Territoriale (57 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2008 (first round) and 10 February
2008 (second round) (next to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - Our Home alliance
45.2%, Union for Democracy alliance 37.2%, Popular Rally (Tahoeraa
Huiraatira) 17.2% other 0.5%; seats by party - Our Home alliance 27,
Union for Democracy alliance 20, Popular Rally 10
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 21 September 2008
(next to be held in September 2014); results - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - PS 1, independent 1; two seats were
elected to the French National Assembly on 10-17 June 2007 (next to
be held in 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - UMP 2
Gabon
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (102 seats;
members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental
assemblies to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or
Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct,
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 18 January 2009 (next to be held in
January 2015); National Assembly - last held 17 and 24 December 2006
(next to be held in December 2011)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PDG 75, GPR 6, UGDD 3, CLR 2, PGCI 2, UPG 2, ADERE 1,
independents 9; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PDG 82, RPG 8, UPG 8, UGDD 4, ADERE 3, CLR 2,
PGP-Ndaot 2, PSD 2, independents 4, others 5
Gambia, The
unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 members
elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 January 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
APRC 47, UDP 4, NADD 1, independent 1
Georgia
unicameral Parliament or Parlamenti (also known as Supreme
Council or Umaghlesi Sabcho) (150 seats; 75 members elected by
proportional representation, 75 from single-seat constituencies; to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 May 2008 (next to be held in spring 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - United National
Movement 59.2%, National Council-New Rights 17.7%, Christian
Democratic Movement 8.8%, Labor Party 7.4%, Republican Party 3.8%;
seats by party - United National Movement 120, National Council-New
Rights 16, Christian Democratic Movement 6, Labor Party 6,
Republican Party 2
Germany
bicameral legislature consists of the Federal Council or
Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments sit in the Council; each has
three to six votes in proportion to population and are required to
vote as a block)and the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (622 seats;
members elected by popular vote for a four-year term under a system
of personalized proportional representation; a party must win 5% of
the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional
representation and caucus recognition)
elections: Bundestag - last held on 27 September 2009 (next to be
held no later than autumn 2013); note - there are no elections for
the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election
election results: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU
33.8%, SPD 23%, FDP 14.6%, Left 11.9%, Greens 10.7%, other 6%; seats
by party - CDU/CSU 239, SPD 146, FDP 93, Left 76, Greens 68
Ghana
unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by
direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2008 (next to be held 7 December
2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
NDC 114, NPP 107, PNC 2, CPP 1, independent 4, other 2
Gibraltar
unicameral Parliament (18 seats: 17 members elected by
popular vote, 1 for the Speaker appointed by Parliament; members
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 October 2007 (next to be held not later than
October 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 49.3%, GSLP 31.8%,
Gibraltar Liberal Party 13.6%; seats by party - GSD 10, GSLP 4,
Gibraltar Liberal Party 3
Greece
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats;
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 October 2009 (next to be held by 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.9%, ND 33.5%,
KKE 7.5%, LAOS 5.6%, SYRIZA 4.6%, other 4.9%; seats by party - PASOK
160, ND 91, KKE 21, LAOS 15, SYRIZA 13
Greenland
unicameral Parliament or Landsting (31 seats; members are
elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation
to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 2 June 2009 (next to be held by 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - Inuit Ataqatigiit
43.7%, Siumut 26.5%, Demokratiit 12.7%, Atassut 10.9%;
Kattusseqatigiit 3.8%, other 2.4%; seats by party - IA 14, Siumut 9,
Demokraatiit 4, Atassut 3, Kattusseqatigiit 1
note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or
Folketing on 13 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011);
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit
Ataqatigiit 1
Grenada
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (13 seats, 10
appointed by the government and 3 by the leader of the opposition)
and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 8 July 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - NDC 11, NNP 4
Guam
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held in November
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
Democratic Party 10, Republican Party 5
note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of
Representatives; election last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held
in November 2010); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - Democratic Party 1
Guatemala
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la
Republica (158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 September 2007 (next to be held in September
2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - UNE 30.4%, GANA 23.4%,
PP 18.9%, FRG 9.5%, PU 5.1%, other 12.7%; seats by party - UNE 48,
GANA 37, PP 30, FRG 15, PU 8, CASA 5, EG 4, PAN 4, UCN 4, URNG 2, UD
1
Guernsey
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are
elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark
have parliaments
elections: last held 23 April 2008 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents
Guinea
unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by a mixed system of
direct popular vote and proportional party lists)
elections: last held 30 June 2002 (legislative elections due in 2007
were first rescheduled for 2008 and subsequently rescheduled for 26
March 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 61.6%, UPR 26.6%,
other 11.8%; seats by party - PUP 85, UPR 20, other 9
Guinea-Bissau
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia
Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 November 2008 (next to be held 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 49.8%, PRS 25.3%,
PRID 7.5%, PND 2.4%, AD 1.4%, other parties 13.6%; seats by party -
PAIGC 67, PRS 28, PRID 3, PND 1, AD 1
Guyana
unicameral National Assembly (65 seats; members elected by
popular vote, also not more than 4 non-elected non-voting ministers
and 2 non-elected non-voting parliamentary secretaries appointed by
the president; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PPP/C 54.6%, PNC/R 34%,
AFC 8.1%, other 3.3%; seats by party - PPP/C 36, PNC/R 22, AFC 5,
other 2
Haiti
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of
the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber
