elects

Paz, the son of a former president, promises ‘capitalism for all’ as election ends 20 years of socialist government.

Bolivians have elected Rodrigo Paz of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party (PDC) as their new president, ending almost 20 years of governance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Paz had won 54.5 percent of the vote in Sunday’s run-off race, well ahead of right-wing former interim President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, with 45.4 percent of the vote, according to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Paz, 58, followed his father, former left-wing President Jaime Zamora, into politics.

After studying economics in the United States, Paz returned home to Bolivia, where he went on to become a city councillor and mayor of the southern city of Tarija, before becoming a senator for the region in 2020.

He has pledged a “capitalism for all” approach, promising tax cuts, tariff reductions, and the decentralisation of the national government.

After the results were announced, Paz’s vice-presidential running mate, Edmand Lara, made a call for “unity and reconciliation”.

“We must ensure the supply of diesel and gasoline. People are suffering. We need to stabilise the prices of the basic food basket, and we must put an end to corruption,” Lara said.

Sunday’s run-off came after the incumbent MAS party suffered a major defeat in August’s preliminary election, after former left-wing President Evo Morales was barred from running and outgoing President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race.

Courts had ruled against Morales’s candidacy over term limits and technicalities related to party affiliation.

The division within their left-wing coalition, along with the country’s deep economic crisis, meant few expected MAS to return to power.

Outside of the National Congress, the new president will still face stiff opposition from Morales, who remains popular, especially among Indigenous Bolivians.

On Sunday, Morales told reporters that the two candidates each represented only “a handful of people in Bolivia”.

“They do not represent the popular movement, much less the Indigenous movement,” he said.

Arce is due to leave office on November 8 after serving a single presidential term that began in 2020. Bolivia’s constitution allows for two terms, but he did not seek re-election.

Economic woes

The Andean country has been struggling through an economic crisis, including annual inflation of almost 25 percent and critical shortages of US dollars and fuel.

Bolivians took to the streets to protest high prices and hours-long waits for fuel, bread and other basics in the lead-up to the August 17 general election.

Bolivia had enjoyed more than a decade of strong growth and Indigenous upliftment under Morales, who nationalised the gas sector and ploughed the proceeds into social programmes that halved extreme poverty during his stint in power between 2006 and 2019.

But after Morales, who was outspoken on environmental issues and climate change, chose not to expand the country’s gas sector, energy revenues fell from a peak of $6.1bn in 2013 to $1.6bn in 2024, seeing the government run out of foreign exchange needed to import fuel, wheat and other foodstuffs.

Meanwhile, Paz has been unclear about whether he plans to continue a fuel subsidy that has cost the government billions of dollars, at times saying he will restrict it to “vulnerable sectors” of the population.

Cheng Li-wun will take over the leadership of Kuomintang party on November 1.

Taiwan’s main opposition party has chosen a new reformist leader who is critical of high defence spending but envisions peace with neighbouring China, whose sovereignty claims over the island have long roiled ties.

Members of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, which traditionally has had warm ties with Beijing, voted to elect former lawmaker Cheng Li-wun as chairperson on Saturday.

Cheng, 55, who defeated former Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin and four others, will take over the party leadership on November 1.

The election of Cheng, who warns against letting Taiwan “become the sacrifice of geopolitics”, has deep implications for domestic politics at a time of heightened military and political tensions with China.

While the KMT does not control the presidency, the party and its ally – the small Taiwan People’s Party – together hold enough seats to form a majority bloc in the legislature, creating a headache for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) trying to get the budget and its legislation passed.

Speaking at party headquarters in Taipei, Cheng said the KMT under her leadership would be a “creator of regional peace”.

“The KMT will make our home the strongest shelter for everyone against life’s storms. Because we will safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait,” she said. “We must not let Taiwan become a troublemaker.”

Accusations of Chinese interference

Cheng, who started out in politics in the DPP, said during the campaign that she did not support increasing the defence budget, a key policy of President William Lai Ching-te’s administration that also has strong backing from the United States.

Cheng beat the establishment candidate Hau, 73, with more than 50 percent of the vote, though turnout was less than 40 percent of the party members.

But accusations of Chinese interference in the election from a key supporter of Hau’s, the KMT’s vice presidential candidate last year, Jaw Shau-kong, overshadowed the campaign. Jaw said social media accounts had spread disinformation about Hau.

The head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming-yen, said it found more than 1,000 videos discussing the election on TikTok, in addition to 23 YouTube accounts posting related content, with over half of the YouTube accounts based outside of Taiwan. He did not say which candidates these videos supported or directly answer whether they were based in China.

DPP spokesperson Wu Cheng claimed that Chinese interference was obvious and the KMT should carefully guard against it, saying his party hoped that the new chair would prioritise Taiwan’s safety over party interests.

Cheng rejected the allegations of China influencing her party as “very cheap labels”.

Beijing, for its part, said the election was a KMT matter and that some online comments from mainland China internet users did not represent an official stance.

Sanae Takaichi has been elected to lead Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and is therefore likely become the next prime minister, the first female to lead the nation in its history.

