Episodes
-
Labour's disproportional landslide, or Keir of the House Starmer, First of his name...
We have returned for a special look at the UK's dramatic 2024 election, which saw Labour win a landslide majority on a record low share of the vote and Ed Davey humiliate himself for attention. Features some unavoidable discussion of Chris' mortgage. Chris also published this insightful piece…
more -
Colorado-rama/Chile turns right/the Tories fall
In a jam-packed episode we cover the Paraguayan general election, more Chilean constitutional drama and briefly share our thoughts on England’s local elections. There’s continuity, a right-wing surprise and 1000 Tory loses inside, so give it a listen! Follow us on Twitter @ballotworld and please...
-
Montenegro changes course and Bulgaria votes again and again and again and again and again...
On 2nd April Montenegro held the second round of momentous presidential elections that saw long-term ruler Milo Đukanović leave office. And on the same day Bulgarian held yet another parliamentary election, with the potential for more to come. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and rate and...
-
Finland and Andorra
Finland and Andorra both went to the polls on 2nd April for elections which featured both continuity and change. We’ll break down the political dynamics of both countries and just what the results mean going forward.
-
The Dutch farmers are revolting
The Netherlands held provincial, water board and island council elections on 15th March. The results sent waves through Dutch politics- essentially all the parties lost seats to the agro-populist BBB, the BoerBurgerBeweging or Farmer-Citizen Movement, which surged to almost 20 per cent of the…
more -
Estonia and the dominance of Reform
Estonia held elections on 5th March, which saw the Reform party of incumbent PM Kaja Kallas come first with a record 31.2% of the vote. No coalition now looks feasible without Reform, thus extending the party’s dominance over Estonian politics. Issues around security and cost-of-living dominated…
more -
Nigeria's three-cornered contest (with Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji)
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and among the world’s biggest democracies, held its presidential election on February 25, with 76-year old Bola Tinubu of the incumbent All Progressive Congress being declared the winner with 36% of the vote. The election comes at a time when Nigeria...
-
Cyprus 2023: Χριστοδουλίδης versus Μαυρογιάννης
On 12th February Cyprus held the second round of one of its most dramatic presidential elections yet. While favourite Nikos Christodoulides had been leading the polls by massive margins in the run-up to the election, he ended up winning a very close contest. To find out why we dig into Cypriot...
-
Monaco, Ecuador and Peru
This week we're globe hoping, looking at a couple of smaller elections that have occurred recently. We first cover the Monegasque landslide election, where all the country's largest parties united into a single bloc. Then we travel across the Atlantic to explore Ecuador's referendum and local...
-
Presidential elections? Czech! (with Dr. Sean Hanley)
We're returning to Czechia, last visited in 2021, to cover the results of the presidential election. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš failed in his attempt to seize the country's top job, loosing pretty easily to former general Petr Pavel. We're joined by Dr. Sean Haley of UCL SSEES to break…
more -
782 lords a-leaping: the House of Lords and second chambers
This week we're tackling that all-important topic of upper houses, or second chambers, with a special focus on the United Kingdom's bizarre House of Lords. How does the House of Lords work, and where does it come from? And what's the best way to design a second chamber? We scour the world's upper...
-
Authoritarian afterparties
In a quiet period for elections we're taking a look at authoritarian successor parties- the phenomenon where the ruling parties of authoritarian regimes take to electoral politics, and are often quite successful. While this might seem odd at first glance, we break down exactly why people would...
-
2023: the year ahead in elections
Happy new year! This week we're taking a look at the biggest and most exciting elections scheduled for 2023...and some of the ones we're looking forward to because we're massive nerds. We also make foolhardy predictions we can look back on and grimace about at Christmas. Follow us on twitter...
-
2022 in review
Do you like festive recaps of the year, do you like elections? Then this is the podcast for you! We're taking a look back at the electoral year and discussing what the most significant contests were, which ones caught us by surprise, and what the elections that brought us sadness and joy this…
more -
The battle for the Løgting- politics in the Faroe Islands
The only conversation anyone's ever had about the Faroe Islands which doesn't make an ancient Egypt joke. Also perhaps the only reporting on the recent Faroese election in the English language, which is a shame because this was a fascinating contest. These were early parliamentary elections, and...
-
Making sense of Malaysian politics
We freely acknowledge Malaysia can be a difficult country for us to keep track of, especially over the last four years which saw dramatic governmental changes mid-term. But no need to worry as we're joined by Dr. Lynette Ong of the University of Toronto to take us through the twists and turns of...
