The World Factbook. 2008.
Legislative branch
| Country | Legislative branch |
| Afghanistan | the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 249 seats), directly elected for five-year terms, and the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third elected from provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for three-year terms, and one-third nominated by the president for five-year terms) note: on rare occasions the government may convene a Loya Jirga (Grand Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils elections: last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held for the Wolesi Jirga by September 2009; next to be held for the provincial councils to the Meshrano Jirga by September 2008) election results: the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system used in the election did not make use of political party slates; most candidates ran as independents |
| Albania | unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; 100 members are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PD 56, PS 42, PR 11, PSD 7, LSI 5, other 19 |
| Algeria | bicameral Parliament consists of the National People’s Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years) elections: National People’s Assembly – last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) – last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National People’s Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note – Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council |
| American Samoa | bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; to serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives – last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); Senate – last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held on 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); results – Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate |
| Andorra | unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de las Valls (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 14 from a single national constituency and 14 to represent each of the seven parishes; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 24 April 2005 (next to be held in March-April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – PLA 41.2%, PS 38.1%, CDA-S21 11%, other 9.7%; seats by party – PLA 14, PS 12, CDA-S21 2 |
| Angola | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party – MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
| Anguilla | unicameral House of Assembly (11 seats; 7 members elected by direct popular vote, 2 ex officio members, and 2 appointed; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 21 February 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – AUF 38.9%, AUM 19.4%, ANSA 19.2%, APP 9.5%, independents 13%; seats by party – AUF 4, ANSA 2, AUM 1 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17 seats; members appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives – last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – ALP 4, UPP 13 |
| Argentina | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members are elected by direct vote; presently one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009); Chamber of Deputies – last held last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Senate – percent of vote by bloc or party – NA; seats by bloc or party – FV 12, UCR 4, CC 4, other 4; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by bloc or party – NA; seats by bloc or party – FV 5, UCR 10, PJ 10, PRO 6, CC 16, FJ 2, other 31; note – Senate and Chamber of Deputies seating reflect the number of replaced senators and deputies, rather than the whole Senate and Chamber of Deputies |
| Armenia | unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members elected by popular vote, 90 members elected by party list and 41 by direct vote; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 May 2007 (next to be held in the spring of 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – HHK 49.6%, Prosperous Armenia 19%, ARF (Dashnak) 12.2%, Rule of Law 6.1%, Heritage Party 5.3%, other 7.8%; seats by party – HHK 65, Prosperous Armenia 25, ARF (Dashnak) 16, Rule of Law 8, Heritage Party 7, Dashink 1, independent 9 |
| Aruba | unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 23 September 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – MEP 43%, AVP 32%, MPA 7%, RED 7%, PDR 6%, OLA 4%, PPA 2%; seats by party – MEP 11, AVP 8, MPA 1, RED 1 |
| Australia | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives) elections: Senate – last held 24 November 2007 (next to be held no later than 2010); House of Representatives – last held 24 November 2007 (next to be called no later than 2010) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37, Australian Labor Party 32, Australian Greens 5, Family First Party 1, other 1; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA%; seats by party – Australian Labor Party 83, Liberal Party 55, National Party 10, independents 2 |
| Austria | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; members chosen by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 members according to its population; to serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: National Council – last held 1 October 2006 (next scheduled for the fall of 2010) election results: National Council – percent of vote by party – SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%, other 4.2%; seats by party – SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
| Azerbaijan | unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 6 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Yeni 58, Azadliq coalition 8, CSP 2, YES 2, Motherland 2, other parties with single seats 7, independents 42, undetermined 4 |
| Bahamas, The | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party – FNM 23, PLP 18 |
| Bahrain | bicameral legislature consists of the Consultative Council (40 members appointed by the King) and the Council of Representatives or Chamber of Deputies (40 seats; members directly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: Council of Representatives – last held November-December 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: Council of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – al Wifaq (Shia) 17, al Asala (Sunni Salafi) 5, al Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 7, independents 11; note – seats by party as of February 2007 – al Wifaq 17, al Asala 8, al Minbar 7, al Mustaqbal (Moderate Sunni pro-government) 4, unassociated independents (all Sunni) 3, independent affiliated with al Wifaq (Sunni oppositionist) 1 |
| Bangladesh | unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms; note – parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regime elections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed till late 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%; seats by party – BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note – the election of October 2001 brought to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties – JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur) |
| Barbados | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general – 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his discretion) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly – last held 15 January 2008 (next to be called in 2013) election results: House of Assembly – percent of vote by party – DLP 52.5%, BLP 47.3%; seats by party – DLP 20, BLP 10 |
| Belarus | bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons election results: Soviet Respubliki – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; Palata Predstaviteley – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA |
| Belgium | bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; to serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies – last held 10 June 2007 (next to be held no later than June 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – CDV/N-VA 19.4%, Open VLD 12.4%, MR 12.3%, VB 11.9%, PS 10.2%, SP.A-Spirit 10%, CDH 5.9%, Ecolo 5.8%, Groen! 3.6%, Dedecker List 3.4%, FN 2.3%, other 2.8%; seats by party – CDV/N-VA 9, Open VLD 5, MR 6, VB 5, PS 4, SP.A-Spririt 4, CDH 2, Ecolo 2, Groen! 1, Dedecker List 1, FN 1 (note – there are also 31 indirectly elected senators); Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – CDV/N-VA 18.5%, MR 12.5%, VB 12%, Open VLD 11.8%, PS 10.9%, SP.A-Spirit 10.3%, CDH 6.1%, Ecolo 5.1%, Dedecker List 4%, Groen! 4%, FN 2%, other 2.8%; seats by party – CDV/N-VA 30, MR 23, VB 17, Open VLD 18, PS 20, SP.A-Spirit 14, CDH 10, Ecolo 8, Dedecker List 5, Groen! 4, FN 1 note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments each with its own legislative assembly |
| Belize | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 seats; members appointed by the governor general – 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (31 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives – last held 6 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UDP 25, PUP 6 |
| Benin | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 |
| Bermuda | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; members appointed by the governor, the premier, and the opposition) and the House of Assembly (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve up to five-year terms) elections: last general election held 18 December 2007 (next to be held not later than 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – PLP 52.5%, UBP 47.3%; seats by party – PLP 22, UBP 14 |
| Bhutan | unicameral National Assembly or Tshogdu (150 seats; 105 members elected from village constituencies, 10 represent religious bodies, and 35 are designated by the monarch to represent government and other secular interests; to serve three-year terms); note – a new bicameral parliament will be established in 2008 elections: first elections to be held in December 2007 and spring 2008; note – local elections last held August 2005 (next to be held in 2008) election results: NA |
