Elections Archives

Poland's ruling nationalists have proposed changing the constitution to extend President Andrzej Duda's term by two years because of threats related to the coronavirus pandemic, a draft bill filed with the parliament showed late on Wednesday (15 April).

Poland will gradually lift lockdown measures imposed to contain the new coronavirus from Sunday, the government said on Tuesday (14 April) as the nation prepares for a presidential election on 10 May.

Polish lawmakers are to debate a proposal to tighten already restrictive abortion rules on Wednesday (15 April), while rights activists protested on social media as coronavirus limits public gatherings.

Poland's parliament has backed a plan to conduct the presidential election on 10 May by postal ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic, raising concerns among democracy advocates that the vote will not be fair or fully transparent.

Pro-European centrist Keir Starmer was on Saturday (4 April) unveiled as new Labour party leader, heralding a shift in Britain's main opposition party after a crushing election defeat under veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn and years of ideological infighting.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday (3 April) he has "no time" for scathing criticism by EU allies of sweeping powers he took on this week to tackle the coronavirus threat.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday (31 March) that coronavirus emergency measures by EU countries must be "limited", in a veiled reference to Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orbán, who used the pandemic to take on sweeping powers.

A "dictatorship" at the heart of the EU? A draft law to grant anti-coronavirus emergency measures set for adoption by Budapest has alarmed observers who fear it will hand Prime Minister Viktor Orbán unlimited power.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (16 March) ordered stringent restrictions on people's movement to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and said the army would be drafted in to help move the sick to hospitals.

With a record abstention estimated between 53.5% and 56%, the French deserted the polling stations Sunday (15 March) during the first round of municipal elections, held during a coronavirus pandemic.

The French municipal elections which will take place on 16 March are the first since President Macron was elected and an important test of his popularity. They are also the first set of municipal elections in which British citizens in France will be unable to vote.

Thousands of people have died, the US response has infuriated European allies, and China has gone on a propaganda offensive. The new coronavirus is shaping up to be a cataclysmic event with far-reaching consequences in global politics.

Germany will spend what it takes to tackle the coronavirus which is likely to infect up to 70% of the population in Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday (11 March).

With Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren dropping out of the Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are the only Democrats front-runners left in this year's presidential race. But do Germans thinks they are more economically literate than Donald Trump? EURACTIV's partner WirtschaftsWoche reports.

Austria will stop any migrants attempting to rush its border if measures to halt them in Greece and through the Balkans fail, conservative Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said on Sunday (1 March).

The conservative movement Ordinary People (OĽaNO) party won Saturday’s (29 February) parliamentary elections in Slovakia and will be the dominant player in a likely government coalition of opposition parties. Its leader Igor Matovič promises zero tolerance for corruption.

Slovakia’s parliamentary elections on Saturday (29 February) are on course to redraw the country’s political map, and also its role in the European Union, writes Grigorij Mesežnikov.

Slovaks vote on Saturday (29 February) in a pivotal general election which sees the populist-left coalition trying to cling on to power ahead of centre-right party OLaNO.

The post-Brexit negotiations with the UK are particularly vital for Ireland and dealing with them requires a stable government in office, writes Dick Roche.

Italy's coronavirus crisis spread south on Tuesday (26 February) beyond its original epicentre in the north, as the death toll from the worst outbreak in Europe rose to 11 and the number of new cases jumped above 320, officials said.

The centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), led by former prime minister Janez  Janša, late on Tuesday (25 February) agreed on a future government coalition with three other parties, the four parties said.

Voters in Hamburg gave the SPD one of their best election results in recent years in a regional election on Sunday (23 February). With 38,9% of the vote, Peter Tschentscher (SPD) will continue as the city’s mayor, while the Greens doubled their share of the vote to reach 24,4%. Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU, however, performed poorly.

An anti-immigration campaign launched by a Serbian rightwing nationalist party has sparked unease within the disparate opposition coalition to which it belongs.

Ireland's Fianna Fáil will step up efforts to form a government by starting formal engagement with other parties, except Sinn Féin, after marginally winning the most seats at an inconclusive 8 February election.