-
A red ripple in the US (with Prof. Chris Carman)
In the US midterm elections the red tide of Republican victories singularly failed to materialise, with Republicans making modest gains at best and failing to take the Senate. But why did Democrats perform so well when all the fundamentals were against them? To break this remarkable set of…
more -
Mette versus the Mink Or: How I learnt to stop worrying and hate immigration
In Denmark's recent election incumbent PM Mette Frederiksen's left-leaning bloc won a narrow majority in parliament against predictions. Yet it's all change in Denmark's party system, as Frederiksen instead seeks to form a centrist government around her Social Democrats. We break down why…
more -
Far-right out, far-right in: Brazil and Israel
Do you like your good news moderated by terrible news? Then this is the podcast for you! We're going over the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections which saw former president Silva strike a blow fro democracy and environment, but on the other hand we're going to bring you the…
more -
Round one to Lula, round two to.... (with Julia Blunck)
On October 2nd Brazil had its first round of presidential elections. Former president Lula got 48.43% of the vote and incumbent Bolsonaro got 43.2% of the vote. Because neither candidate got over 50% of the vote, the country will go to a runoff vote on October 30th. Fair to say that many people...
-
Bulgaria (oh god not again) and Latvian volatility
Two countries this week in a bumper episode! First we tackle Bulgaria, a country we’ve visited many times before, to find out why they want us to talk about them so badly. Then we’re looking at Latvia, another postcommunist country that held very volatile elections recently.
-
La nouvelle politique québécoise
Elections on 3rd October in Quebec saw another landslide majority for the CAQ party of premier François Legault. Leagult came to power in 2018 leading the first government not of the Liberals or PQ since the 1960s. He represents a departure in Quebecois politics from the Sovereignty-federalism...
-
Italy and the victory of the right
Italy held snap general elections on 25th September which saw a victory for its 'centre-right' coalition of parties. Chief among these was the radical right Brothers of Italy party led by presumptive PM Giorgia Meloni, who managed to triumph over a divided centre-left. We discuss what the origins...
-
A Swedish valrysare
Sweden’s general election on 11th September produced a knife edge result which saw the right-wing bloc of the centre-right parties and the radical right Sweden Democrats win a small majority. The election marks the final incorporation of the Swedish Democrats into the party system and the…
more -
Chile's new constitution is a no-go
*This episode was recorded before the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II* Chileans voted overwhelmingly against a new draft of the constitution last weekend.This vote comes after a long process of social protests followed by fascinating political change in one of Latin America’s most...
-
Angola's troubled road
Angola elected its President and National Assembly on 24th August. Although the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won again, this was the closest election since Angola’s independence from Portugal in 1975. Previous elections had seen a landslide victory for the MPLA and...
-
A close contest in Kenya (with Dr. Fred Ajwang)
Kenya held general elections on 9th August to a plethora of positions including its presidency. This contest was won narrowly by William Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance, in a victory which is now being tested. We're joined by Dr. Fred Ajwang of Kings College London to dive into the world…
more -
How green was my party: A guide to ecologist parties
What is a green party? Where do they do best and who supports them? We look at this ever more relevant party family and break down their ideology, origins and supporters. From the Nordics to Mexico to New Zealand, this is a truly global guide to the greens! Please do rate and subscribe wherever...
-
Tunisia's referendum and voting away democracy (with Dean Schafer)
On July 26th Tunisian’s voted in favour of a Constitutional Referendum that many suggest is largely a power grab by current president Kais Saied. This referendum was marked by very low turnout (a little over 30%), but a very high percentage of “Yes” votes among those who participated (94%). The...
-
What's the best electoral system? (2/2)
We're concluding our countdown of the world's electoral systems, this week looking at the top three. Who will come out on top? Which electoral system will be known for all time as the incontrovertible best? Tune in to find out. Follow us on twitter @ballotworld and please rate and subscribe...
-
What's the best electoral system? (1/2)
This week we're embarking on an epic mission to settle once and for all what the best electoral system is. We survey a wide range of the systems in use and discuss their pros and cons, working our way up from worst to best. This week we get from the block vote all the way up to the single...
-
Second rounds in Colombia and France (plus some Andalusia)
This week we're catching up on two second rounds from elections we've looked at in the past few weeks. First, we return to Colombia, where Andres has been reporting on the ground, to hear about Petro's narrow victory. Then we go back to France where Macron's bloc looses its parliamentary…
more -
Double(ballot)speak, or the first round of the French legislative elections, 2022
Bonjour! We're back in France taking a look at the first round of the French legislative elections that are following hot on the heels of Macron's reelection as President. We're unpacking where NUPE came from and why its posed such a danger to Macron, as well as the behaviour of the other parties...