| Bolivia | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 70 members are directly elected from their districts and 60 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies – last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Chamber of Senators – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the national House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats, 28 seats allocated for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats for the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation, to serve four-year terms); and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats, 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation’s House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska’s National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note – Bosnia’s election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures elections: national House of Representatives – elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in 2010); House of Peoples – last constituted in January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007) election results: national House of Representatives – percent of vote by party/coalition – NA; seats by party/coalition – SDA 9, SBH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3, HDZ-BH 3, HDZ 1990 2, other 5; House of Peoples – percent of vote by party/coalition – NA; seats by party/coalition – NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (98 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010); percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party/coalition – SDA 28, SBH 24, SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100 7, other 14; and a House of Peoples (58 seats – 17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other); last constituted December 2002; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010); percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party/coalition – SNSD 41, SDS 17, PDP 8, DNS 4, SBH 4, SPRS 3, SDA 3, other 3; as a result of the 2002 constitutional reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council of Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska National Assembly including eight Croats, eight Bosniaks, eight Serbs, and four members of the smaller communities |
| Botswana | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body with 8 permanent members consisting of the chiefs of the principal tribes, and 7 non-permanent members serving 5-year terms, consisting of 4 elected subchiefs and 3 members selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (63 seats, 57 members are directly elected by popular vote, 4 are appointed by the majority party, and 2, the President and Attorney-General, serve as ex-officio members; members serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly elections last held 30 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – BDP 51.7%, BNF 26.1%, BCP 16.6%, other 5%; seats by party – BDP 44, BNF 12, BCP 1 |
| Brazil | bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third and two-thirds elected every four years, alternately) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Federal Senate – last held 1 October 2006 for one-third of the Senate (next to be held in October 2010 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies – last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: Federal Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PFL 6, PSDB 5, PMDB 4, PTB 3, PT 2, PDT 1, PSB 1, PL 1, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1, PCdoB 1; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PMDB 89, PT 83, PFL 65, PSDB 65, PP 42, PSB 27, PDT 24, PL 23, PTB 22, PPS 21, PCdoB 13, PV 13, PSC 9, other 17; note – as of 1 January 2008: Federal Senate – seats by party – PMDB 20, DEM (formerly PFL) 14, PSDB 13, PT 12, PTB 6, PDT 5, PR 4, PRB 2, PSB 2, PCdoB 1, PP 1, PSOL 1; Chamber of Deputies – seats by party – PMDB 90, PT 83, PSDB 64, DEM (formerly PFL) 62, PP 41, PR 34, PSB 28, PDT 23, PTB 21, PPS 17, PV 13, PCdoB 13, PSC 7, PAN 4, PSOL 3, PMN 3, PTC 3, PHS 2, PTdoB 1, PRB 1 |
| British Virgin Islands | unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party – VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Brunei | Legislative Council met on 25 September 2004 for first time in 20 years with 21 members appointed by the Sultan; passed constitutional amendments calling for a 45-seat council with 15 elected members; Sultan dissolved council on 1 September 2005 and appointed a new council with 29 members as of 2 September 2005; council met in March 2006 and in March 2007 elections: last held in March 1962 (date of next election NA) |
| Bulgaria | unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 June 2005 (next to be held in June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – CfB 31.1%, NMS2 19.9%, MRF 12.7%, ATAKA 8.2%, UDF 7.7%, DSB 6.5%, BPU 5.2%, other 8.7%; seats by party – CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4; note – seats by party as of January 2008 – CfB 82, NMS2 36, MRF 34, UDF 16, DSB 16, Bulgarian New Democracy 16, BPU 13, ATAKA 11, independents 16 |
| Burkina Faso | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly election last held 6 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CDP 73, ADF-RDA 14, UPR 5, UNIR-MS 4, CFD-B 3, UPS 2, PDP-PS 2, RDB 2, PDS 2, PAREN 1, PAI 1, RPC 1, UDPS 1 |
| Burma | unicameral People’s Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene (junta has anounced plans to hold elections in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60 |
| Burundi | bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats, 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state) elections: National Assembly – last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate – last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party – CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate – percent of vote by party – NA%; seats by party – CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
| Cambodia | bicameral, consists of the National Assembly (123 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; 2 members appointed by the monarch, 2 elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by parliamentarians and commune councils; members serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly – last held 27 July 2003 (next to be held in July 2008); Senate – last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – CPP 47%, SRP 22%, FUNCINPEC 21%, other 10%; seats by party – CPP 73, FUNCINPEC 26, SRP 24; Senate – percent of vote by party – CPP 69%, FUNCINPEC 21%, SRP 10%; seats by party – CPP 45, FUNCINPEC 10, SRP 2 (January 2006) |
| Cameroon | 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 four-year terms starting in 2009 elections) elections: House of Commons – last held 23 January 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: House of Commons – percent of vote by party – Conservative Party 36.3%, Liberal Party 30.2%, New Democratic Party 17.5%, Bloc Quebecois 10.5%, Greens 4.5%, other 1%; seats by party – Conservative Party 124, Liberal Party 102, New Democratic Party 29, Bloc Quebecois 51, other 2; seats by party as of November 2007 – Conservative Party 125, Liberal Party 96, New Democratic Party 30, Bloc Quebecois 49, other 4, vacant 4 |
| 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 (109 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 – MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party – MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 |
| 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 2007) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 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 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) |
| 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 popular 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 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 – FDP 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) (25 seats, 24 seats representing districts of the Cook Islands, 1 seat representing Cook Islanders living overseas; members elected by popular vote to serve five-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 by June 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 20-21 and 27-28 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2008); 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 41, CSSD 12, KDU-CSL 11, others 15, 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) 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 2008); House of Representatives – last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008) 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 |
| 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 in 2009) 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 – Reform Party 31, Center Party 29, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 19, Social Democrats 10, Estonian Greens 6, 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, but those will be decided in the April 2008 byelection |
| European Union | two legislative bodies consists 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 |
| 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 NA 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 27 September 1998 (next to be held in September 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1 |
| Gabon | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 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 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next to be held by January 2009); 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 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 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) (235 seats; 150 members elected by proportional representation, 75 from single-seat constituencies, and 10 represent displaced persons from Abkhazia; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in spring 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – National Movement-Democratic Front 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, other parties 24.8%; seats by party – National Movement-Democratic Front 135, Rightist Opposition 15 |