of Deputies (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate, the candidate
in each department receiving the most votes in the last election
serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves
four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two
years
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2006 with run-off elections
on 3 December 2006 (next regular election, for one third of seats,
to be held in 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 April 2006
with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 and 29 April 2007 (next
regular election to be held in 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - L'ESPWA 11, FUSION 5, OPL 4, FL 3, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, PONT 2,
ALYANS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - L'ESPWA 23, FUSION 17, FRN 12, OPL 10, ALYANS 10, LAAA 5,
MPH 3, MOCHRENA 3, other 10; results for six other seats contested
on 3 December 2006 remain unknown
Holy See (Vatican City)
unicameral Pontifical Commission for Vatican
City State
Honduras
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128
seats; members are elected proportionally by department to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November
2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL
62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2
Hong Kong
unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (60 seats; 30
seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by
popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 September 2008 (next to be held in September
2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 57%;
pro-Beijing 40%, independent 3%; seats by parties - (pro-Beijing 35)
DAB 13, Liberal Party 7, FTU 1, others 14; (pro-democracy 23)
Democratic Party 8, Civic Party 5, CTU 3, League of Social Democrats
3, ADPL 2, The Frontier 1, NWSC 1; others 11; independents and
non-voting LegCo president 2
Hungary
unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats;
members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional
and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 and 23 April 2006 (next to be held in April
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote
required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSzP
43.2%, Fidesz-KDNP 42%, SzDSz 6.5%, MDF 5%, other 3.3%; seats by
party - MSzP 190, Fidesz-KDNP 164, SzDSz 20, MDF 11, independent 1;
seats by party as of January 2009 - MSzP 190, Fidesz-KDNP 161, SzDSz
19, MDF 10, independent 5, vacant 1
Iceland
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2009 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic
Alliance 29.8%, Independence Party 23.7%, Left-Green Movement 21.7%,
Progressive Party 14.8%, Citizens' Movement 7.2%, other 2.8%; seats
by party - Social Democratic Alliance 20, Independence Party 16,
Left-Green Alliance 14, Progressive Party 9, Citizens' Movement 4
India
bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of
States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250
members up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the
remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and
territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the
People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular
vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases 16, 22-23,
30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC
19, DMK 18, CPI-M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61,
vacant 2
Indonesia
People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan
Rakyat or MPR) is the upper house, consists of members of DPR and
DPD, has role in inaugurating and impeaching the president and in
amending the constitution, does not formulate national policy; House
of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats,
members elected to serve five-year terms), formulates and passes
legislation at the national level; House of Regional Representatives
(Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role
includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting
regions
elections: last held 9 April 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - PD 20.9%, GOLKAR 14.5%,
PDI-P 14.0%, PKS 7.9%, PAN 6.0%, PPP 5.3%, PKB 4.9%, GERINDRA 4.5%,
HANURA 3.8%, others 18.2%; seats by party - PD 148, GOLKAR 108,
PDI-P 93, PKS 59, PAN 42, PPP 39, PKB 26, GERINDRA 30, HANURA 15
note: 29 other parties received less than 2.5% of the vote so did
not obtain any seats; because of election rules, the number of seats
won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by
parties
Iran
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or
Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami or Majles (290 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 2008 with a runoff held 25 April 2008
(next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party -
conservatives/Islamists 167, reformers 39, independents 74,
religious minorities 5, other 5
Iraq
unicameral Council of Representatives (consisting of 275
members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system)
elections: last held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council
of Representatives (next to be held on 18 January 2010); the Council
of Representatives elected the Presidency Council and approved the
prime minister and two deputy prime ministers
election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 41%, Kurdistan Alliance 22%, Tawafuq
Coalition 15%, Iraqi National List 8%, Iraqi Front for National
Dialogue 4%, other 10%; number of seats by party (as of November
2007) - Unified Iraqi Alliance (including the Sadrist bloc with 30
and Fadilah with 15) 130, Kurdistan Alliance 53, Tawafuq Front 44,
Iraqi National List 25, Fadilah 15, Iraqi Front for National
Dialogue 11, other 12
Ireland
bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or
Seanad Eireann (60 seats; 49 members elected by the universities and
from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are
nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and
the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are
elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation
to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in July 2007 (next to be held by July
2012); House of Representatives - last held 24 May 2007 (next to be
held by May 2012)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - Fianna Fail 28, Fine Gael 14, Labor Party 6, Progressive
Democrats 2, Green Party 2, Sein Fein 1, independents 7; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.6%, Fine
Gael 27.3%, Labor Party 10.1%, Sinn Fein 6.9%, Green Party 4.7%,
Progressive Democrats 2.7%, other 6.7%; seats by party - Fianna Fail
78, Fine Gael 51, Labor Party 20, Sinn Fein 4, Green Party 6,
Progressive Democrats 2, independents 4, Speaker of the Dail 1
note: on 8 November 2008, delegates voted to disband the party, but
as of January 2009, the party was still operating
Isle of Man
bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council
(11 seats; members composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord
Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others
named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 23 November 2006 (next to be
held in November 2011)
election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - Liberal Vannin Party 2, Man Labor Party 1,
independents 21