Takaichi beat Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in a run-off vote on Saturday after none of the five candidates won a majority in the first round of voting.

A former economic security minister, Takaichi, 64, skews towards the right-wing flank of the LDP.

A vote in parliament to choose the next prime minister is expected to be held on Oct. 15.

Takaichi is expected to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba since the LDP remains the largest in parliament. However, following the recent elections, the LDP-led coalition no longer holds majorities in either chamber and will require cooperation from opposition lawmakers to govern effectively.

More to come…

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

The vote comes a week after Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office amid an ethics scandal.

Thailand’s parliament has elected Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the conservative opposition Bhumjaithai party, as the country’s prime minister.

The vote on Friday means Anutin will replace Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, who was dismissed by the Constitutional Court last month over an ethics scandal.

Anutin secured victory over Chaikasem Nitisiri, the candidate of the populist Pheu Thai, with the support of the liberal People’s Party.

That backing from the largest party in the 500-seat parliament was premised on a promise from Anutin to call a general election within four months.

While voting and counting were still proceeding, the Bhumjaithai leader was confirmed to have won more than 247 votes, the required majority from the House of Representatives’ 492 active members.

His final total must be certified after voting is completed. He and his government are expected to take office in a few days after obtaining a formal appointment from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Veteran Anutin’s election deals another blow to the Shinawatra clan, which has been a mainstay of Thai politics for the past two decades.

Their populist movement has long jousted with the pro-military, pro-monarchy establishment, but has been increasingly bedevilled by legal and political setbacks.

The dynasty’s patriarch, Thaksin Shinawatra, flew out of Thailand in the hours ahead of Friday’s vote, bound for Dubai.

Anutin once backed the Pheu Thai coalition, but abandoned it in the summer in apparent outrage over Paetongtarn’s conduct during a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia.

This is a developing news story. More to follow shortly …

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to lead the impoverished Latin American country through crisis before oil wealth arrives.

Suriname has elected Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as its first female president, with parliament backing the 71-year-old physician and lawmaker to lead the crisis-hit South American nation.

Her election came after a coalition deal was struck in the National Assembly, which voted by a two-thirds majority on Sunday.

The move followed inconclusive May polls and mounting pressure to replace outgoing President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, whose tenure was marred by corruption scandals and harsh austerity.

Geerlings-Simons, leader of the National Democratic Party, ran unopposed and will take office on July 16.

“I am aware that the heavy task I have taken on is further aggravated by the fact that I am the first woman to serve the country in this position,” she said after her confirmation.

She will be joined by running mate Gregory Rusland, as the pair inherit a country struggling under the weight of economic hardship, reduced subsidies, and widespread frustration. While Santokhi’s government managed to restructure debt and restore macroeconomic stability with IMF backing, it also triggered mass protests over deep cuts.

With Suriname expected to begin producing offshore oil in 2028, Geerlings-Simons has promised to focus on stabilising state finances. She has previously pledged to boost revenues by tightening tax collection, including from small-scale gold miners.

Economists warn she faces a rocky road ahead. Winston Ramautarsingh, former head of the national economists’ association, said Suriname must repay about $400m annually in debt servicing.

“Suriname does not have that money,” he said. “The previous government rescheduled the debts, but that was only a postponement.”

Geerlings-Simons will now be tasked with steering the Dutch-speaking country of 646,000 people through a fragile period, balancing public discontent with the promise of future oil wealth.

As Suriname prepares to mark 50 years since gaining independence from the Netherlands this November, the small South American country is pinning its hopes on a new era driven by oil wealth and deepening ties with China.

In 2019, it joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, becoming one of the first Latin American states to sign on to the vast infrastructure project.

Suriname is one of the continent’s poorest nations, despite its rich ethnic tapestry that includes descendants of Africans, Indigenous groups, Indians, Indonesians, Chinese, and Dutch settlers.

July 7 (UPI) — Suriname’s parliament has elected its first female president, voting doctor and former parliamentary speaker Jennifer Simons to lead the South American country.

Thirty-four of 50 parliamentarians voted for Simons on Sunday to helm Suriname for a five-year term, the National Assembly confirmed in a release.

The 71-year-old is set to be inaugurated July 16.

“In 2030, we must hand over a country that is better off than it is now,” she said in a statement following her election. “Economically, administratively and socially, there must be clear signs of progress. This is not a task for one person or a few ministers. Everyone is needed to rebuild Suriname.”

Gregory Russia also received the support of 34 parliamentarians for vice president.

“My task is clear,” Russia said, “I will act as a bridge between policy and implementation, between president and society, between government and opposition, between city and district, between present and future.”

Simons’ election comes after the May 25 general election resulted in a divided parliament, leading to a coalition-led government and the election of the country’s first female president.

Simons is the leader of the National Democratic Party.

It also comes as the developing country prepares to handle a potential massive influx of wealth as multiple discoveries of offshore oil deposits are expected to begin production in 2028.

According to United Nations data, some 113 countries have never had a woman as the head of state.