| Germany | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block) elections: Bundestag – last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009); 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 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%; seats by party – CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2 |
| Ghana | unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1 |
| Gibraltar | unicameral Parliament (18 seats: 17 members elected by popular vote, 1 for the Speaker appointed by Parliament; to 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: elections last held 16 September 2007 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – ND 41.8%, PASOK 38.1%, KKE 8.2%, Synaspismos 5%, LAOS 3.8%, other 3.1%; seats by party – ND 152, PASOK 102, KKE 22, Synaspismos 14, LAOS 10 |
| Greenland | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party – Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 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 27 November 2003 (next to be held by early 2009) election results: House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NNP 46.6%, NDC 44.1%, other 9.3%; seats by party – NNP 8, NDC 7 |
| Guam | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2008); 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 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) 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 (next to be held in 2008) 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 note: legislative elections were due in 2007 but have been postponed |
| 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 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party – PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 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 by January 2008 but will probably be postponed); 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 the State of Vatican City |
| Honduras | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party’s presidential candidate receives 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; in 2004, 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – pro-democracy 63%, pro-Beijing 37%; seats by party – (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, FTU 1, independents 11; (pro-democracy 25) Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1, independents 11; non-voting LEGCO president 1 |
| 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 |
| Iceland | unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 May 2007 (next to be held by May 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – Independence Party 36.6%, Social Democratic Alliance 26.8%, Progressive Party 11.7%, Left-Green Movement 14.3%, Liberal Party 7.3%, other 3.3%; seats by party – Independence Party 25, Social Democratic Alliance 18, Progressive Party 7, Left-Green Alliance 9, Liberal Party 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 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next must be held before May 2009) election results: People’s Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – INC 147, BJP 129, CPI (M) 43, SP 38, RJD 23, DMK 16, BSP 15, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 10, JD (U) 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, TDP 4, TRS 4, independent 6, other 29, vacant 13; note – seats by party as of December 2006 |
| Indonesia | House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People’s Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching president and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party – Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50 note: 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 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats by party – conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 45, religious minorities 5 |
| Iraq | Council of Representatives (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system) elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives; 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; to 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 NA 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, other 5 |
| 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 |
| Israel | unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in 2010 but can be called earlier) election results: percent of vote by party – Kadima 22%, Labor 15.1%, SHAS 9.5%, Likud 9%, Yisrael Beiteinu 9%, NU/NRP 7.1%, GIL 5.9%, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 4.7%, Meretz-YAHAD 3.8%, United Arab List 3%, Balad 2.3%, HADASH 2.7%, other 5.9%; seats by party – Kadima 29, Labor 19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3, HADASH 3 |
| Italy | bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; members elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; members elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 9-10 April 2006 (next to be held 13 April 2008); Chamber of Deputies – last held 9-10 April 2006 (next to be held in May 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – The Union 159 (DS 62, DL 39, RC 27, Together with the Union 11, other 20), House of Freedoms 156 (FI 79, AN 41, UDC 21, LEGA 13, other 2); Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – The Union 349 (DS and DL 218, RC 41, Rose in the Fist 18, Italy of Values 20, PdCI 16, Greens Federation 16, UDEUR 14, other 6), House of Freedoms 281 (FI 134, AN 72, Union of Christian and Center Democrats 39, LEGA 23, other 13) |
| Jamaica | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party – JLP 33, PNP 27 |
| Japan | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats – members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats – members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs) elections: House of Councillors – last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives – last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 : House of Representatives – percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) – LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party – LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007) |
| Jersey | unicameral Assembly of the States of Jersey (58 seats; 55 are voting members, of which 12 are senators elected for six-year terms, 12 are constables or heads of parishes elected for three-year terms, 29 are deputies elected for three-year terms, the bailiff and the deputy bailiff, and 3 non-voting members includes the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General appointed by the monarch) elections: last held 19 October 2005 for senators and 23 November 2005 for deputies (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 55 |
| Jordan | bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-‘Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note – six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected) elections: Chamber of Deputies – last held 20 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – IAF 5.5 %, independents and other 94.5%; seats by party – IAF 6, independents and other 104; note – seven women will serve in the next Assembly – six of whom filled women’s quota seats and one was directly elected |
| Kazakhstan | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 members are appointed by the president; other members are elected by local assemblies; to serve six-year terms) and the Mazhilis (107 seats; 9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members are elected from the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, which represents the country’s ethnic minorities; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate – (indirect) last held December 2005; next to be held in 2011; Mazhilis – last held 18 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; Mazhilis – percent of vote by party – Nur-Otan 88.1%, NSDP 4.6%, Ak Zhol 3.3%, Auyl 1.6%, Communist People’s Party 1.3%, Patriots Party .8% Ruhaniyat .4%; seats by party – Nur-Otan 98; note – parties must achieve a threshold of 7% of the electorate to qualify for seats in the Mazhilis |
| Kenya | unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called “nominated” members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members) elections: last held 27 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – ODM 99, PNU 43, ODM-K 16, KANU 14 other 38; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president – TBD |
| Kiribati | unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member – the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms) elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds – the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
| Korea, North | unicameral Supreme People’s Assembly or Ch’oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
| Korea, South | unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats; 243 members elected in single-seat constituencies, 56 elected by proportional representation; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held on 9 April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party – Uri 141, GNP 127, DP 12, DLP 9, PFP 5, independents 5 note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of 2005 and 2006 by-elections; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006; URI was disbanded in 2007; DP became part of United Democratic Pary (UDP) in 2008; PFP became part of Liberty Forward Party (LFP) in 2008 |
| Kosovo | unicameral Kosovo Assembly of the Provisional Government (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats for Serbs, 10 seats for other minorities; to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 17 November 2007 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party – Democratic Party of Kosovo 34.3%, Democratic League of Kosovo 22.6%, New Kosovo Alliance 12.3%, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 10.0%, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 9.6%; seats by party – Democratic Party of Kosovo 37, Democratic League of Kosovo 25, New Kosovo Alliance 13, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 11, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 10 |
