Japan
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors
or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half
reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat
constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House
of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for
four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by
proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be
held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 11
September 2005 (next election by September 2009)
election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party -
NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5,
others 7; distribution of seats as of January 2006 - LDP 112, DPJ
83, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 8
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ
36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31,
JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24; distribution of seats as of January 2006 -
LDP 294, DPJ 112, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 27 (2006)
Jersey
unicameral Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12
senators (elected for six-year terms), 12 constables or heads of
parishes (elected for three-year terms), 29 deputies (elected for
three-year terms); the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and three
non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and
the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA); note - on 23 November
2005, 29 deputies, independents, were elected
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 55
Jordan
bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of
the Senate, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) (55
seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories
of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of
Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (Majlis
al-Nuwaab) (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis
of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); note - six
seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special
electoral panel if no women are elected
elections: House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003 (next
to be held in 2007)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - independents and other 89.6%, IAF 10.4%; seats by party -
independents and other 92, IAF 18; note - one of the six quota seats
was given to a female IAF candidate
note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved
by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989, the first
parliamentary elections in 22 years were held; political parties
were not legalized until 1992; King ABDALLAH delayed the 2001
elections until 2003
Kazakhstan
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats; 7
senators are appointed by the president; other members are elected
by local government bodies, 2 from each of the 14 oblasts, the
capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year terms;
note - formerly composed of 47 seats) and the Mazhilis (77 seats; 10
out of the 77 Mazhilis members are elected from the winning party's
lists; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held December 2005; next to be
held in 2011; Mazhilis - last held 19 September and 3 October 2004
(next to be held in September 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - NA; candidates nominated by local councils; Mazhilis -
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Otan 42, AIST 11,
ASAR (All Together) 4, Aq Zhol (Bright Path) 1, Democratic Party 1
(party refused to take the seat due to criticism of the election and
seat remained unoccupied), independent 18; note - most independent
candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other
pro-government institutions
Kenya
unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called
"nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected
by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2
ex-officio members)
elections: last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held by early 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7; ex-officio 2; seats appointed
by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1
Kiribati
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42
seats; 39 elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the
attorney general, 1 appointed to represent Banaba, and 1 other;
members serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first
round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 (next to be
held by November 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general)
Korea, North
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin
Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year
terms)
elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected
without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Korea, South
unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats -
members elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat
constituencies, 56 by proportional representation)
elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008;
byelections held on 30 April 2005 and on 26 October 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP
3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 144, GNP 127, DP 11, DLP
9, ULD 3, independents 5
note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party
reflect results of April and October 2005 byelections involving six
and four seats respectively; MDP became DP in May 2005; United
Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006. (2006)
Kuwait
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA; note - all
cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National
Assembly
Kyrgyzstan
unicameral Supreme Council or Jorgorku Kenesh (75 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five year terms)
elections: elections for the new unicameral body or Jorgorku Kenesh
were held 27 February 2005, but the vast majority of positions
remained undecided and were contested in a runoff election on 13
March 2005; election irregularities caused widespread protests that
resulted in the president being forced to flee the country
election results: Supreme Council - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - NA