President and ruling parties win majority in Kurdish vote, opposition has strong showing

September 16th, 2009 Fall election in Canada increasingly unlikelyTORONTO — A fall election in Canada grew increasingly unlikely Wednesday after the opposition New Democratic party said it would prop up Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government long enough to pass legislation to help the unemployed. The decision comes one day after the Bloc Quebecois party also said it would support Harper, and all but rules out an election this fall.

September 15th, 2009 Canada to avoid immediate electionTORONTO — One of Canada's opposition parties said Tuesday it will prop up Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government in a no-confidence vote this week, averting an immediate election. Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party will vote for the government's key budget bill Friday because there is nothing inherently wrong with it.

September 14th, 2009 Opposition party may back governmentTORONTO — One of Canada's opposition parties is signaling it might be willing to prop up Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government and avert a fall election. New Democratic Party lawmaker Paul Dewar said Monday his party may be willing to support the Conservative government's proposed unemployment insurance legislation.

September 1st, 2009 TORONTO - Canada, which has not seen a majority government since 2004, faces the prospect of its fourth general election in five years. In his statements Monday, opposition Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff didn't rule out the possibility of a snap election to end the minority rule of the Conservative Party.

August 31st, 2009 Japan's Aso steps down as head of ruling partyTOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso says he will quit his position as head of the country's ruling party. Aso apologized Monday for his party's major losses in national elections.

August 4th, 2009 A look at travel in Iraq's Kurdish regionTravelers are increasingly visiting Iraq's Kurdish provinces. A look at the area and some of the issues: THE REGION: The self-ruled Kurdish area of Iraq makes up the northern part of the country and has borders with Iran, Syria and Turkey.

August 1st, 2009 Venezuela OKs redistricting opposed by Chavez foesCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan lawmakers on Friday approved an election law to redraw voting districts, a step that President Hugo Chavez's opponents say will give his party a big advantage in next year's congressional vote. Ruling party lawmaker Iroshima Bravo downplayed the opposition's concerns that voting district boundaries could be redrawn to favor the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV.

July 29th, 2009 Iraq: Ruling parties keep power in Kurdish voteIRBIL, Iraq — A new opposition group registered surprising gains in weekend elections in the self-ruled Kurdish north, but the two ruling parties that have clashed with Baghdad over disputed land and oil maintained a strong grip on power, officials said Wednesday. Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections in the three northern Kurdish provinces were closely watched because the U.S.

July 27th, 2009 Final returns show Kyrgyz president wins 2nd termBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Election officials say President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has overwhelmingly won a second term taking 76 percent of the vote in the Central Asian country that is critical to U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

July 27th, 2009 Reform party makes gains among Iraq KurdsBAGHDAD — A Kurdish opposition group has made an surprisingly strong showing in elections for the Kurdish self-rule region in northern Iraq, tapping into widespread frustration over alleged corruption and intimidation by the longtime ruling establishment. Despite their internal differences, Kurds were united in their hard line in disputes with Iraq's Arabs over oil-rich territory, which threaten to erupt into new violence even as the U.S.

July 26th, 2009 Opposition in Iraqi Kurd elections claims gainsSULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — An opposition party on Sunday claimed there had been violations in the presidential and parliamenary elections in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region but said it still expected a strong showing. The opposition front called "Change" was at the heart of a push for reform in a bid to shake up the political establishment in Iraq's three Kurdish-ruled provinces that have been dominated by two parties for decades.

July 25th, 2009 ARBIL - Iraqis went to polls Saturday in the Kurdish regional parliamentary and presidential elections that will determine the leadership of the country's Kurdish region. Voting started at 8.00 a.m.

July 13th, 2009 Japan opposition parties send no-confidence motionTOKYO — Japan's main opposition party says it submitted a no-confidence motion to parliament against the prime minister and his Cabinet. Democratic Party of Japan spokesman Toshiaki Oikawa says the motion was submitted together with other opposition parties.

June 23rd, 2009 Iraqi Kurds seek change in parliamentary campaignSULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Kurdish candidates have begun campaigning for the first elections in four years in their semiautonomous territory in northern Iraq — and the kickoff heralds an unusually bitter campaign. The July 25 vote for a new 111-seat Kurdish National Assembly is expected to cast a spotlight on allegations of corruption and financial improprieties among the entrenched political parties who have held sway in this northern region for decades.

March 11th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik won a trust vote in the state assembly Wednesday amid a walkout by the opposition protesting the manner in which the motion had been taken up. Despite vociferous opposition from the opposition, Speaker Kishor Mohanty put the motion moved by the government to a voice vote and declared it had won majority support in the 147-member house.