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26 July 2021 Saint Lucia
The United Workers Party (UWP) under Prime Minister Allan Chastanet suffered a heavy defeat in the general election, retaining only two of the 11 seats it previously held in the House of Assembly. The Saint Lucia Labour Party, led by Philip Pierre, won 13 seats, while two seats were secured by independent candidates, both former UWP members. Pierre was expected to form a new Government in the coming days.
25 July 2021 Tunisia
President Kaïs Saïed announced in a televised address that he had removed the Prime Minister from office and suspended the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP) for a period of 30 days. He later also dismissed the Minister of Defence and the acting Minister of Justice, assuming both portfolios himself. The Speaker of the ARP, Rached Ghannouchi, denounced the President’s actions as ‘unconstitutional’ and accused him of carrying out a ‘coup’. On 26 July Ghannouchi and deputies from a number of parties were prevented from entering the parliament building by the armed forces. These developments were the culmination of a long-running dispute between Saïed and both Mechichi and Ghannouchi, which began in January 2021 when the President refused to swear in a new Council of Ministers nominated by Mechichi, despite its prior approval by the ARP.
19 July 2021 Peru
The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) declared Pedro Castillo President-elect following the run-off presidential ballot of 6 June. Castillo, a former teacher and union leader of the left-wing Perú Libre party, had secured 50.1% of the valid votes, while Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing Fuerza Popular garnered 49.9%. Fujimori launched a series of legal challenges against the close run results, and alleged that electoral fraud had occurred, but following an investigation and several recounts, the JNE declared that no irregularities had been discovered. Castillo was scheduled to be inaugurated on 28 July.
14 July 2021 Cuba
The Government announced that from 19 July arrivals into Cuba would be able to bring with them unlimited amounts of medicines, food and hygiene products. The move was in response to ongoing nationwide protests against shortages of food and medicines and the high cost of essential items, as well as the Communist Government’s poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infection rates had been rising for several weeks, and the health service was close to collapse. Although Cuba had developed a vaccine against COVID-19, rollout of the immunization programme was slow. The economy, struggling for years in the face of US sanctions, was badly affected by COVID-19, particularly the vital tourism sector, while a currency reform had exacerbated price rises. Demonstrations, the largest in six decades, began on 11 July, and spread across the island. Security forces were deployed to contain the protesters; at least 140 people were arrested and one man killed.
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11 July 2021 Bulgaria
Legislative elections took place, scheduled after no party had been able to form a government after elections held in April. The new, populist Ima Takav Narod (ITN—There is such a People), led by well-known singer and television presenter Slavi Trifonov, was the first-placed party, with 24.1% of the votes and 65 of the 240 seats in the legislature. An alliance of the centre-right Grazhdani za Evropeysko Razvitie na Balgariya (GERB—Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and the Sayuz na Demokratichnite Sili (SDS—Union of Democratic Forces) secured 23.5% of the votes and 63 seats, and an alliance led by the Balgarska Sotsialisticheska Partiya (BSP—Bulgarian Socialist Party) won 13.4% and 36 seats. Demokratichnite Bulgariya won 12.6% and 34 seats, the Dvizhenie za Prava i Svobodi (DPS—Movement for Rights and Freedoms), traditionally supported by the Turkish minority, won 10.7% of the votes and 29 seats, while the anti-corruption Izpravi se! Mutri vŭn! (Stand up! Mafia, get out!) coalition won 5.0% of the votes and 13 seats.
7 July 2021 Haiti
President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in Port-au-Prince by gunmen who broke into his home. His wife was also seriously injured. Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph called the murder of the President a ‘heinous, inhuman and barbaric act’ and declared a state of emergency. The neighbouring Dominican Republic announced the closure of its border with Haiti following the news of the President’s death. There had been increasing opposition to Moïse’s rule since February, when, according to many, his term in office had ended. However, Moïse had insisted that his five-year term did not end until February 2022, as he had not taken office until 2017. Moïse had been ruling by decree since January 2020, when the mandate of the legislature expired; elections were scheduled to be held in September following several delays.
18 June 2021 Iran
Ebrahim Raisi won an emphatic victory at the presidential election. According to an official announcement by the Minister of the Interior, Raisi (hitherto the Head of the Judiciary) secured 72.4% of the valid votes cast. His closest rival, Mohsen Rezaei, took just 13.8% of the vote. The remaining two candidates, Abdolnaser Hemmati and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, won 9.8% and 4.0%, respectively. Turnout was recorded at 48.8%, while the total number of blank or otherwise invalid votes—at almost 4.2m.—exceeded the votes cast for any of the losing candidates. Raisi was expected to be inaugurated as President in early August.
14 June 2021 Curacao
A new Government composed of members of the Movementu Futuro Kòrsou (MFK) and the Partido Nashonal di Pueblo (PNP) was sworn into office. The previous coalition had collapsed after the ruling Partido Antía Restrukturá lost its majority. No party won a majority of seats in the general election held on 19 March, but the MFK, led by Gilmar Pisas, and the PNP entered into negotiations to form a new coalition, overseen by formateur Chester Peterson. Pisas was appointed Prime Minister while PNP leader Ruthmilda Larmonie-Cecilia became Minister of Social Development, Labour and Welfare, as well as acting Minister of Economic Development.
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