Turkmenistan
under the 1992 constitution, there are two
parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk
Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some
of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed;
meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last
held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)
election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note -
all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of
Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV
note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of
the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative
organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and
the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its
supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the
constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the
president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and
the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of
making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative
branches of government
Turks and Caicos Islands
unicameral Legislative Council (19 seats of
which 13 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 April 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 53.8%, PNP 46.2%;
seats by party - PDM 7, PNP 6; note - in by-elections held 7 August
2003, the PNP gained two seats for a majority of 8 seats; PDM now
has 5
Tuvalu
unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of
Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15
Uganda
unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly
elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special
interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8
ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held by June 2006);
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted
Ukraine
unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats;
under recent amendments to Ukraine's election law, the Rada's seats
are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3%
or more of the national electoral vote; members serve five-year
terms beginning with the next election in 2006)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held March 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Our Ukraine 24%,
CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%,
United Social Democratic Party 6%, other 24%; seats by party/bloc -
Our Ukraine 101, Regions of Ukraine 61, CPU 59, Working Ukraine 14,
United Social Democratic Party 33, Agrarian Party 22, SPU 20, Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc 19, United Ukraine 19, People's Democratic
Party-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 16, Center Group 15,
Democratic Initiatives 14, unaffiliated 57 (December 2004)
note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the
Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's
Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine, and Working
Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; these factions have since
undergone a number of changes
United Arab Emirates
unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or
Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the
rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms)
elections: none
note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto
United Kingdom
bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords
(consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and
26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless
the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as
provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House
of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain
there; pending further reforms, elections are held only as vacancies
in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May
2005 (next to be held by May 2010)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%;
seats by party - Labor 356, Conservative 197, Liberal Democrat 62,
other 31; note - as of 30 September 2005 the seats by party - Labor
354, Conservative 196, Liberal Democrat 62, other 34
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly
(because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer
of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of
1999 and has been suspended four times the latest occurring in
October 2002); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish
Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly
United States
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats,
one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from
each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of
Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular
vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held
November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004
(next to be held November 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1;
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4
Uruguay
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of
Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of
Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to
be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31
October 2004 (next to be held October 2009)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber
of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party
- EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1
Uzbekistan
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an
Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional
governing councils to serve five-year terms and 16 are appointed by
the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (120 seats;
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be
held December 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - NA; Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9,
unaffiliated 10
note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV