The 2019 Greek parliamentary election: retour à la normale

Abstract

The July 2019 parliamentary election was the first national election since Greece officially exited the eight-year bailout programmes in August 2018. It was preceded by three ballots on European Parliament, regional and municipal elections in May 2019, which served as a decompression valve for the electorate to punish the incumbent government and indicate a clear will for governmental change, since the conservative party ND won by a landslide. Whereas ND’s victory in the parliamentary election was anticipated, it was its scale that would define the shape of the new government. Increasing its score by 11.76 points since September 2015, ND won 39.85% of the vote, securing a comfortable majority of 158 out of 300 seats. This is the first majority government in Greece since 2011, marking the return of the country to a new normality. Even if SYRIZA failed to deliver the anti-bailout programme which had initially brought the party to the centre of electoral competition, it still gathered 31.53% of the vote, losing just 3.93 points since its last victory in 2015, hence securing its place as one of the two key actors in the new two-partyism. Party fragmentation was limited to six parliamentary parties instead of eight, with the neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, having lost its parliamentary representation.     

香港的政党与政党政治

在港英政府 2 0世纪 80年代开始的政治体制改革中 ,随着选举政治的兴起 ,香港的政党破土而出 ,并逐渐发展起来。香港进入特区时代以后 ,政党的格局趋于稳定。随着政党的形成和发展 ,香港的政党政治也逐渐稳定下来 ,形成香港特有的政党政治。政党和政党政治的发展 ,又改变了香港的政治生态 ,使香港的政治发展出现新的面貌。     

Piercing the Incumbency Syndrome: Ghana’s Democratic Transition in 2017

Ghana’s political landscape changed dramatically in 2017, with the election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as president. Ghana’s political transition in 2017 raises new insights into presidential recruitment and politics in Ghana. The purpose of this article is to examine the 2016 elections within the spectrum of the politics of Ghana’s presidential recruitment. This article discusses the hurdles that were surmounted by the opposition New Patriotic Party party, in unseating the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. The author coins the term ‘the John Syndrome’ to highlight the mythology held by some commentators that Akufo Addo could not be elected president, because his name is not ‘John’. Discussions about intra-party squabbles that resulted in the loss of NDC’s incumbency are provided. The article concludes that Akufo Addo’s presidency symbolises a de-mythologisation of ‘the John Syndrome’. The perception that Akufo Addo saved the nation in 2012 was his major weapon in piercing John Mahama’s incumbency. The demise of the NDC is likely to create an intra-party shift in favour of the party’s founder.     

Straining without training? Capacity-related problems facing African election executives and officials

This article argues that the empowerment of election officials and executives is usually overlooked, understated or simply ignored; yet elections cannot be conducted without plans in place to improve their efficiency and effectiveness; especially through training. As one of the foremost mechanisms for improving elections, training is crucial to organisational performance enhancement. However, training for election officials and executives is fairly new in many African countries. Generally incorporated in generic university or vocational institute courses globally, training is usually offered as a special tailor-made module for polling officials in western countries. Even then, it rarely covers the severe conditions election officials regularly face, especially in Africa. This article examines these issues based on a review of the extant literature, conceptual and theoretical reflection on election management, and practical interaction with some election authorities who participated as trainees in the Unisa Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) course (2012–2014). The article concludes that the training of election officials and executives poses challenges for Africa; partly because some election management bodies (EMBs) prefer to “strain” rather than effectively train their members to ensure sustainable performance, and partly because others prefer short-term irrelevant training that undermines their organisational goals. These hurdles need to be overcome if Africa is to address its election-related challenges.     

关于党内开展竞争性选举的思考

开展竞争性选举是党内民主发展的大势所趋,不容回避。在推动党内民主发展过程中,实行竞争性选举是提高党内民主建设科学化水平的关键。     

Forecasts of the 2004 French European Election

The purpose of this article is to build and to estimate a model which explains and forecasts the outcomes of the French European elections by department, by electoral district and at the national level. The model is accurate in forecasting the elections of the past. Its forecasts for the 2004 French European election are satisfactory and take into account the recent changes in the voting system.     

乡镇党委领导成员直接差额选举的实践与探索

乡镇党委成员直接差额选举解决了权力与民主脱节和权力来源问题,体现了党管干部和群众公认原则,体现了党内对人民民主的示范和带动作用;同时,有利于扩大群众基础,扩大了选人用人视野;转变了干部监督方式;实现了对上负责和对下负责的统一。目前,乡镇党委成员直接差额选举还处在试点探索阶段,应注意处理好报名资格条件、民主推荐、党管干部原则、因乡镇制宜等问题。     

关于干部制度改革的几个重要问题

我国的干部制度改革已进入攻坚阶段。深化干部制度改革,需要根据干部的特点,将党政干部区分为政务类干部和事务类干部两类。在此基础上,需要积极推进政务类干部的选举,改革创新对事务类干部的选拔。     

关于改进完善党内基层选举制度的调研报告

文章以辽宁省为调研样本,分析总结了当前影响党内基层选举顺利进行现实操作中仍然存在的一些亟待解决的问题,并对贯彻执行党内基层选举制度中存在的深层次问题及其原因进行了深入剖析,在此基础上提出了关于改进完善党内基层选举制度的思考和一整套政策建议。