Onsets and Terminations of Democracy, 1955-2010: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/file.xhtml?fileId=2420019&version=RELEASED&version=.0

onsets-and-terminations-of-democracy-1955-2010-ulfelder.md

(Note: this is a spreadsheet-to-Markdown verbatim conversion of Jay Ulfelder's Onsets and Terminations of Democracy, 1955-2010.xls, who has all ownership and credit for this Gist.)

Albania 1991, autocracy->democracy

Under pressure from rising unrest, Prime Minister Ramiz Alia and the People's Assembly in 1990 began to enact judicial and constitutional reforms. On 11 December 1990, against a backdrop of student protest in Tirana, the government purged reform opponents from the Politburo of the Communist Party and legalized political parties. The next day, thousands of students, intellectuals, and workers gathered in Tirana and announced the formation of the country's first opposition party in 46 years, the Democratic Party of Albania (PDS). Citizens went to the polls on 31 March 1991 in Albania's first multiparty elections. The Communist Party and its allies won 169 of 250 seats in the unicameral People's Assembly, compared with 75 for the PDS, and the body appointed Fatos Nano as premier and Ramiz Alia as president. The legislature promptly enacted a series of constitutional changes. Nano's government collapsed later that year, and the PDS won a landslide victorry legislative elections held in March 1992. Sali Berisha of the PDS won the country's first-ever direct presidential elections, also held in 1992.

Albania 1996, democracy->autocracy

Despite accusations of serious irregularities during the general elections held in May and June 1996—including ballot rigging, intimidation, and violence—official results released on 21 June 1996 showed that the ruling Democratic Party of Albania (PDS) had won 122 of 140 seats in the legislature. Opposition and international groups, including the OSCE's observer mission, were highly critical of the process, claiming myriad violations of Albanian election law. PDS leader President Sali Berisha reappointed Alexander Meksi as prime minister on 6 July 1996. All but one minister in the new government were members of the PDS or independents.

Albania 1997, autocracy->democracy

With the country in crisis after months of vicious fighting touched off by north-south tensions and the collapse of fraudulent pyramid investment schemes that cost many Albanians their savings, government concessions and international pressure led to several rounds of voting in June and July 1997 that produced an overwhelming victory for the opposition Socialist Party of Albania (the renamed and reformed Communist Party). Embattled President Salih Berisha announced his resignation on 23 July 1997, and the People's Assembly elected Rexhep Mejdani of the Socialist Party as the new president on 24 July 1997.

Argentina 1958, autocracy->democracy

In 1957, two years after ousting President Juan Peron in a coup, the interim military government led by Gen. Pedro Aramburu effectively reversed Peron's 1949 constitutional changes and reverted to the constitution of 1853 as modified in 1898. In balloting held in 1958, Dr. Arturo Frondizi was elected president with support from elements of the banned Peronist party. He defeated Ricardo Balbín, who had run for president in 1951 as the candidate of the Unión Cívica Radical with Frondizi as his vice-presidential candidate. In the 1958 elections, the two represented different factions of the Radical Party, which had split the year before. Frondizi ran as the candidate of the leftist Unión Cívica Radical Intransigente (UCRI), and Balbín as candidate of the rightist Unión Cívica Radical del Pueblo (UCRP).

Argentina 1962, democracy->autocracy

On 29 March 1962, President Arturo Frondizi was deposed in a military coup while traveling for a Pan American summit. The coup occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was motivated, in part, by fears of a communist takeover in Argentina. The military installed President of the Senate José Maria Guido as interim president and later called elections for the next year.

Argentina 1963, autocracy->democracy

On 12 October 1963, Arturo Illia of the Unión Cívica Radical del Pueblo (UCRP) was inaugurated as president of Argentina following his victory in elections held that July. Illia received 2.4 million votes, compared with 1.6 million for Oscar Allende of the UCRI, 0.7 million for General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu of the People Forward Union, and nearly 1.7 million invalid votes, many of which were deliberately cast as a show of support for the banned Peronist party. In his first act as president, Illia lifted the ban on the Peronist Party--which then contested and won legislative elections in 1965--and he later lifted the ban on the Communist Party as well.

Argentina 1966, democracy->autocracy

On 28 June 1966, President Illia was thrown out in yet another military coup that was supported by numerous elements of Argentinian society, the military, and the U.S. Government. Gen. Juan Carlos Onganía was named president the next day.

Argentina 1973, autocracy->democracy

In 1972, Gen. Alejandro Lanusse began negotiations with deposed leader Juan Perón amid social unrest and severe inflation, calling for national elections in 1973 and a return to civilian government. Perón had briefly returned to the country from exile, but after subsequent wrangling with the Lanusse government, he declined his party's presidential nomination and was barred from political activity during the election campaign. Perónist coalition candidate Dr. Hector Cámpora won the March elections and was inaugurated on 25 May 1973. Cámpora subsequently resigned under pressure from growing violence between rival Perónist factions, allowing Perón to return to power. After new elections in September 1973, Perón won the presidency and was inaugurated on 12 October with his third wife, Maria Estela Martínez de Perón, as vice president.