| Kosovo | unicameral Kosovo Assembly of the Provisional Government (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats for Serbs, 10 seats for other minorities; to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 17 November 2007 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party – Democratic Party of Kosovo 34.3%, Democratic League of Kosovo 22.6%, New Kosovo Alliance 12.3%, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 10.0%, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 9.6%; seats by party – Democratic Party of Kosovo 37, Democratic League of Kosovo 25, New Kosovo Alliance 13, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 11, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 10 |
| Kuwait | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; all cabinet ministers are also ex officio voting members of the National Assembly) elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by bloc – NA; seats by bloc – Islamic Bloc (Sunni) 17, Popular Bloc 9, National Action Bloc (liberals) 8, independents 16 |
| Kyrgyzstan | unicameral Supreme Council or Jorgorku Kenesh (90 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 December 2007 (next to be held 2012) election results: Supreme Council – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Ak Jol 71, Social Democratic Party 11, KCP 8 |
| Laos | unicameral National Assembly (115 seats; members elected by popular vote from a list of candidates selected by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – LPRP 113, independents 2 |
| Latvia | unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – TP 19.5%, ZZS 16.7%, JL 16.4%, SC 14.4%; LPP/LC 8.6%; TB/LNNK 7%; PCTVL 6%; seats by party – TP 23, ZZS 18, JL 18, SC 17, LPP/LC 10, TB/LNNK 8, PCTVL 6; note – seats by party as of February 2008 – TP 21, ZZS 17, SC 17, JL 14, LPP/LC 10, TB/LNNK 5, PCTVL 6, independents 10 |
| Lebanon | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group – NA; seats by group – Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tashnaq 2; Syrian Ba’th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4 |
| Lesotho | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members – 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4 |
| Liberia | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; note – number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives – last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: junior senators – those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election – will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter |
| Libya | unicameral General People’s Congress (approximately 2,700 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people’s committees) |
| Liechtenstein | unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 11 and 13 March 2005 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – FBP 48.7%, VU 38.2%, FL 13%; seats by party – FBP 12, VU 10, FL 3 |
| Lithuania | unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members are elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – Labor 28.6%, Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, TS 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People’s Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Farmers and New Democracy Union 6.6%, other 9%; seats by faction – Social Democrats 32, TS 25, Labor 23, Farmers National Union 20 (combined with Civil Democracy), Liberal Democrats/Order and Justice 11, New Union Social Liberals 10, Liberal and Center Union 9, Liberal Movement 9 (as of December 2007) |
| Luxembourg | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%, other 2.8%; seats by party – CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
| Macau | unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) election results: percent of vote – New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens’ Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group – New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens’ Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive |
| Macedonia | unicameral Assembly or Sobranie (120 seats; members elected by popular vote from party lists based on the percentage of the overall vote the parties gain in each of six electoral districts; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 5 July 2006 (next to be held by July 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – VMRO-DPMNE 33%, SDSM 22%, BDI/DUI 12%, PDSh/DPA 7%, NSDP 6%, VMRO-Narodna 6%, other 14%; seats by party – VMRO-DPMNE 45, SDSM 32, BDI/DUI 17, PDSh/DPA 11, NSDP 7, VMRO-Narodna 6, other 2 |
| Madagascar | bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (127 seats – reduced from 160 seats by an April 2007 national referendum; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate or Senat (100 seats; two-thirds of the seats filled by regional assemblies; the remaining one-third of seats appointed by the president; to serve four-year terms) elections: National Assembly – last held 23 September 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – TIM 106, LEADER/Fanilo 1, independents 20 |
| Malawi | unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – MCP 56, UDF 49, independents 39, RP 15, others 25, vacancies 8 |
| Malaysia | bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 appointed by paramount ruler, 26 elected by 13 state legislatures; to serve three-year terms with limit of two terms) and House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (219 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note – after next election House will have 222 seats elections: House of Representatives – last held on 21 March 2004 (next to be held on 8 March 2008) election results: House of Representatives – percent of vote by coalition/party – BN 63.9%, BA 24.1%, DAP 9.9%, others 2.1%; seats by coalition/party – BN 199, BA 8, DAP 12 |
| Maldives | unicameral People’s Council or Majlis (50 seats; 42 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 22 January 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 50 |
| Mali | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1 and 22 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – ADP coalition 113 (including ADEMA 51, URD 34, MPR 8, CNID 7, UDD 3, and other 10), FDR coalition 15 (including RPM 11, PARENA 4), SADI 4, independent 15 |
| Malta | unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms; note – additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority) elections: last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by 8 March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – PN 51.8%, MLP 47.5%, AD 0.7%; seats by party – PN 34, MLP 31 |
| Marshall Islands | unicameral legislature or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – independents 33 note: the Council of Chiefs or Ironij is a 12-member body comprised of tribal chiefs that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
| Mauritania | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms; a portion of seats up for election every two years) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (95 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 21 January and 4 February 2007 (next to be held 2009); National Assembly – last held 19 November and 3 December 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Mithaq (coalition of independents and parties associated with the former regime) 37, CFCD (coalition of political parties) 15, representatives of the diaspora (yet to be chosen) 3, undecided 1; National Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Mithaq 51 (independents 37, PRDR 7, UDP 3, RDU 3, Alternative (El-Badil) 1), CFCD 41 (RFD 16, UFP 9, APP 6, Centrist Reformists 4, HATEM-PMUC 3, RD 2, PUDS 1), RNDLE 1, UCD 1, FP 1 |
| Mauritius | unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats – AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2 |
| Mayotte | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party – MDM 23.3%, UMP 22.8%, PS 10.2%, MRC 8.9%, FRAP 6.5%, MPM 1.2%, other 27.1%; seats by party – MDM 6, UMP 9, MRC 2, MPM 1, diverse left 1 note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held in September 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results – percent of vote by party – UMP-RPR 55.1%, UDF 44.9%; seats by party – UMP-RPR 1 |
| Mexico | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats are allocated on the basis of each party’s popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party’s popular vote; to serve three-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies – last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PAN 207, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 11, other 15 |
| Micronesia, Federated States of | unicameral Congress (14 seats; 4 – one elected from each state to serve four-year terms and 10 – elected from single-member districts delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by popular vote) elections: last held 6 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2009) election results: percent of vote – NA%; seats – independents 14 |
| Moldova | unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 March 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – PCRM 46.1%, Democratic Moldova Bloc 28.4%, PPCD 9.1%, other parties 16.4%; seats by party – PCRM 56, Democratic Moldova Bloc 34, PPCD 11 |
| Monaco | unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 February 2008 (next to be held February 2013) election results: percent of vote by party – UPM 52.2%, REM 40.5%, Monaco Together 7.3%; seats by party – UPM 21, REM 3 |
| Mongolia | unicameral State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held on 29 June 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – MPRP 48.8%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.4%; seats by party – MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note – 2 seats disputed and unfilled; following June 2004 election MDC collapsed |
| Montenegro | unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats in 2006) elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – Coalition for European Montenegro 47.7%, Serbian List 14.4%, Coalition SNP-NS-DSS 13.8%, PZP 12.9%, Liberals and Bosniaks 3.7%, other (including Albanian minority parties) 7.5%; seats by party – Coalition for European Montenegro 41, Serbian List 12, Coalition SNP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Albanian minority parties 3 |
