#munipoli Matters SIDEPLATE - Global election updates
A few notes on recent elections that happened, or already happened, around the world beyond Canada
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we discuss all about municipal elections and the often unreported area of local government across Canada and beyond.
First off, I have now re-christened these segments my ‘SIDE PLATES’ but the purpose remains the same: to highlight stories I find that need more attention than in a single issue combined with other stories.
For this first “new” version of my SIDEPLATE, I would like to talk about some recent municipal elections that occurred, or will be occurring, around the world beyond Canada.
United Kingdom
Every year in Britain there are local elections in one of the localities in the country, the only exception being 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the scheduled elections were delayed to the following year.
Thousands of councillors’ positions were up for grabs, with the majority of them representing the local version of the national political parties in the United Kingdom, such as the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, but also the Greens and the regionally-based Scottish National Party.
UK’s local elections are somewhat of a barometer of the national party’s political standings. These elections were held in May, and only a few months after Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a massive internal cabinet revolt before his recent resignation announcement.
In the 2022 local elections, the Labour Party came out with the most gains, winning over 100 councillor seats while the Conservatives lost almost 500 seats, the only major UK party to lose seats while the other parties made gains. The most gains made were by the Liberal Democrats, who won 224 seats.
There is such a diversity of forms of local governments across the UK that I’ll point out just some of the structures and results from the May 5 elections, such as directly elected mayors (a relatively new concept in Britain) and the results of the London Boroughs as well as the traditional City of London.
You can look at a borough like Barnet, which went from a Conservative majority of 38 seats to 25 for Labour, to 41 Labour and 22 Conservative. Or Kingston Upon Thames, where the Liberal Democrats solidified their hold on council, going from 39 to 44 council seats, leaving the Tories with 3.
There wasn’t much change in Metropolitan Boroughs, where Labour retained their dominance and all but three councils, which were retained by Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats won control of Gosport and Woking District Council, as well as Hull Unitary Authority.
Six mayoral elections took place, with South Yorkshire staying in Labour hands with newly elected mayor Oliver Coppard. Croydon held an election for the first mayor in Tory Jason Perry, while in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, former Labour mayor Lutfur Rahman was elected again this time under the Tower Hamlets First party.
Below is a good summation of the results of the May local elections. It was made prior to Johnson’s announcement that he was stepping down as Prime Minister.
Elections in the City of London itself, an entity that predates modern day Britain, is another beast altogether, consisting of a rather convoluted electoral system that actually allows companies a vote. For example, despite sanctions levied at Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, the state-owned bank VTB still received their share of votes.
The video below is actually a good explainer on how to even run for a position as “Alderman” on the City of London Council, even before one can run for ‘Lord Mayor’.
Other notable results was that the Tories lost control of all the councils up for grabs in Wales, and in Northern Ireland, where the nationalist Sinn Fein party for the first time in the region’s history came out ahead in the local elections.
Taiwan
The island will hold local municipal elections on November 26, as Taiwanese voters will elect city and county mayors, township mayors, councillors and village chiefs across 6 municipalities and 16 counties (otherwise known as cities in Taiwan).
President Tsai Ing-wen, who also serves as the leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, launched the party’s campaign for the elections. The vote is being seen as a test for both parties ahead of the presidential and parliamentary vote in early 2024, and will be held against the backdrop of rising military pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
In the last round of local elections in 2018 (see above graphic), the DPP lost substantial ground, winning only 6 municipalities while their main opposition, the Kuomintang (KMT) won 15, even in traditional DPP strongholds such as Kaohsiung. Taipei City reelected their Independent mayor.
The KMT has accused the DDP government of dropping the ball on domestic issues, such as COVID-19 management. But rising tensions with China resurfacing, the DPP could capitalize for electoral gains, as the KMT has usually favoured closer relations with China, leaving it open to accusations they will sell out on Taiwanese interests.
United States
Charlotte, North Carolina: Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, won reelection with 68% of the vote against her Republican challenger, which is slightly down from the 77% she gained in 2019.
Greensboro, NC: Incumbent Mayor Nancy Vaughan survived a close reelection against Councilman Justin Outling, 43% to 41%, which is a margin of 425 votes. First elected mayor in 2013, this is a sharp drop from when she won reelection in 2017 with 67% of the vote.
Over 4,000 votes were for a write-in candidate, and while the board of elections doesn’t specify who those votes were for, Chris Meadows was running as a write-in candidate.
Kansas: I thought this was worth mentioning. In the wake of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which essentially put the question of abortion back to the authority of state legislatures, Kansas held a referendum on whether to allow their state government to enact anti-abortion laws…or ban the practice entirely.
The result from Kansans was decisive: the state voted NO, upholding a previous legal precedent and basically enshrining the right to an abortion in the State Bill of Rights with the NO vote 58% to YES 42%.
Nine states including Kansas provides abortion rights based on court rulings, but this referendum result could foreshadow how the issue of abortion will play out politically in the upcoming US midterm elections scheduled later in November, and maybe even in to the 2024 presidential election.
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