Nov 10, 2019

Spain's Socialists set to win election as far-right doubles vote share

Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez. Photo: Charlie Perez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Spain's Socialist Party is poised to win the country's second parliamentary election in less than a year, but likely won't win enough seats to govern with a majority, according to preliminary results reported by AP.

The big picture: Socialist leader and acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the snap election — Spain's fourth in as many years — after his party won in the April elections but failed to reach a coalition agreement with other parties. Sunday's vote, which also saw the far-right populist party Vox surge to third place, could result in more political paralysis for a country that has struggled with stable governance in the years since the financial crisis.

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Zachary Basu

Boris Johnson vows not to extend Brexit transition period past 2020

Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The U.K.'s Conservative Party announced in its election manifesto published Sunday that if it wins a majority on Dec. 12, its government will seek to pass Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal by Jan. 31 and negotiate a free trade agreement with the European Union before December 2020.

Why it matters: The manifesto rules out extending the Brexit transition period, during which the country will continue to follow EU rules as the two sides hammer out a permanent trade deal. EU politicians have expressed skepticism that a comprehensive free trade agreement could be negotiated in such a short time period, meaning that the U.K. could crash out of the bloc in 2020 without a deal.

Go deeperNov 24, 2019

Zachary Basu

Only poll to predict 2017 U.K. election result forecasts huge Boris win

Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party is on pace to win a significant majority in the U.K.'s high-stakes election on Dec. 12, according to a major poll of 100,000 voters conducted by YouGov.

Why it matters: The so-called MRP poll, which takes local factors into account to provide a highly detailed prediction, was the only one to accurately predict that Theresa May would lose her majority in the shock 2017 election. If Johnson does indeed earn a majority of 68 seats, as the poll projects, he would finally be able to pass his Brexit deal and take the U.K. out of the European Union — 3.5 years after the 2016 referendum.

Go deeperNov 27, 2019

Rebecca Falconer, Ursula Perano

Pro-democracy parties triumph in key Hong Kong elections

Local residents celebrate outside a polling station as Junius Ho Kwan-yiu loses in the district council election on Nov. 25. Photo: Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a statement Monday her government will "listen" and "reflect" after pro-democracy parties swept pro-Beijing parties aside to triumph in the district council elections amid a record voter turnout.

Why it matters: The results show that many Hong Kong citizens back the pro-democracy protest movement. It's also a stinging rebuke for Lam and the Chinese government, both of whom have denounced activists and their acts of civil disobedience that have forced schools to close, caused transport chaos and disrupted business in the Asian financial hub.

Go deeperUpdated Nov 25, 2019