| Montserrat | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms) note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party – MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
| Morocco | bicameral Parliament consists of a Chamber of Counselors (or upper house) (270 seats; members elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year terms; one-third of the members are elected every three years) and Chamber of Representatives (or lower house) (325 seats; 295 members elected by multi-seat constituencies and 30 from national lists of women; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Counselors – last held 8 September 2006 (next to be held in 2009); Chamber of Representatives – last held 7 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Chamber of Counselors – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PI 17, MP 14, RNI 13, USFP 11, UC 6, PND 4, PPS 4, Al Ahd 4, other 17; Chamber of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PI 52, PJD 46, MP 41, RNI 39, USFP 38, UC 27, PPS 17, FFD 9, MDS 9, Al Ahd 8, other 39 |
| Mozambique | unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (250 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1-2 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – FRELIMO 62%, RENAMO 29.7%, other 8.3%; seats by party – FRELIMO 160, RENAMO 90 |
| Namibia | bicameral legislature consists of the National Council (26 seats; two members are chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: National Council – elections for regional councils to determine members of the National Council held 29-30 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2010); National Assembly – last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: National Council – percent of vote by party – SWAPO 89.7%, UDF 4.7%, NUDO 2.8%, DTA 1.9%, other 0.9%; seats by party – SWAPO 24, UDF 1, DTA 1; National Assembly – percent of vote by party – SWAPO 76.1%, COD 7.3%, DTA 5.1%, NUDO 4.2%, UDF 3.6%, RP 1.9%, MAG 0.8%, other 1.0%; seats by party – SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, NUDO 3, UDF 3, RP 1, MAG 1 note: the National Council is primarily an advisory body |
| Nauru | unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 18; note – 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
| Nepal | a 330 seat Interim Parliament was formed on 15 January 2007 following the promulgation of an interim constitution elections: Constituent Assembly elections orginally scheduled for June 2007 are expected to be held on 10 April 2008 election results: Interim Parliament seats by party – NC 85, CPN/M 83, CPN/UML 83, NC/D 48, RPP 9, NSP/AD 5, NWPP 4, People’s Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group) 4, People’s Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group) 3, UFL 3, People’s Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group) 2, NSP 1 |
| Netherlands | bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country’s 12 provincial councils to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber – last held 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber – last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) election results: First Chamber – percent of vote by party – NA%; seats by party – CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; Second Chamber – percent of vote by party – CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party – CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7 |
| Netherlands Antilles | unicameral States or Staten (22 seats, Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP-St. E 1, DP-St. M 1, PDB 1, WIPM 1 note: the government is a coalition of several parties |
| New Caledonia | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres du territoire (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds one seat in the French Senate; by 2010, New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UMP 1; New Caledonia also elects two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held on June 2012); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UMP 2 |
| New Zealand | unicameral House of Representatives – commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists; to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 17 September 2005 (next to be held not later than 15 November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NZLP 41.1%, NP 39.1%, NZFP 5.7%, Green Party 5.3%, Maori 2.1%, UF 2.7%, ACT New Zealand 1.5%, Progressive 1.2%, other 1.3%; seats by party – NZLP 50, NP 48, NZFP 7, Green Party 6, Maori 4, UF 3, ACT New Zealand 2, Progressive 1 note: results of 2005 election saw the total number of seats increase to 121 because the Maori Party won one more electorate seat than its entitlement under the party vote |
| Nicaragua | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election) elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
| Niger | unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – MNSD 47, PNDS 25, CDS 22, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
| Nigeria | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011); House of Representatives – last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – official results not yet posted as of May 2007; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – official results not yet posted as of May 2007 |
| Niue | unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives) elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held in April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA |
| Norfolk Island | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: seats – independents 9 (note – no political parties) |
| Northern Mariana Islands | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 3 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2009); House of Representatives – last held 3 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Covenant Party 3, Republican Party 3, Democratic Party 1, independents 2; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Republican Party 12, Covenant Party 4, Democratic Party 1, independents 3 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or “resident representative” in Washington, DC; seats by party – Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
| Norway | modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms); note – in 2009 the number of seats will change to 165 elections: last held 12 September 2005 (next to be held in September 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – Labor Party 32.7%, Progress Party 22.1%, Conservative Party 14.1%, Socialist Left Party 8.8%, Christian People’s Party 6.8%, Center Party 6.5%, Liberal Party 5.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party – Labor Party 61, Progress Party 38, Conservative Party 23, Socialist Left Party 15, Christian People’s Party 11, Center Party 11, Liberal Party 10 note: for certain purposes, the parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership in the Lagting and three-fourths of its membership in the Odelsting |
| Oman | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of Majlis al-Dawla or upper chamber (70 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and Majlis al-Shura or lower chamber (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers) elections: last held 27 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: new candidates won 46 seats and 38 members of the outgoing Majlis kept their positions; none of the 20 female candidates were elected |
| Pakistan | bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and the territories’ representatives in the National Assembly to serve six-year terms; one half are elected every three years) and the National Assembly (342 seats; 272 members elected by popular vote; 60 seats reserved for women; 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims; to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate – last held in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009); National Assembly – last held 18 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: Senate results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PML 39, MMA 18, PPPP 9, MQM 6, PML/N 4, PkMAP 3, PPP/S 3, ANP 2, BNP/A 1, BNP/M 1, JWP 1, PML/F 1, independents 12; National Assembly results – percent of votes by party – NA; seats by party – NA |
| Palau | bicameral National Congress or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008); House of Delegates – last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 9; House of Delegates – percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 16 |
| Panama | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note – in 2009, the number of seats will change to 71 elections: last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PRD 41, PA 17, PS 9, MOLIRENA 4, CD 3, PLN 3, PP 1 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
| Papua New Guinea | unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital distict; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats elections: last held from 30 June to 10 July 2007; next to be held in June 2012 election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – National Alliance 27, PNGP 8, PAP 6, URP 6, PANGU 5, PDM 5, independents 19, others 33; note – election to 1 seat was nullified note: 15 other parties won 4 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid |
| Paraguay | bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators – last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2008); Chamber of Deputies – last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – ANR 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, PQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – ANR 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 |
| Peru | unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 9 April 2006 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – UPP 21.2%, PAP 20.6%, UN 15.3%, AF 13.1%, FC 7.1%, PP 4.1%, RN 4.0%, other 14.6%; seats by party – UPP 45, PAP 36, UN 17, AF 13, FC 5, PP 2, RN 2 |
