Further publications

Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan

Votes for change or continuity?

Parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan on 27 October 2024. For the first time, the elections were held according to a new, mixed electoral system that includes elements of both majority and proportional representation.

Parliamentary elections in Lithuania

Loss of power and leadership crisis of the Christian Democrats

After the second round of parliamentary elections in Lithuania, the picture is looking bleak for the Christian Democrats. Not only have they lost their seat in government, but they have also lost their party leader, Gabrielius Landsbergis, in addition to major cities such as Vilnius and Kaunas. After losing his constituency, he resigned from the party and is taking a break. The Social Democrats must now find a third coalition partner with the center-left party “Democrats for Lithuania”. This will not be easy for various reasons.

Municipal and governor elections in Chile

Few surprises and good results for the political parties of the centre-right spectrum

With a total of 13,112,090 votes cast and a voter turnout of around 85 per cent, this year's municipal and gubernatorial elections marked the highest voter turnout in Chile's history. The election results were generally seen as an expression of discontent against the government, influenced by the current political situation and recent scandals that have further eroded confidence in the ruling coalition. The election took place against the backdrop of an ongoing security crisis that has dominated public discourse for some time. The winners of the local elections were the moderate forces of the centre-right alliance Chile Vamos, among others the party Renovación Nacional. Nevertheless, the election results are primarily an expression of local and regional dynamics and do not allow any clear conclusions to be drawn for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

Special election operation in Georgia

A historic election in the South Caucasus is characterised by electoral fraud on a presumably historic scale

The Georgians are a creative nation, for better or for worse. The parliamentary elections on 26 October were an impressive illustration of this. At around 10 p.m., the Central Election Commission announced a result of 53% for the ruling Georgian Dream party, with the four opposition blocs accounting for a total of 38%. Exit polls had painted the opposite picture two hours earlier. Independent election observers, who documented and communicated numerous irregularities during the election day, are calling for the elections to be annulled. The president and the opposition declare that they will not accept the election results. The OSCE's preliminary statement is very critical of the general conditions but certifies that the elections were most widely conducted in a technically correct manner. 

Money Makes the Vote Go Round?

Campaign Finances in U.S. Elections

The election campaign in the USA is entering its final stretch. The success of a candidate is measured not only by polls but also by donations. Political parties in the USA rely on contributions from citizens and companies to support their efforts. This involves billions of dollars and significant influence, though not always success. The last election campaign in 2020 set a record: 14.4 billion US dollars were spent on presidential and congressional elections, twice as much as in 2016.

Everything open ahead of Uruguay's run-off election

Parliamentary and presidential elections in Latin America's model democratic country

On October 27, Uruguay held its presidential elections, alongside the renewal of the Senate and House of Representatives. The left-wing party Frente Amplio, led by candidate Yamandú Orsi, secured 43.9% of the votes, marking a significant increase from 2019. Álvaro Delgado, representing the conservative National Party, followed with a surprisingly strong 26.7%. Both candidates will face off in a runoff scheduled for November 24th.

The “win-win” migration agreement between Germany and Kenya: Who truly benefits

The political balancing act between demographic development and economic hardship

On 13 September 2024, Kenya and Germany signed a bilateral migration agreement. In it, Germany opens up legal channels for qualified labor migrants from Kenya. In return, Kenya agreed to identify its citizens who are required to leave Germany by means of biometric data comparison and to accept expired identity documents for repatriation. Kenya’s President Ruto praised the agreement a ‘win-win situation’, but who is the real winner of the agreement? Will the agreement find the right balance between the need for regulated labor migration and averting the loss of skilled labor in the country of origin?

The first summit between the EU and GCC ends without breakthroughs

Strategic partnership with little results

On October 16, high-ranking government representatives from EU states and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Brussels. In the wake of a new strategic engagement with the Gulf states, which the EU had already initiated in 2022, the summit marked the first time in history that top politicians from both sides came together in this context. However, there were no major strategic successes to report at the end of the meeting. Rather, the summit once again revealed what ails Europe's Gulf policy in general: a lack of political courage to take concrete steps to raise relations between the two regions to a new level. It was fitting that a key EU member was completely absent from Brussels.

Geopolitics and Connectivity Take the Center Stage at the First EU-GCC Summit

The first ever EU-GCC Summit on 16 October 2024 served as a pivotal moment for both the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), emphasiz-ing mutual interests in economic growth, security, and energy cooperation. Two areas dominated the discussion: on the one hand finding common ground on pragmatic cooperation, particularly in the field of energy and connectivity, on the other hand finding common language on a number of current regional conflicts. While the number of concrete deliverables of the meeting has been limited (which was to be expected) and much work still lies ahead, the summit as such is remarkable signal. Both sides decided to meet every two years at heads of state level, the next meeting is to take place in Saudi-Arabia in 2026.

Indonesia's new president – an opportunity for Germany

Prabowo Subianto sworn in as President of Indonesia. New opportunities for Germany?

Indonesia has a new president. Eight months after his election victory, Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated into his new office on 20 October. In terms of domestic policy, the former general is in favour of continuing the policies of his predecessor Joko Widodo. In terms of foreign policy, however, he has announced a more active role for Indonesia. Prabowo made a name for himself during the election campaign as a fierce critic of the EU. At the same time, he is considered to have an affinity for Germany. German foreign policy will play a key role in Indonesian-European relations in the future.