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25 January 2015 Greece
Parliamentary elections took place, at which Synaspismos Rizospastikis Aristeras (SYRIZA—the Coalition of the Radical Left) secured 149 seats (two seats fewer than the 151 seats required to secure an overall majority) in the 300-seat Vouli (Parliament). The centre-right Nea Demokratia (ND—New Democracy), led by the hitherto Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, obtained 76 seats. The following day SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as Prime Minister, pledging to renegotiate the terms of Greece’s lending agreements with its international creditors, largely comprising other eurozone member states. A new Government was to be formed in coalition with the small, rightist Anexartitoi Ellines (Independent Greeks), which secured 13 seats in the Vouli, and which also opposed continued adherence to stringent austerity measures.
25 January 2015 Zambia
Edgar Lungu, who won the presidential election held on 20 January, was sworn in as President. According to results released by the Electoral Commission of Zambia on 24 January, Lungu, representing the Patriotic Front, secured 48.8% of the valid votes cast. His nearest challenger, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development, took 47.2% of the votes, while none of the other nine candidates won more than 1%. The rate of participation was officially recorded at 32.4% of the registered electorate. Following his election, Lungu announced a number of government appointments, including that of Inonge Wina as Vice-President, who became the first woman to hold this office.
23 January 2015 Saudi Arabia
The death of King Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Sa‘ud was announced. Crown Prince Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Sa‘ud was immediately confirmed as the new monarch. Prince Muqrin ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Sa‘ud was elevated to Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, while the Minister of the Interior, Muhammad ibn Nayef Al Sa‘ud, became Deputy Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister. Prince Muhammad ibn Salman Al Sa‘ud succeeded his father, the new King, as Minister of Defence.
14 January 2015 Italy
President Giorgio Napolitano, head of state since 2006, announced that he was to step down from the presidency part-way through his second term in office, citing poor health. Napolitano, aged 89, had been persuaded to stand for re-election in April 2013 during a time of political deadlock following a general election, and after the electoral college convened to elect the President had failed, in the first five rounds of voting, to produce a clear winner.
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11 January 2015 Croatia
Following a second round of voting in the presidential election, preliminary results indicated that Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović had secured 50.7% of the votes cast, becoming Croatia’s first female President. The incumbent, Ivo Josipović, was the second-placed candidate, with 49.3% of the votes. The rate of participation by the electorate was some 59.1%. Grabar-Kitarović was to be sworn into office on 19 February.
8 January 2015 Sri Lanka
At an early presidential election Maithripala Sirisena was victorious, securing 51.3% of the votes cast. The incumbent President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, won 47.6% of the votes, while 17 other candidates also contested the election, none of whom won more than 0.2% of the votes. Turnout was estimated at 81.5%. Although both of the main candidates were members of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sirisena had served as Minister of Health in Rajapaksa’s Government until the announcement of his candidacy in November 2014), the victor contested the election as the common candidate of the main opposition parties. Sirisena was inaugurated as President on 9 January 2015 and a new coalition Cabinet was sworn in on 12 January; Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the United National Party, was appointed Prime Minister. Sirisena pledged to amend the Constitution in order to replace the executive presidency with a fully parliamentary system of government and to hold parliamentary elections within 100 days of coming to power.
21 December Tunisia
At a presidential run-off election, Béji Caïd Essebsi secured 55.7% of the valid votes cast, thus becoming Tunisia’s first freely elected President. His opponent, Moncef Marzouki, took 44.3% of the vote. Turnout was recorded at 60.1%. Essebsi was formally sworn into office on 31 December, and on 5 January 2015 he instructed Habib Essid to form a new government.
17 December Cuba
The Presidents of Cuba and the USA announced their countries’ intention to resume full diplomatic relations after almost 54 years of hostilities. The simultaneous declaration by Raúl Castro and Barack Obama followed 18 months of secret negotiations, overseen by Pope Francis and the Government of Canada. The agreement to normalize relations between the two countries encompassed the release of prisoners, including the last remaining three prisoners of the so-called ‘Cuban Five’, who had been jailed in the USA on spying charges, and Alan Gross, a US citizen imprisoned in Cuba since 2009 also after being convicted of espionage. However, the US trade embargo of Cuba remained in place.
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