| Philippines | bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of the Senate or Senado (24 seats – one-half elected every three years; members elected at large by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan (as a result of May 2007 election it has 239 seats including 218 members representing districts and 21 sectoral party-list members representing special minorities elected on the basis of 1 seat for every 2% of the total vote but limited to 3 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; note – the Constitution prohibits the House of Representatives from having more than 250 members) elections: Senate – last held on 14 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2010); House of Representatives – elections last held on 14 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2010) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Lakas-Kampi 4, LP 4, NPC 3, NP 2, independents 4, others 6; note – there are 23 rather than 24 sitting senators because one senator was elected mayor of Manila; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Lakas 86, Kampi 46, NPC 29, LP 21, Party-list 21, others 36 |
| Pitcairn Islands | unicameral Island Council (10 seats; 5 members elected by popular vote, 1 nominated by the 5 elected members, 2 appointed by the governor including 1 seat for the Island Secretary, the Island Mayor, and a commissioner liaising between the governor and council; elected members serve one-year terms) elections: last held 24 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2007) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – all independents |
| Poland | bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Senate or Senat (upper house) (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and the Sejm (lower house) (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly elections: Senate – last held 21 October 2007 (next to be held by October 2011); Sejm elections last held 21 October 2007 (next to be held by October 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PO 60, PiS 39, independents 1; Sejm – percent of vote by party – PO 41.5%, PiS 32.1%, LiD 13.2%, PSL 8.9%, other 4.3%; seats by party – PO 209, PiS 166, LiD 53, PSL 31, German minorities 1; note – seats by party as of February 2008 – PO 209, PiS 159, LiD 53, PSL 31, German minorities 1, nonaffiliated 7 note: one seat is assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
| Portugal | unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 February 2005 (next to be held in Fall 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%, other 4.9%; seats by party – PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8 |
| Puerto Rico | bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (at least 27 seats – currently 29; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (51 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives – last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – PNP 43.4%, PPD 40.3%, PIP 9.4%; seats by party – PNP 17, PPD 9, PIP 1; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – PNP 46.3%, PPD 43.1%, PIP 9.7%; seats by party – PNP 32, PPD 18, PIP 1 note: Puerto Rico elects, by popular vote, a resident commissioner to serve a four-year term as a nonvoting representative in the US House of Representatives; aside from not voting on the House floor, he enjoys all the rights of a member of Congress; elections last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008); results – percent of vote by party – PNP 48.6%, other 51.4%; seats by party – PNP 1 |
| Qatar | unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed) note: no legislative elections have been held since 1970 when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have had their terms extended every year since the new constitution came into force on 9 June 2005; the constitution provides for a new 45-member Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura; the public would elect two-thirds of the Majlis al-Shura; the Amir would appoint the remaining members; preparations are underway to conduct elections to the Majlis al-Shura |
| Romania | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held in November 2008); Chamber of Deputies – last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held November 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote by alliance/party – PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%, other 11.3%; seats by party – PSD 44, PNL 30, PD 20, PRM 20, PC 11, UDMR 10, independents 2; seats by party as of February 2008 – PSD 44, PDL 27, PNL 24, PRM 16, PC 10, UDMR 10, independents 6; Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by alliance/party – PSD-PUR 36.8%, PNL-PD 31.5%, PRM 13%, UDMR 6.2%, other 12.5%; seats by party – PSD 111, PNL 66, PD 45, PRM 34, UDMR 22, PC 20, ex-PRM (Ciontu Group) 12, PIN (GUSA Group) 3, independent 1, ethnic minorities 18; seats by party as of February 2008 – PSD 104, PDL 73, PNL 56, PRM 25, UDMR 22, PC 16, independents 18, ethnic minorities 18 |
| Russia | bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (168 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 84 federal administrative units – oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; to serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; as of 2007, all members elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% of the vote; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: State Duma – last held 2 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: State Duma – United Russia 64.3%, CPRF 11.5%, LDPR 8.1%, JR 7.7%, other 8.4%; total seats by party – United Russia 315, CPRF 57, LDPR 40, JR 38 |
| Rwanda | bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate – members appointed as part of the transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies – last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution – RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected |
| Saint Barthelemy | unicameral Territorial Council (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – SBA 72.2%, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 9.9%, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 7.9%, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 9.9%; seats by party – SBA 16, Action-Equilibre-Transparence 1, Ensemble pour Saint-Barthelemy 1, Tous Unis pour Saint-Barthelemy 1 |
| Saint Helena | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 12 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 |
| Saint Lucia | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly – last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: House of Assembly – percent of vote by party – UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party – UWP 11, SLP 6 |
| Saint Martin | unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of seats by party – UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party – UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1 |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | unicameral Territorial Council or Conseil Territorial (19 seats, 15 from Saint Pierre and four from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: elections last held 19 and 26 in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – AD 16, Cap sur l’Avenir 2, SPM Ensemble 1 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect one seat to the French Senate; elections last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2013); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UMP 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects one seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round – 9 June 2002, second round – 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – UDF 1 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and six appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – ULP 55.3%, NDP 44.7%; seats by party – ULP 12, NDP 3 |
| Samoa | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms) elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
| San Marino | unicameral Grand and General Council or Consiglio Grande e Generale (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 4 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – PDCS 32.9%, Party of Socialists and Democrats 31.9%, AP 11.9%, United Left 8.7%, New Socialist Party 5.4%, other parties 9.2%; seats by party – PDCS 21, Party of Socialists and Democrats 20, AP 7, United Left 5, New Socialist Party 3, others 4; note – following a government reshuffle on 28 NOvember 2007, a splinter party of the PDCS joined the center-left coalition formed by the Party of Socialists and Democrats, the APDS, and the United Left strengthening the government’s parliamentary majority to 36 seats out of 60 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 26 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – MDFM-PCD 37.2%, MLSTP 28.9%, ADI 20.0%, NR 4.7%, others 9.2%; seats by party – MDFM-PCD 23, MLSTP 19, ADI 12, NR 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (150 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms); note – though the Council of Ministers announced in October 2003 its intent to introduce elections for half of the members of local and provincial assemblies and a third of the members of the national Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura, incrementally over a period of four to five years, to date no such elections have been held or announced |
| Senegal | bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; 90 members elected by direct popular vote with the remaining members elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and the Senate reinstituted in 2007 (100 seats; 35 indirectly elected with the remaining 65 members to be appointed by the president) elections: National Assembly – last held on 3 June 2007 (next to be held 2012); note – the National Assembly in December 2005 voted to postpone legislative elections originally scheduled for 2006; legislative elections were first rescheduled to coincide with the 25 February 2007 presidential elections and later rescheduled for 3 June 2007; the June election was boycotted by 12 opposition parties, including the former ruling Socialist Party, that resulted in a record-low, 35-percent voter turnout; Senate – last held 19 August 2007 (next to be held – NA) election results: National Assembly results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – SOPI Coalition 131, other 19; Senate results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PDS 34, AJ/PADS 1, 65 appointed by the president |