-
Populist Tories in Ontario and London
Ontario held provincial elections last week, which saw the incumbent Progressive Conservatives win in a landslide. Their leader, Doug Ford, has been a populist figure with a controversial record. Also this week, the UK Conservatives held a vote of confidence in PM Boris Johnson, who survived, but...
-
Colombia's earthquake election (with Dr. Juan Albarracín)
Colombia held its first round of voting for president last Sunday (May 29th) which culled the field of contenders to two candidates: Gustavo Petro who everyone expected would go on to the second round and Rodolfo Hernández whose victory is quite shocking. The fact that Gustavo Petro emerged as…
more -
Anthony Albanese and Australia's change election (with Ben Raue)
Australia's federal elections saw the ouster of Scott Morrison's Coalition government and major successes for third parties and independents. It also saw the return of the Labor Party under leader Anthony Albanese after 9 years in opposition. We're joined by Australian elections analyst Ben Raue…
more -
Dynasties, populists and oligarchs in the Philippines (with Dr. Aries Arugay)
Filipinos went to the polls on May 9th 2022 for an important general election, to elect president, vice-president, renew the House of Representatives, some Senate seats, and elect governors, and several local officials. The main headline is that a majority of voters in the Philippines elected...
-
Northern Ireland at a crossroads (with Professor Jonathan Tonge)
On 5th May Northern Ireland elected a new Assembly in a momentous contest which saw Sinn Féin become the largest party for the first time and the hardline unionist DUP loose a significant share of the votes. The elections come at a turbulent moment for Northern Ireland, with breakdowns in...
-
How to grow your Senedd
This week Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru announced plans to dramatically reform the Welsh Parliament- the Senedd. These much needed changes, which would increased the Parliament from 60 to 96 and change the electoral system, have been met with change and controversy. We break down what these…
more -
Conservative defeat in England, Scotland and Wales
We’re discussing local elections held across England, Scotland and Wales last week, which saw heavy losses for the governing Conservatives and gains for the centre-left opposition parties. In Scotland, the SNP remained dominant and Labour returned to second place, and in Wales Labour scored a…
more -
Slovenia, Golob and Janša (with Aljaž Pengov Bitenc)
Slovenia has been ruled in recent years by a rickety coalition headed by Janez Janša, who has been a mainstay of Slovenian political life its entire democratic history. Janša is an incredibly controversial figure, who has cuddled up to Viktor Orban and moved towards the radical right. He has a…
more -
Le second tour: Macron est vainqueur
We break down the second round of France's presidential elections, which saw a wider than expected victory for President Macron over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. We discuss why this happened and what might be in store for Macron's second term and the upcoming legislative elections. Follow…
more -
AMLO recalls himself
On April 10th, Mexico held its first presidential recall vote to see whether Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) would remain in office or not. The turnout threshold of 40% was not reached, as only 17.8% of the voter’s roll turned out, which means that the results were not legally binding- in any...
-
The French Presidency and the 2022 election
With all eyes on the French presidential election we decided to dive deep into the nature of this unusual executive, which has a reputation for being extremely powerful but doesn't operate along the lines spelled out in the constitution. We discuss the origins of the position, the sources of its...
-
The autocrats triumph
Don't listen to this episode if you're feeling down! It's not going to be easy listening as we delve into the results of Hungary and Serbia's elections on 3rd April. In both countries the authoritarian incumbents Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vučić scored new victories, despite unprecedented...
-
A landslide in Malta
Malta held general elections on 26th March, which were won by the incumbent Labour Party of PM Robert Abela in another landslide victory. This outcome was never really in doubt, given all polls pointed towards it. The Labour government has been constantly dogged with corruption allegations, most...
-
Hungary Falls
Hungary will go to the polls on 3rd April for an incredibly significant election where opposition parties have united to challenge the 12 year-long and increasingly autocratic rule of Viktor Orban. Ahead of Election Day, we’re looking back at the 3 decades of Hungarian history since the fall of...
-
South Korea's close election (with Dr. Myungji Yang)
Don't know much about South Korean democracy? Well neither did we, which is why we spoke to Dr. Myungji Yang of the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, who took us through the main features of Korean politics and the key debates and personalities of this election. The election ended up a nail-bitter...
-
Memories of Ukraine
Last week Russia began a baleful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has been fiercely resisted. While none of us feel qualified to discuss the war or offer analysis of it, we have recorded this to share some thoughts on Ukrainian democracy- particularly Chris' memories of being an election...
-
Castile, León and Spain
On February 13th early elections were held to the parliament of the Spanish region of Castile and León, resulting in a bit of a backfire for regional centre-right President Alfonso Fernández Mañueco. Why should we care so much about these elections in a lesser known Spanish region? Well aside…
more