The French presidential election is over, but political risk has not gone away. Here is a look at the other major elections coming up over the next 18 months.
May 9
South Korean presidential election
Who is competing?
Former opposition leader Moon Jae-in faces software tycoon Ahn Cheol-soo in the race to succeed conservative former president Park Geun-hye.
She was ousted amid a corruption scandal entangling some of the country’s most powerful conglomerates.
Hong Joon-pyo, who is backed by the latest iteration of Park’s party, is also running.
What do the polls show?
Restrictions are in place on the reporting of polling specifics. The most prominent candidates are Moon and Ahn.
What is at stake?
The result could shape the international response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Moon has signaled a softer touch to relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while Ahn has backed the installation of a controversial US missile shield.
Both have endorsed measures to reduce the influence of South Korea’s chaebol conglomerates.
May 14
German North-Rhine Westphalia elections
Who is competing?
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)-led coalition is to face off against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).
The SPD is in coalition with the Green Party. The Free Democrats, a traditional CDU ally, are also a force to be reckoned with.
What do the polls show?
The rust belt state is traditionally an SPD stronghold, but polls suggest the CDU is closing the gap.
With the Greens polling poorly and the Free Democrats on about 12 percent, there is a chance Merkel’s party could enter the coalition government or even take the state.
What is at stake?
The outcome would give a clear sense of voters’ mood four months from September’s federal election.
With nearly 18 million people, North-Rhine Westphalia accounts for more than one-fifth of Germany’s population.
May 19
Iranian presidential election
Who is competing?
Moderate President Hassan Rouhani is seeking a second term. Conservative Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi are his leading challengers in the six-man race.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, is thought to favor Raisi.
What do the polls show?
There are no reliable polls in the country. A survey published this week by state-affiliate Iranian Students Polling Agency showed Rouhani leading Raisi by 53 percent to 32 percent in a head-to-head race.
Against Qalibaf, Rouhani was ahead by 49 percent to 38 percent.
The remainder of those questioned would not back either candidate or refused to respond.
What is at stake?
The election is a referendum on Rouhani, who struck a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
His main opponents say they would respect the deal, but the election of a hard-line president still raises the risks of a showdown with US President Donald Trump, who described it as a “disaster.”
A conservative could also be more hostile to foreign investors.
June 8
UK general election
Who is competing?
Prime Minister Theresa May wants to win a larger majority for her governing Conservative Party.
She faces an array of parties who want to thwart her, the largest of which is the Labour Party, followed by the pro-independence Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats.
What do the polls show?
Surveys, and the results of local elections last week, suggest May could be on course for a majority as big as those enjoyed by former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair in their heydays.
The latest polls show May winning about 47 percent of the vote, 19 points ahead of Labour.
What is at stake?
May says she needs a large majority to bolster her hand in Brexit negotiations, which are due to start after the election.
The vote will also give clues on the strength of support for Scottish independence, whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn can survive in his job and how much influence lawmakers who do not support Brexit would have during talks.
June 11, June 18
French parliamentary elections
Who is competing?
President-elect Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! which was formed a year ago and has no seats in the parliament, will run for the first time.
The Socialists and the Republicans, France’s two establishment parties, will be seeking to bounce back after their failures in the presidential elections, as will Marine Le Pen’s National Front.
Jean-Luc Melenchon’s France Unbowed is to present a full slate for the first time.
What do the polls show?
There has been very little polling, because France first had to get its presidential election out of the way.
OpinionWay on Wednesday last week said that En Marche! and the Republicans would win the largest blocs, but both short of a majority.
The Socialists, the National Front and the far left would take few seats, but enough to be potential lawmakers.
What is at stake?
Macron’s presidency. The constitution gives the president many powers, but only if he or she has a majority in parliament, which has the power to choose the Cabinet and pass laws.
Being a new party with no grassroots, En Marche! would struggle to win a majority, meaning Macron would have to seek alliances on his left or his right, with major repercussions to his policies.
Sept. 24
German federal election
Who is competing?
Chancellor Angela Merkel, in office for 12 years, is seeking a fourth term. Her main challenger is Social Democrat Martin Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament.
A record four other parties — the Left, Greens, Free Democratic Party and the Alternative for Germany — also are poised to win parliamentary seats.
What do the polls show?
Merkel’s bloc of Christian Democrats and Bavaria’s ruling CSU party lead the Social Democrats in all polls, though Schulz’s campaign has not hit full gear yet.
Possible coalitions could include an SPD-Green-Left alliance and a CDU/CSU-FDP-Green combination.
Polls say the biggest share of voters prefers a rerun of Merkel’s “grand coalition” with the SPD.
What is at stake?
Merkel is the most powerful European leader of modern times and sets the tone on everything from fiscal policy to the EU’s stance on Russia.
Schulz is a pillar of the political establishment, so a victory for him would see more continuity than change.
