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IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Primaries in Venezuela

Two successes and one surprise

A success for the Venezuelan opposition and a success for liberal-conservative candidate María Corina Machado: On October 22, 2023, the opposition's self-organized primaries to determine a joint presidential candidate took place under difficult conditions. According to estimates, around two to three million voters took part, exceeding expectations. The participating parties are therefore unanimous in their assessment of the event as a success. The clear winner of the election is María Corina Machado, who, after counting 65 percent of the electoral files (as of the evening of October 23), has an unassailable lead with 93 percent of the votes. A clear success for Machado had already become apparent in the run-up to the election, so that all parties involved recognized her election victory early on. Many challenges accompanied the holding of the primaries, and there are more to overcome before the presidential elections are held in the second half of 2024. Shortly before the primaries, the Barbados Agreement between the government and the opposition surprisingly agreed on the period for the presidential elections and other related issues.

Annette Schwarzbauer
October 25, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Xinhua

Argentina has voted

Peronism is alive

Presidential and legislative elections were held in Argentina on October 22. Contrary to almost all predictions, incumbent Economy and Finance Minister Sergio Massa of the ruling Unión por la Patria alliance won the most votes with 36.68%, ahead of self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza) with 29, 98%, Patricia Bullrich (Juntos por el Cambio) with 23.83%, Juan Schiaretti (Hacemos por nuestro país) with 6.78% and Myriam Bregman (Frente de Izquierda y de Trabajadores - Unidad) with 2.7%. Thus, Sergio Massa and Javier Milei will face off in a runoff election on November 19. After finishing only in third place in the primary elections on August 13, the Peronist government alliance succeeded, against all expectations, in mobilizing the entire Peronist apparatus. Thus, the elections turned out similarly surprising and unpredictable as the August elections. Thus, everything remains open in the race for the presidency, but the majorities in the National Congress and the distribution of power in the provinces have already been determined (for the most part).

Susanne Käss
October 24, 2023
Country Reports
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.

Arbeiten an der Inklusion

Inklusion weltweit – Aktueller Stand aus Griechenland

Griechenland befindet sich im Übergang. Die Zeit nach der Krise der 2010er Jahre führt nicht nur zu einer wirtschaftlichen Erholung, sondern trägt auch zu sozialen Veränderungen bei. Im Zuge dessen werden die Bedürfnisse und der Alltag von Menschen mit Behinderungen für die Gesellschaft immer wichtiger. Hier präsentieren wir einen ersten Überblick über aktuelle Vorhaben, die das Leben für Menschen mit Behinderungen erleichtern.

Marian Wendt, Martha Kontodaimon
October 24, 2023
Country reports with a difference
IMAGO / Rolf Simeon

Shift to the Right in Switzerland

SVP Wins on a Broad Front

While climate policy hardly played a role compared to the last Swiss parliamentary election, the SVP scored a clear election victory with its migration policy issue. It is followed by the SP, Die Mitte, the FDP, the Greens and the Green Liberals.

Andrea Ellen Ostheimer
October 23, 2023
Country Reports
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Parliamentary elections in New Zealand

The Nationals "Back on Track"

New Zealand has held general elections on 14 October. The National Party led by Christopher Luxon seems to have achieved the most votes. Pending the counting of the “special votes”, they will form New Zealand’s next government.

Eva Wagner
October 23, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

A celebration of democracy

Pro-European opposition wins Polish parliamentary elections

Poland's national-conservative government has lost its political majority after eight years in power. After all votes were counted, the democratic opposition parties won the elections to the Polish Sejm and Senate on October 15th: Koalicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Coalition, KO), Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish People's Party, PSL) and Polska 2050 (Poland 2050) - the latter both running together in the electoral alliance Trzecia Droga (Third Way, TD) – and Lewica (Left). Observers describe this result as a historic turning point, which is marked by a record voter turnout of 74.38% - the highest since the political change in 1989. In the coming months, Poland will face important decisions regarding its domestic and foreign policy. 180-degree changes can be expected in European and German policy, in socio-political issues, and in the style and rhetoric of a new government. The economic and institutional environment remains challenging because financial leeway is becoming narrower and powerful veto players have to be taken into account. Furthermore, there are important local and European elections coming up next year, which is why there are fears that the election campaign will simply continue. The PiS in particular will make things anything but easy for the new government and will make every attempt to damage the three-party alliance.