Argentina 1976, democracy->autocracy

Amidst a wave of labor unrest and terrorism from the right and the left, the military overthrew President Estela Perón on 24 March 1976 and installed Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla as head of a three-man junta. Ms. Perón had held office since her husband's death in 1974. The junta began a "process of national reorganization," which aimed to stamp out the left and restore economic and political order. The government suspended political and trade-union activity, dissolved the legislature, altered the constitution, removed most government officials, and launched a "dirty war" in which paramilitary death squads worked to eradicate leftists and other political critics.

Argentina 1983, autocracy->democracy

In December 1981, Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri ousted interim civilian president Roberto Viola in a coup. The next year, the ruling junta began implementing dramatic economic reforms and limited political liberalization, sparking protests against the junta and in favor of a return to democracy. Later in 1982, the junta pushed the country into a brief and unsuccessful war with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands. Gen. Galtieri was subsequently arrested on charges of negligence, and general elections were held in Argentina on 30 October 1983 in preparation for the country's return to civilian government. The Radical Civic Union (UCR) gained an overall majority of seats in a 600-member electoral college, and UCR candidate Sr. Raul Alfonsin Foulkes was made president on 10 December 1983.

Armenia 1991, new country->democracy

As war intensified in Nagorny Karabakh, candidates affiliated with the Armenian National Movement (ANM) won control of the republican legislature in spring 1990 elections. That September, the legislature declared Armenia's intention to become independent from the USSR. Following the failed reactionary putsch of August 1991, Armenians overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence in a September referendum. Levon Ter-Petrossian, a leader of the ANM and president of the parliament, won presidential elections held in October.

Armenia 1996, democracy->autocracy

On 22 September 1996, incumbent President Levon Ter-Petrossian claimed to have won a second five-year term, but observers reported serious breaches of election law. The election results triggered violent anti-government demonstrations. After a massive riot at the parliament building on 25 September 1996, troops were deployed, rallies were banned, opposition party headquarters shut down, and several deputies were stripped of parliamentary immunity, arrested, and charged with planning a coup. Ter-Petrossian resigned under pressure in 1998; Prime Minister Robert Kocharian became acting president and then won a special presidential election that OSCE obsevers said was marred by "serious irregularities" and "evidence of vote fraud." Presidential balloting in 2003 suffered similar shortcomings, according to OSCE observers, with evidence of ballot stuffing, intimidation of opposition candidates, and the widespread use of public resources on behalf of the incumbent. Opposition supporters responded to the outcome with large street protests.

Azerbaijan 1992, autocracy->democracy

In presidential elections held weeks after the failed putsch that accelerated the disintegration of the USSR, Azerbaijani Communist Party leader and republican president Ayaz Mutalibov ran unopposed and won. Fighting in Nagorny Karabakh flared in early 1992 after Azerbaijan attempted to bring the region under its direct jurisdiction, and Armenian forces made significant advances, encouraging the Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF) and other opponents of President Mutalibov to push for his ouster. APF leader Abol Fez Ilcibey won presidential elections held in June 1992.

Azerbaijan 1993, democracy->autocracy

A military rebellion led by Col. Surat Guseinov forced elected President Abulfaz Elchibey to flee the capital on 18 June 1993. Guseinov was appointed prime minister and "supreme commander," and Geidar Aliyev, leader of the Nakhichevan autonomous region and a member of the Soviet Politburo in the 1980s, proclaimed himself head of state after being elected as chair of the parliament on 15 June 1993. Guseinov had organized his own military force to fight Armenians in the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh, and was stripped of his rank for disobeying orders. Following a 29 August 1993 confidence referendum, Aliyev said only 2 percent of those voting had expressed trust in ousted President Elchibey and declared him no longer president. In presidential elections held on 3 October 1993, Aliyev won a contest boycotted by major parties and criticized as undemocratic.

Bangladesh 1972, new country->democracy

In 1970, the separatist Awami League dominated elections in East Pakistan, but the West Pakistan government refused to recognize the results, sparking widespread rioting. Awami League leaders in exile declared independence on 26 March 1971, but the Pakistani Army responded with a violent crackdown that included indiscriminant attacks on civilians. In December, the Indian Army intervened and defeated the Pakistani forces in 12 days. Civilian government was restored before month's end, Awami League leader and prime-minister-in-exile Sheik Mujibur Rahman returned in January 1972, and a new constitution was adopted in November of that year. National elections were held in March 1973, with the Awami League winning 292 of 299 seats.

Bangladesh 1974, democracy->autocracy

Following deadly floods and growing lawlessness, the government declared a state of emergency on 28 December 1974, suspending all fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and assuming wide-ranging powers in the name of suppressing terrorism and corruption. Further restrictive actions were subsequently taken, including the enactment of an ordinance that gave the government power to detain suspect citizens, suspend the activities of any party or association, ban strikes and lockouts, and extend control over all sectors of the economy. In January 1975, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took over the presidency under a revised constitution that replaced the parliamentary system with a presidential one and provided for one-party rule.

