Bolivia: MAS Party Wins Legislative Assembly Vote | Wall Street Journal

Bolivian President Evo Morales ’s ruling Movement Toward Socialism party won a two-thirds supermajority in the legislative assembly in an election earlier this month, according to final results released late Wednesday, solidifying his political control in the Andean nation. More than two weeks after Bolivians went to the polls, the country’s electoral court announced the final results of the vote count, showing that Mr. Morales’s party, known as MAS, won 113 of the 166 seats in the assembly. While Mr. Morales’s re-election to a third term was confirmed shortly after the Oct. 12 election, the results for the legislative assembly weren’t immediately clear. Analysts say the two-thirds result could open the door for Mr. Morales to change the constitution, which would be necessary to remove presidential term limits.

Latvia: President provides one week for parties to negotiate on new government | Shanghai Daily

Latvia’s center-right coalition has formed a negotiation group to agree on the next government after securing a safe majority in parliament in last Saturday’s general election. The parliamentary election, however, was narrowly won by the opposition leftist pro-Russia Harmony party with 23.2 percent of the vote, but its chances of being taken into the new government appear to be slight, given that the three ruling parties have won 56 percent support between them. The Unity party emerged as the runner-up in the election, winning 21.6 percent of the vote, Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) came third with 19.7 percent and the National Alliance took fourth place winning 16.5 percent of the vote.

Latvia: Ruling parties win election dominated by Russian issue | Reuters

Latvia’s hawkish center ruling coalition has won a clear majority in a general election, results showed on Sunday, after taking a hard line over the actions of Russia, its neighbor and former ruler, in Ukraine. Victory for the center in the Baltic state, which takes over the presidency of the EU at the start of next year, will bring a sigh of relief from many worried that the pro-Russian Concord party might gain power and give Russian President Vladimir Putin a friendly voice in the European Union. “The pro-European, relatively predictable, economically liberal course will continue,” Ivars Ijabs, associate professor of political science from University of Latvia, said.

Russia: Crimean Parliament Dismisses Cabinet and Sets Date for Autonomy Referendum | The Moscow Times

The Crimean parliament on Thursday voted in favor of holding a referendum on whether to expand its autonomy and passed a no-confidence motion dismissing the region’s government. The referendum — set for May 25, the same day as Ukraine’s presidential election — was supported by 61 out of the 64 deputies who attended Thursday’s emergency session, the parliament’s press office told RIA Novosti. Crimeans will vote “yes” or “no” on whether the “Crimea has state sovereignty and is a part of Ukraine, in accordance with treaties and agreements.”

Indonesia: Election Commission Questioned for Ignoring Elections Supervisory Board | The Jakarta Globe

The General Elections Commission is bracing for a possible backlash from the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party after the commission defended its earlier decision to disqualify the party, ignoring a ruling by the Elections Supervisory Board. The board, also known as Bawaslu, quashed an earlier decision made by the General Elections Commission (KPU) to disqualify the party, known as the PKPI, on the grounds that the party had failed to prove it had support in one of the 33 provinces. But the KPU decided not to carry out the Bawaslu decision, arguing that the Bawaslu does not have the authority to overrule the KPU’s qualification process.

Liberia: Election Commission Declares Final Result | CRI

Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) has released final results of the Oct. 11, 2011 legislative and presidential elections, saying that none of the 16 presidential candidates obtained an absolute majority to be declared winner. The election law of Liberia provides that a presidential candidate must obtain 50 percent plus one vote of valid ballots counted as prescribed in article 83 b of the 1986 Liberian constitution.

At a news conference on Tuesday evening, NEC Chairman James Fromayan said this provision was never met during the last elections. “Consequently, none of the candidates is qualified to be declared winner in the presidential contest,” he told reporters, adding that a run-off will be held on Nov. 8, 2011.

“In this connection, I herewith declare that a run-off election will be contested by the two presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes in these elections including Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of the UP and Winston A. Tubman of the opposition Congress of Democratic Change,” he added.

Latvia: Latvia Referendum Dissolves Parliament | Bloomberg

Latvians may elect a new premier to lead the country’s deficit-cutting government after a weekend referendum dissolved parliament and propelled a new party to the top of opinion polls.

Almost 95 percent of voters on July 23 backed former President Valdis Zatlers’s call to dismiss lawmakers as part of an anti-corruption drive. The wave that swept away parliament drove Zatlers’s Reform Party, founded in June, into a first- place tie with the pro-Russian Harmony Center in opinion polls, followed by Premier Valdis Dombrovskis’s Unity party.