International Elections and Leaders: May 2021 Briefing

The REIGN Dataset (Rulers, Elections, and Irregular Governance) covers political conditions in every country each and every month. We update the data set monthly to reflect the most recent political events, such as coups, world elections, and changes in political leadership. We also provide monthly election coverage and track leadership changes in a series of updates called International Elections and Leaders.

Corn Fields by Félix Valloton

International Elections

Nine key elections for the chief executive took place in the month of April.

Bulgaria — Parliamentary (April 4)

• Incumbent Prime Minister Boyko Borrisov’s party remained the largest party in the Bulgarian parliament but failed to form a government. Subsequent attempts to form a government by the populist There is Such a People party and the Socialist party also failed.
• Following all three failed attempts, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced his intention to dissolve parliament and hold new elections which are most likely going to be held on July 11.
• President Radev has also announced that he will appoint a caretaker government following the dissolution of parliament but has not given the names of caretaker officials.

Samoa — Parliamentary (April 9)

• Samoa’s elections showed a deadlock between the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which has ruled the country for nearly 40 years, and the opposition party Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST). A single independent lawmaker appeared to hold the keys to government formation for both parties.
• Following this stalemate, Samoa’s head of state Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II announced he would be rejecting the election results and that a new election would be held in May. However, FAST leadership has challenged this move in court, with the result still pending.

Djibouti — Presidential (April 9)

• Incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh was reelected with an overwhelming majority of nearly 99% after most opposition forces chose to boycott the election.

Peru — Presidential (April 11)

• The first round of presidential elections saw right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo both advance to the second round of voting which will be held on June 6. Castillo, a self-described Marxist and former school teacher, had largely been written off before surging at the last minute to secure his advancement to next round.
• Polls that had previously shown a nearly 10 point lead for Castillo ahead of Fujimori have begun to tighten. Fujimori, who is the daughter of the jailed former President Alberto Fujimori, is viewed negatively by many due to her father’s ignominious reputation, as well as her own set of corruption charges, but enjoys greater name recognition than the relatively unknown Castillo.

Ecuador — Presidential (April 11)

• The conservative Guillermo Lasso emerged victorious from the country’s second round of voting, defeating the leftist Andres Arauz who had been hand-picked by former President Rafael Correa. The incumbent President, Lenin Moreno, had chosen not to seek reelection.

Chad — Presidential (April 11)

• Incumbent President Idriss Deby successfully secured reelection and a sixth term before being killed on April 20 while visiting Chadian forces that were attempting to fend off the advance of rebel forces towards the Chadian capital.
• Following Deby’s death, it was announced that his son, who is a four-star general in the Chadian military, would lead a transitional council for the next 18 months before fresh elections would be held.
• According to the Chadian constitution (see Article 81), power should have been passed to the head of the National Assembly and elections held in three months. Because power was illegally seized from the constitutionally-designated leader by the military, this usurpation of power constitutes a bloodless coup d’état.

Benin — Presidential (April 11)

• Incumbent President Patrice Talon won reelection with 86% of the vote amidst criticism from opposition of Talon using the levers of state power to disqualify the majority of opposition candidates. 17 of 20 opposition candidates were disqualified from running, leading to protests which were violently suppressed by the government.
• Benin has seen an erosion in the quality of its democracy since Talon was elected in 2016 as he has overseen the implementation of numerous barriers to opposition power and targeting of political opponents.

Cape Verde — Parliamentary (April 18)

• The Movement for Democracy party gained an absolute majority of seats in the country’s parliament, granting the incumbent Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva a second term.
• The leader of the main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Janira Hopffer Almada announced she would be stepping down as party leader following the electoral defeat.

Albania — Parliamentary (April 25)

• The incumbent Socialist Party gained an absolute majority of seats in the country’s parliament, marking the third consecutive election the Socialist Party has won. Prime Minister Edi Rama will also continue on for a third term.
• On April 21 a shootout took place between Social Party and Democratic Party supporters which resulted in one death and four injuries.

New Leaders

Five new leaders took office during April.

Eduard Heger (populist) — Slovakia

• Eduard Heger was appointed Prime Minister on April 1st by President Zuzana Caputova after the previous government led by then-Prime-Minister Igor Matovic resigned following Matovic’s unilateral decision to purchase 2 million unapproved Russian-made coronavirus vaccines.
• Heger’s government recently won approval from the parliament in a confidence vote. Heger, previously in the post of finance minister, is of the same party as Matovic, the populist Ordinary People party.

Giancarlo Venturini & Marco Nicolini (Centre-right) — San Marino

• Giancarlo Venturini and Marco Nicolini were elected as the Captains Regent of San Marino by the Sammarinese parliament on April 1. Venturini is a member of the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party while Nicolini is a member of the Renewal — Equity — Transparency — Eco-sustainability Civic Movement.

Mohamed Bazoum (Centre-left) — Niger

• Mohamed Bazoum was sworn in as President on April 2 after emerging as the victor of the country’s February runoff elections. Bazoum’s inauguration marks the country’s first democratic transfer of power since independence.
• Two days before Bazoum’s inauguration a failed coup attempt took place as soldiers attempted to storm the presidential palace. Bazoum’s opponent in the February runoff, Mahamane Ousmane, had alleged electoral fraud and refused to accept the election results.

Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (Military) — Chad

• The son of late President Idriss Deby, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno came to power in a bloodless coup immediately following his father’s death as part of a military transitional council.
• The military transitional council has attempted to placate the opposition, which has engaged in protest against the military’s seizure of power, by appointing some opposition figures to government posts.

Elections in May:

• Vietnam (legislative) — May 23; Syria (presidential) — May 16