Elections
Imran Khan Has Been Sent to Prison. The Question Is Not Whether Politicians Should Face the Law, but Whether Pakistan’s Law Applies Politically.
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison and arrested after a court convicted him in a case concerning state gifts received while he was prime minister. The case…
Niger’s Soldiers Say Democracy Failed to Provide Security. That Does Not Mean Soldiers Can.
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by members of his presidential guard on Wednesday, and the country’s constitutionally elected government has effectively been overthrown. General Abdourahamane Tiani, who commanded the presidential guard that detained Bazoum,…
Spain Has Voted. The Party That Came First May Still Not Govern.
Spain voted today in an election that has produced a result simultaneously clear and inconclusive. Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s conservative People’s Party has emerged as the largest force in parliament, defeating Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s governing…
Mark Rutte’s Government Collapsed Over Migration. Sometimes Compromise Is What Keeps Democracy Working. Sometimes Refusing It Does.
The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after the four parties governing the Netherlands failed to reach an agreement over migration policy. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has led the country since 2010, will remain in…
India Has Built a New Parliament. The More Important Question Is What Parliament Is Supposed to Represent.
India inaugurated a new Parliament building last Sunday. The triangular complex stands beside the old circular Parliament House constructed during British rule and will eventually become the principal physical home of the world’s largest representative…
Turkey Has Inflation, a Weakened Currency and an Earthquake Recovery Crisis. Erdoğan Could Still Win Again.
Turkey is voting again today after neither Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu secured an outright majority in the first round of the presidential election two weeks ago. Erdoğan entered the runoff with the advantage…
Turkey Is Holding a Real Election. That Does Not Mean the Playing Field Is Level.
Tens of millions of Turks voted today in an election that may determine whether Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s two decades at the centre of Turkish politics continue. Erdoğan first became prime minister in 2003 and later…
Sanna Marin Became One of Europe’s Most Recognisable Leaders. Finnish Voters Still Judged Her Government on Finland.
Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats have lost Finland’s parliamentary election tonight, although describing the result simply as a rejection of Marin would be misleading. The Social Democrats actually increased their share of the vote compared with…
Macron’s Pension Reform May Be Constitutional. That Does Not Automatically Make It Politically Legitimate.
France’s retirement age is supposed to rise from 62 to 64 under a pension reform that President Emmanuel Macron argues is necessary to protect the financial sustainability of the country’s pension system. The policy itself…
Georgia’s Government Says It Wants Transparency Over Foreign Influence. Protesters Think It Is Borrowing Russia’s Method of Silencing Critics.
For several nights this week, thousands of Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi carrying Georgian and European Union flags. Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and arrests as protesters attempted to prevent parliament from…
Nigeria Has Voted. The Harder Task Is Convincing Nigerians That Their Votes Became the Result.
More than 93 million Nigerians were registered to vote yesterday in an election that could reshape the politics of Africa’s most populous country. Eighteen candidates contested the presidency, but three dominated the campaign: Bola Ahmed…
Turkey Could Not Prevent the Earthquake. That Does Not Mean Every Death Was Unpreventable.
At 4:17 on Monday morning, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border. Hours later, another enormous earthquake measuring 7.5 struck further north. Entire neighbourhoods collapsed across cities including Antakya, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman…