However, a defeat for Merkel would see Germany — and Europe — lose her clout and experience on global affairs.
Likely this year
Malaysia general election
Who is competing?
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional coalition is seeking to extend 60 years of uninterrupted rule. It is up against a group of opposition parties that have been fractured by infighting and have competed against each other in some smaller elections.
The opposition has no central leader, and the main Islamic opposition party has shown interest in backing Najib on some policies.
What do the polls show?
Nationwide polls have not been published. While an opposition research outfit says support has fallen among ethnic Malays for Najib’s United Malays National Organisation, many analysts see his coalition retaining power — possibly with an increased majority.
What is at stake?
Najib is seeking to put behind him a political funding scandal that has tainted much of his second term as leader. A stronger mandate would help him push reforms to move Malaysia closer to becoming a developed nation and improve its finances.
Renewed political instability could deter foreign funds from investing and keep companies from increasing capital expenditure.
By May next year
Italian general election
Who is competing?
Former prime minister Matteo Renzi is likely to run for the Democratic Party of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
He would probably face Luigi Di Maio, vice president of the lower house, from the Five Star Movement.
Other candidates are expected to include the Northern League’s Matteo Salvini.
What do the polls show?
An Ixe poll on Friday showed the Five Star Movement tied with the Democratic Party at 28 percent.
The Northern League was on 13 percent, and the Forza Italia party of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had 12 percent.
Who wins and the make-up of any coalition depends in part on electoral reform in coming months.
What is at stake?
Di Maio’s Five Star has called for a referendum on Italy’s euro membership, but has no clear plan on how to replace the single currency.
It would also decide the political fate of Renzi, a politician who wants to clean up the banking system, boost investment and speed up the judiciary to help revive an economy that has barely grown since the launch of the euro.
July next year
Mexico presidential election
Who is competing?
Two-time presidential candidate and radical populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is likely to face Margarita Zavala of the National Action Party, wife of former president Felipe Calderon.
Miguel Angel Osorio Chong is the candidate for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.
The candidacies have yet to become official.
What do the polls show?
Lopez Obrador, who is from the Morena party, is the leading contender in most opinion polls, followed closely by Zavala. Osorio Chong is a distant third.
What is at stake?
Mexico’s energy sector and NAFTA overhaul. Lopez Obrador has said he would seek to legally overturn the country’s landmark energy reform if he is elected, and his combative style might make NAFTA renegotiations with the Trump administration far more divisive, increasing risks of a breakdown in talks.
October next year
Brazil presidential election
Who is competing?
The field is wide open. President Michel Temer says he will not run and traditional party loyalties have collapsed, meaning a myriad of candidates could compete.
Nobody has officially launched a candidacy yet, but former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he might stage a comeback.
What do the polls show?
Lula leads opinion polls with about 30 percent, followed by Marina Silva, an environmental activist-turned politician, and Jair Bolsonaro, a legislator known for his homophobic and sexist remarks.
Sao Paulo Mayor Joao Doria, an entrepreneur and reality TV star, gained the most traction in some of the country’s largest cities.
What is at stake?
The political stability of Latin America’s largest economy and the durability of its economic recovery.
Widespread disillusionment after a severe recession could bring to power an outsider or populist unable to build consensus in Congress and unwilling to adhere to fiscal discipline.
The uncertainty over the election is already dampening investor and consumer confidence.
Nov. 6 next year
US congressional elections
Who is competing?
Every one of the 435 House seats will be up for election, along with a third of the 100 senators.
On the Senate side that includes a few vulnerable Republicans like Dean Heller of Nevada, as well a number of Democrats running in states that Trump won, including Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
What do the polls show?
It is early. Trump’s low poll ratings are giving Democrats hopes of picking up seats in both chambers, but the electoral map is challenging for them.
What is at stake?
Democrats would love to win control of at least one chamber of Congress to have better leverage to counter Trump’s agenda and gain leverage over Supreme Court nominations.
On the Senate side, more Democratic-held seats are up for re-election, making it a challenge for them to pick up the three seats needed to take over the chamber.
Republicans have a firmer lock on the House, but are almost certain to lose some seats.
Additional reporting by Shamim Adam, Brendan Scott, John Follain, Vivianne Rodrigues, Rosalind Mathieson, Nacha Cattan, Kevin Whitelaw and Raymond Colitt.
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
Lately, China has been inviting Taiwanese influencers to travel to China’s Xinjiang region to make films, weaving a “beautiful Xinjiang” narrative as an antidote to the international community’s criticisms by creating a Potemkin village where nothing is awry. Such manipulations appear harmless — even compelling enough for people to go there — but peeling back the shiny veneer reveals something more insidious, something that is hard to ignore. These films are not only meant to promote tourism, but also harbor a deeper level of political intentions. Xinjiang — a region of China continuously listed in global human rights reports —
RSS