David Gregosz, Thomas Behrens, Dr. Daniel Lemmen
October 20, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Afrikimages

Niger after the coup

Should Europe cooperate with the military?

Three months after the coup in Niger, the putschists rest unchallenged in power. The new leaders managed to win over many Nigeriens by rejecting military intervention by ECOWAS and kicking out French troops. There are currently no talks with RCOWAS as both sided dig in their heels. European countries have frozen military and development cooperation with Niger, Together with tough ECOEWAS sanctions this has led to a rise in poverty levels. Jihadists are trying to exploit the situation by staging more attacks on the army. Russia meanwhile is seeking to exploit Western hesitancy to talk to the putschists by offering itself as new partner. Should Western countries open a dialogue with the new governmernt in Niamey?

Ulf Laessing
October 18, 2023
Country Reports
Lula Oficial / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 Deed

India's G20 Presidency

A Review

India's G20 Presidency is coming to an end. The climax was the G20 summit, which took place on 9 and 10 September and turned the world's attention to the subcontinent. Surprisingly for many observers, Prime Minister Modi announced a diplomatically hard-fought final declaration on the very first day of the G20 summit. The most significant news surrounding the G20 summit came with the expansion of the G20 into a G21 with the admission of the African Union as a member. Another positive was the signing of a declaration of intent on the so-called India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which is seen by many observers as a viable alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. But apart from many positive but also negative news around the G20 summit and host India, it also revealed a lot about the domestic and foreign policy ambitions and concerns of the world's most populous country. The following G20 review looks at how India's current domestic and foreign policies are merging, something that has arguably never been more apparent than during this year's G20 presidency.

Elias Marini Schäfer
October 18, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Agencia Prensa-Independiente

Decision on the political direction of Ecuador: Daniel Noboa becomes the new President

Center-right candidate Daniel Noboa, hopeful for a new political course, wins runoff election

On the election day of October 15, 2023, the young entrepreneur Daniel Noboa won 51.84 % of the votes with his non-confrontational appearance. In the extraordinary runoff election for the presidency, the majority of Ecuadorians voted against Luisa Gonzaléz, a candidate who stands for socialism of the XXI century and is considered a close confidant of Rafael Correa, who received 48.16 % of the vote. This is the third time in a row that Correísmo has lost presidential elections in a runoff. Noboa represents a course that seeks to free the population from the "Correísmo-Anti-Correísmo" scheme that has long paralyzed the country. However, the elect and soon-to-be Latin America's youngest president must reckon with powerful headwinds. For he faces a National Assembly that is dominated by deputies loyal to the Correa camp. In addition, the budget deficit at the end of the year will amount to four percent of gross domestic product and will probably put the brakes on many projects. Another complicating factor is that regular parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for May 2025, so the window of opportunity for implementing political measures is extremely limited.

Johannes Hügel
October 17, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Guatemalans fight for their democracy

Large parts of the country and the capital paralyzed in Guatemala

Guatemala cannot rest easy. Following Bernardo Arévalo's surprising success in the first round of the Guatemalan presidential elections and his convincing victory in the runoff elections on August 20, tensions are intensifying. Influential forces are doing everything they can to prevent the president-elect from taking power on January 14, 2024. The Guatemalan population is resisting this "coup d'état on the quiet" (Arévalo) more strongly by the day. Since the weekend, large parts of the country and the capital have been paralyzed. There is no end in sight to this power struggle.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Jost
October 10, 2023
Country Reports
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