| COUNTRY | DATE | ELECTION TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| Mali | May 13, 2012 | Presidential Second Round (Postponed) |
| Dominican Republic | May 20, 2012 | Presidential |
| Serbia | May 20, 2012 | Presidential Second Round |
| Egypt | May 23, 2012 | Presidential First Round |
| Lesotho | May 26, 2012 | Parliamentary |
|
Period in review: May 4 - 10, 2012
Greece (May 06, 2012)
Greek parliamentary elections on Sunday saw six parties enter parliament with none having enough seats to form a government. The New Democracy party finished in first place with 18 percent of the vote while Greece's other major party, PASOK, fell to third with just 13 percent. The left-wing Syriza finished in second place with 17 percent of the vote and the far-right Golden Dawn party entered parliament with 7 percent. Greece’s electoral system has parties compete for 250 seats via closed-list proportional representation, while the remaining 50 seats are awarded to the party that receives the most votes. Because of this, New Democracy finished with 17 more seats than it did in the previous election, despite winning a lower percentage of the vote than before. Despite the bonus, however, New Democracy fell far short of a majority, and party leader Antonis SAMARAS announced on Tuesday that he was unable to form a coalition government. Alexis TSIPRAS of Syriza was also unable to form a government and if no party is successful, new elections will have to be held.
France (May 06, 2012)
Socialist presidential candidate Francois HOLLANDE defeated incumbent President Nicolas SARKOZY on Sunday in the second round of French presidential elections. This is only the second time in the history of the French Fifth Republic that an incumbent has been defeated in a reelection bid.
Armenia (May 06, 2012)
The Republican Party of Armenia, led by President Serzh SARKSYAN, won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections on Sunday. The Republican Party captured 69 seats in the 131-seat parliament while Gagik TSARUKYAN's Prosperous Armenia party finished in second place with 36 seats.
Serbia (May 06, 2012)
Serbia held elections for the presidency and parliament on Sunday. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) narrowly finished in first place with 24 percent of the vote, but will remain in the opposition as the liberal Democratic Party (DS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) captured enough seats to form a coalition. In the presidential election, incumbent Boris TADIC of the DS and Tomislav NIKOLIC of the SNS finished in first and second place and will face each other in a May 20 run-off.
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