|
1 March 2015 Uruguay
Tabaré Vázquez was inaugurated for a five-year term as President. Vázquez, of the left-wing Frente Amplio, had been elected in October 2014 with almost 48% of the votes cast. He succeeded the popular José Mujica, also of the Frente Amplio, as head of state. Vázquez had previously served as President in 2005–10.
27 February 2015 Comoros
The Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante announced provisional results of the legislative elections held over two rounds on 25 January and 22 February. According to these, the Union pour le Développement des Comores secured eight of the 24 elective seats, while the Juwa party took seven and the Convention pour le Renouveau des Comores and the Rassemblement Démocratique des Comores each won two seats. Some 71.1% of the eligible electorate participated in the first round, and voter turnout in the second round was about 73.1%.
24 February 2015 Greece
Eurozone ministers of finance approved a number of economic reforms proposed by the Synaspismos Rizospastikis Aristeras (SYRIZA—the Coalition of the Radical Left)-led Government, in fulfilment of a pre-condition for the agreement of a four-month extension of the country’s funding arrangements. The extension required the assent of a number of national parliaments and, significantly, was approved by the German legislature three days later. The negotiations with the so-called Eurogroup ministers followed parliamentary elections in Greece on 25 January, at which SYRIZA had secured 149 seats (two seats fewer than the 151 seats required to secure an overall majority) in the 300-seat Vouli (Parliament), compared with the 76 seats secured by the centre-right Nea Demokratia (ND—New Democracy), led by the hitherto Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras. Strong opposition from within the eurozone, and fears that Greece might be compelled to abandon the euro, had led the coalition Government of the SYRIZA leader and new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, to dilute its pledges to renegotiate the terms of Greece’s lending agreements.
18 February 2015 Moldova
After prolonged negotiations, Parlamentul (Parliamentl) voted to confirm the appointment of a minority coalition Government known as the Alianţa Politică pentru Moldova Europeană (Political Alliance for a European Moldova), comprising members of the Partidul Liberal Democrat din Moldova (PLDM—Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova) and the Partidul Democrat din Moldova (Democratic Party of Moldova). As, following elections held on 30 November 2014, the two parties held only 42 of the 101 legislative seats, the coalition would also require the support of the Partidul Comuniştilor din Republica Moldova (Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova), which had 21 deputies and was notably less sympathetic to Moldova’s participation in European integration than the coalition parties. Attempts to incorporate another pro-European party, the Partidul Liberal (Liberal Party), into the coalition had proved unsuccessful. The new Prime Minister was Chiril Gaburici of the PLDM, who succeeded Iurie Leancă of the same party, while several ministers in the outgoing Government (which had also included members of the Partidul Liberal Reformator—Liberal Reformist Party) retained their existing posts.
|
 |
16 February 2015 Timor-Leste
A new unity Government was sworn in, following the resignation as Prime Minister on 6 February of the independence hero Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, who had served as the country’s first President from 2002-07. The new premier, Rui Maria de Araújo, a member of the opposition Fretilin party, had been nominated by the governing party as part of an inclusive restructuring of the Government aimed at promoting stability in the country. Xanana Gusmão took the role of Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment in the new administration.
16 February 2015 Republic of Korea
The National Assembly approved the appointment of Lee Wan-Koo as Prime Minister by 148 votes to 128. He was sworn in the following day. The previous Prime Minister, Chung Hong-Won, had offered his resignation in April 2014 to take responsibility for the sinking of a ferry in which 304 people died. However, he had remained in his post as President Park Geun-Hye’s previous two nominees for Prime Minister were forced to withdraw amid controversy. Lee Wan-Koo announced that his priority as premier would be to revive the economy.
6 February 2015 Yemen
The leadership of the al-Houthi Movement, a Shi‘a Muslim group that sought greater autonomy for the northern province of Saada, published a ‘constitutional declaration’, dissolving the House of Representatives and instituting a five-member presidential council to govern the country for a period of two years. A transitional national council was to replace the dissolved legislature. The UN, under the auspices of which reconciliation talks had been taking place between Yemeni political organizations, rejected the declaration as illegitimate. These developments followed the apparent resignations of President Abd al-Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi and the Council of Ministers on 23 January 2015 amid the ongoing occupation of strategic sites in the capital, San‘a, by al-Houthi fighters. On 23 February, however, it was reported that al-Hadi had retracted his resignation as President.
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.
|