| Serbia | unicameral National Assembly (250 seats; deputies elected by direct vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 21 January 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Serbia National Assembly: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – SRS 81, DS 64, DSS-NS 47, G17 Plus 19, SPS 16, LDP Coalition 15, SVM 3, KZS 2, URS 1, KAPD 1, RP 1 |
| Seychelles | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats; 25 members elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 10-12 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – SPPF 56.2%, SNP 43.8%; seats by party – SPPF 23, SNP 11 |
| Sierra Leone | unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
| Singapore | unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note – in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; up to three losing opposition candidates who came closest to winning seats may be appointed as “nonconstituency” members elections: last held on 6 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – PAP 66.6%, WP 16.3%, SDA 13%, SDP 4.1%; seats by party – PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1 |
| Slovakia | unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – Smer 29.1%, SDKU 18.4%, SMK 11.7%, SNS 11.7%, LS-HZDS 8.8%, KDH 8.3%, other 12%; seats by party – Smer 50, SDKU 31, SMK 20, SNS 19, LS-HZDS 16, KDH 14 |
| Slovenia | bicameral Parliament consists of a National Assembly or Drzavni Zbor (90 seats; 40 members are directly elected and 50 are elected on a proportional basis; note – the number of directly elected and proportionally elected seats varies with each election; the constitution mandates 1 seat each for Slovenia’s Hungarian and Italian minorities; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Drzavni Svet (40 seats; members indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve five-year terms; note – this is primarily an advisory body with limited legislative powers; it may propose laws, ask to review any National Assembly decision, and call national referenda) elections: National Assembly – last held 3 October 2004 (next to be held fall 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – SDS 29.1%, LDS 22.8%, ZLSD 10.2%, NSi 9%, SLS 6.8%, SNS 6.3%, DeSUS 4.1%, other 11.7%; seats by party – SDS 29, LDS 23, ZLSD 10, NSi 9, SLS 7, SNS 6, DeSUS 4, Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1 |
| Solomon Islands | unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 5 April 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – National Party 6.9%, PAP 6.3%, SIPRA 6.3%, Liberal 5%, Democratic 4.9%, SOCRED 4.3%, LAFARI 2.8%, independents 60.3%; seats by party – National Party 4, SIPRA 4, Democratic 3, PAP 3, LAFARI 2, Liberal 2, SOCRED 2, independents 30 |
| Somalia | unicameral National Assembly note: unicameral Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) (275 seats; 244 members appointed by the four major clans (61 for each clan), 31 seats allocated to smaller clans and subclans) |
| South Africa | bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note – following the implementation of the new constitution on 4 February 1997, the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution’s responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces – last held on 14 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party – ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA |
| Spain | bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats; 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures; to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; each of the 50 electoral provinces fills a minimum of two seats and the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla fill one seat each with members serving a four-year term; the other 248 members are determined by proportional representation based on popular vote on block lists who serve four-year terms) elections: Senate – last held on 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); Congress of Deputies – last held on 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – PP 49%, PSOE 38%, Entesa Catalona de Progress 5.7%, PNV 2.8%, CC 2.4%, CiU 2%; seats by party – PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, PNV 6, CiU 4, CC 3; Congress of Deputies – percent of vote by party – PSOE 43.3%, PP 37.8%, CiU 3.2%, IU 3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, CC 0.9%, other 7.5%; seats by party – PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8, PNV 7, IU 5, CC 3, other 5 |
| Sri Lanka | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by electoral district to serve six-year terms) elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance – SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party – UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1 |
| Sudan | bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; members presently appointed, but in the future 75% of members to be directly elected and 25% elected in special or indirect elections; to serve six-year terms) elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held 2009) election results: NCP 355, others 5; note – replaced by appointments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement |
| Suriname | unicameral National Assembly or Nationale Assemblee (51 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 25 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NF 39.7%, NDP 22.2%, VVV 13.8%, A-Com 7.2%, A-1 5.9%, other 11.2%; seats by party – NF 23, NDP 15, VVV 5, A-Com 5, A-1 3 |
| Swaziland | bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly – last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: House of Assembly – balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
| Sweden | unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 17 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – Social Democrats 37.2%, Moderates 27.8%, Center Party 8.3%, Liberal People’s Party 8.0%, Christian Democrats 6.9%, Left Party 6.3%, Greens 5.4%; seats by party – Social Democrats 130, Moderates 97, Center Party 29, Liberal People’s Party 28, Christian Democrats 24, Left Party 22, Greens 19 |
| Switzerland | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German), Assemblee Federale (in French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian) consists of the Council of States or Standerat (in German), Conseil des Etats (in French), Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats; membership consists of 2 representatives from each canton and 1 from each half canton; to serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Council of States – last held in most cantons on 19 October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will be held); National Council – last held on 21 October 2007 (next to be held in October 2011) election results: Council of States – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CVP 15, FDP 14, SVP 8, SPS 6, other 3; National Council – percent of vote by party – SVP 29%, SPS 19.5%, FDP 15.6%, CVP 14.6%, Greens 9.6%, other 11.7%; seats by party – SVP 62, SPS 43, FDP 31, CVP 31, Green Party 20, other small parties 13; note – seating for the Council of States as of December 2007 is CVP 16, FDP 12, SVP 7, SPS 9, other 2 |
| Syria | unicameral People’s Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NPF 172, independents 78 |
| Taiwan | unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats – 73 district members elected by popular vote, 34 at-large members elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 6 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; to serve four-year terms); parties must receive 5% of vote to qualify for at-large seats elections: Legislative Yuan – last held 12 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2012) election results: Legislative Yuan – percent of vote by party – KMT 53.5%, DPP 38.2%, NPSU 2.4%, PFP 0.3%, others 1.6%, independents 4%; seats by party – KMT 81, DPP 27, NPSU 3, PFP 1, independent 1 |
| Tajikistan | bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (34 seats; 25 members selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; 1 seat reserved for the former president; to serve five-year terms) and the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 25 March 2005 for the National Assembly (next to be held in February 2010) and 27 February and 13 March 2005 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held in February 2010) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PDPT 29, CPT 2, independents 3; Assembly of Representatives – percent of vote by party – PDPT 74.9%, CPT 13.6%, Islamic Revival Party 8.9%, other 2.5%; seats by party – PDPT 51, CPT 5, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5 |
| Tanzania | unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (274 seats; 232 members elected by popular vote, 37 allocated to women nominated by the president, 5 to members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives; to serve five-year terms); note – in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives to make laws especially for Zanzibar (the Zanzibar House of Representatives has 50 seats elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 14 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2010) election results: National Assembly – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CCM 206, CUF 19, CHADEMA 5, other 2, women appointed by the president 37, Zanzibar representatives 5 Zanzibar House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CCM 30, CUF 19; 1 seat was nullified with a rerun to take place soon |
| Thailand | bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consisted of the Senate or Wuthisapha (150 seats; 76 members elected by popular vote representing 76 provinces, 74 appointed by judges and independent government bodies; all serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (480 seats; 400 members elected from 157 multi-seat constituencies and 80 elected on proportional party-list basis of 10 per eight zones or groupings of provinces; all serve four-year terms); after coup in September 2006, coup leaders appointed an interim National Assembly with 250 members to act as Senate and House of Representatives elections: Senate – last held on 19 April 2006 (next to be held on 6 March 2008); House of Representatives – last election held on 23 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – PPP 233, DP 164, TNP 34, Motherland 24, Middle Way 11, Unity 9, Royalist People’s 5 |
| Timor-Leste | unicameral National Parliament (number of seats can vary from 52 to 65; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 30 June 2007 (next elections due by June 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – FRETILIN 29%, CNRT 24.1%, ASDT-PSD 15.8%, PD 11.3%, PUN 4.5%, KOTA-PPT (Democratic Alliance) 3.2%, UNTERDIM 3.2%, others 8.9%; seats by party – FRETILIN 21, CNRT 18, ASDT-PSD 11, PD 8, PUN 3, KOTA-PPT 2, UNDERTIM 2 |
| Togo | unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 14 October 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – RPT 39.4%, UFC 37.0%, CAR 8.2%, independents 2.5%, other 12.9%; seats by party – RPT 50, UFC 27, CAR 4 |
| Tokelau | unicameral General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note – the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
| Tonga | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fale Alea (32 seats – 14 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country’s 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms) elections: last held on 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote – HRDMT 70%, other 30%; seats – HRDMT 7, independents 2 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, nine by the President, six by the opposition party to serve a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives – last held on 5 November 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: House of Representatives – percent of vote – PNM 46%, UNC 29.7%; seats by party – PNM 26, UNC 15 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms; last election held in January 2005; seats by party – PNM 11, DAC 1 |
| Tunisia | bicameral system consists of the Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Advisors (126 seats; 85 members elected by municipal counselors, deputies, mayors, and professional associations and trade unions; 41 members are presidential appointees; members serve six-year terms) elections: Chamber of Deputies – last held on 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2009); Chamber of Advisors – last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in July 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2; Chamber of Advisors – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – RCD 71 (14 trade union seats vacant (boycotted)) |
| Turkey | unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party – AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note – seats by party as of 17 December 2007 – AKP 340, CHP 87, MHP 70, DTP 20, DSP 13, independents 6, other 12, vacant 2 (DTP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP’s party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats |
| Turkmenistan | two parliamentary bodies, a People’s Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some elected by popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a National Assembly or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: People’s Council – last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); Mejlis – last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) election results: Mejlis – DPT 100%; seats by party – DPT 50; note – all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by the president note: in late 2003, a law was adopted reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the “Chairman for Life” of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party – PNP 13, PDM 2 |
| Tuvalu | unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote – NA; seats – independents 15 |
| Uganda | unicameral National Assembly (332 seats; 215 members elected by popular vote, 104 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 79, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 13 ex officio members; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NRM 191, FDC 37, UPC 9, DP 8, CP 1, JEEMA 1, independents 36, other 49 |
| Ukraine | unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; members allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 30 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party/bloc – Party of Regions 34.4%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 30.7%, Our Ukraine-People’s Self Defense 14.2%, CPU 5.4%, Lytvyn bloc 4%, other parties 11.3%; seats by party/bloc – Party of Regions 175, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 156, Our Ukraine-People’s Self Defense 72, CPU 27, Lytvyn bloc 20 |
| United Arab Emirates | unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states, 20 members elected to serve two-year terms) elections: elections for one half of the FNC (the other half remains appointed) held in the UAE on 18-20 December 2006; the new electoral college – a body of 6,689 Emiratis (including 1,189 women) appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates – were the only eligible voters and candidates; 456 candidates including 65 women ran for 20 contested FNC seats; one female from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi won a seat note: reviews legislation but cannot change or veto |
| United Kingdom | bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (618 seats; consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords – no elections (note – in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons – last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by May 2010) election results: House of Commons – percent of vote by party – Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%; seats by party – Labor 355, Conservative 198, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; seats by party in the House of Commons as of 23 November 2007 – Labor 353, Conservative 194, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5, other 14 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times, the latest occurring in October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the most recent of which were held in May 2007 |
| United States | bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate – last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives – last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Democratic Party 49, Republican Party 49, independent 2; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Democratic Party 233, Republican Party 202 |
| Uruguay | bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators – last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives – last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Chamber of Senators – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1 |
| Uzbekistan | bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an upper house or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils and 16 appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms) and a lower house or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NA; Legislative Chamber – percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9, unaffiliated 10 note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
| Vanuatu | unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – NUP 10, UMP 8, VP 8, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note – political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language |
| Venezuela | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela) elections: last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – pro-government 167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0; total seats by party as of 1 January 2008 – pro-government 152 (PSUV 114, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), PODEMOS 15 |
| Vietnam | unicameral National Assembly or Quoc Hoi (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – CPV 450, non-party CPV-approved 42, self-nominated 1; note – 493 candidates were elected; CPV and non-party CPV-approved delegates were members of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front |
| Virgin Islands | unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – Democratic Party 8, ICM 4, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) |
| Wallis and Futuna | unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 11 March 2002 (next to be held 22 April 2007) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – RPR and affiliates 13, Socialists and affiliates 7 note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate – elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by September 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats – RPR (now UMP) 1; French National Assembly – elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held by in 2007); results – percent of vote by party – NA; seats – RPR (UMP) 1 |
| Yemen | a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba’th Party 2, independents 14 |
| Zambia | unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, 8 members are appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – MMD 72, PF 44, UDA 27, ULP 2, NDF 1, independents 2; seats not determined 2 |
| Zimbabwe | bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate (93 seats – 60 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president, 16 provincial chiefs appointed by the president and deputy president from all provinces except Harare and Bulawayo, and 7 appointed by the president) and a House of Assembly (210 seats – all elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held 28 March 2008; House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held 28 March 2008) election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – ZANU-PF 73.7%, MDC 20.3%, other 4.4%, independents 1.6%; seats by party – ZANU-PF 43, MDC 7; House of Assembly – percent of vote by party – ZANU-PF 59.6%, MDC 39.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party – ZANU-PF 78, MDC 41, independents 1 |