Bangladesh 1991, autocracy->democracy

After 10 years of military rule, Gen. Hussain Mohammad Ershad was forced to resign as president in December 1990 amid charges of corruption, and elections were held in February 1991. Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of former President Maj. Gen. Zia ur-Rahman, was sworn in as the country's first female prime minister on 20 March 1991, ending three weeks of political uncertainty during which Sheikh Hasina Wajed, leader of the second-largest party the Awami League, challenged Zia to demonstrate her majority at the first session of the newly elected National Assembly.

Bangladesh2007, democracy->autocracy

In accordance with Bangladesh's constitution, a caretaker government was installed in October 2006 ahead of impending parliamentary elections. The opposition Awami League claimed the selected government was not impartial, in contravention of the law, and it protested the composition of the country's electoral commission. Violent protests and a blockade aimed at delaying the elections ensued, and the caretaker government responded on 11 January by declaring a state of emergency and suspending the elections. The interim president was promptly replaced by one apparently supported by the military, which also restricted some civil liberties and began an anticorruption campaign. The state of emergency pushed the tenure of the interim government well beyond the 90-day limit indicated in the constitution, and as a result the January declaration effectively marked a transition from democracy to autocracy.

Bangladesh2009, autocracy->democracy

The swearing-in of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister on 6 January 2009 marked a return to democracy. According to EU observers, the elections held on 29 December 2008 suffered from only minor technical difficulties, and there were no patterns of fraud. Prior to the election, the country's flawed voter rolls were cleaned up, and the military-led caretaker government lifted a state of emergency in mid-December to allow free campaigning. The elections gave Hasina's Awami League a massive victory with 263 of 300 seats in the unicameral parliament. The rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Khaleda Zia, alleged abuses by the Awami League after it won just 30 seats, but those allegations were not substantiated by international observers, who described the election as free and fair.

Benin 1960, new country->democracy

Known at the time as Dahomey, Benin gained independence from France in 1960. In competitive elections held on 11 December, Hubert Maga of the Dahomey Democratic Rally (DDR) was chosen as the country's first president, and a coalition of the DDR and Sourou-Migan Apithy’s Dahomey Nationalist Party (PND) won control of the National Assembly.

Benin 1963, democracy->autocracy

Amidst economic troubles, ethnic rivalries, and social unrest, the country's first president, Hubert Maga, was deposed by coup on 28 October 1963. A provisional regime was established by Col. Christophe Soglo, and the new government included Maga. Soglo was succeeded within months by Maga's vice president, Sourou Migan Apithy. Over the following nine years, there were seven more changes of government, including four coups d'etat.

Benin 1991, autocracy->democracy

President Mathieu Kerekou, in power since a 1972 coup, agreed to abide by decisions of the National Conference of Active Forces of the Nation, which on 25 February 1990 proclaimed itself a sovereign body and its decisions "mandatory.” With the country on the brink of economic collapse, Kerekou had called the national conference in response to mounting social dissent, following the ruling People's Revolutionary Party agreement in December 1989 to abandon Marxism-Leninism as the country's official ideology. Delegates declared the constitution "null and void," suspended existing state institutions, and elected former World Bank administrator Nicephore Soglo as interim prime minister with a brief to steer the country through an 11-month transitional period. Voters overwhelmingly approved a return to multipartism in a constitutional referendum held in December 1990. Multiparty elections to the National Assembly were held in January 1991, and in March Soglo defeated Kerekou in presidential balloting.

Bolivia 1956, autocracy->democracy

In 1952, the leftist Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR), backed by miners and peasants, overthrew a conservative military junta led by Gen. Hugo Ballivián Rojas and installed party leader Victor Paz Estenssoro as president. Following the revolt, the MNR decreed universal suffrage, including for the first time the country's substantial illiterate population in the electorate. The MNR also launched a land-reform program, promoted rural education, and nationalized the country's tin mines. In presidential balloting held in 1956, the MNR's Hernán Siles Zuazo--considered the leader of the party's centrist, middle-class wing--won with 85 percent of the vote.

Bolivia 1964, democracy->autocracy

Following its successful 1952 revolution, polarization between the radical leftist wing and centrist wing of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) gradually intensified, partly because the MNR's reform programs triggered significant economic problems. In 1960's presidential election, Victor Paz Estenssoro defeated his former foreign minister, Walter Guevara Arze, who had stood as the candidate of the so-called Authentic MNR. As elections approached again in 1964, the party's leftist wing split off as well to form the Partido Revolucionario de la Izquierda Nacional (PRIN). Paz Estenssoro altered the constitution to allow himself to stand for a third time and then chose a general as his running mate. Most opposition groups abstained from the election, and Paz Estenssoro won. On 4 November 1964, he was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by René Barrientos Ortuño and Gen. Alfredo Ovando Candia. Barrientos described the coup as an effort to restore the country to the MNR's revolutionary path, but within a year the military had compelled him to accept Ovando as his "copresident"

Bolivia 1982, autocracy->democracy

In 1977, under pressure from the opposition, the military, and the United States, President Col. Hugo Banzer announced a presidential election for 1980, but labor unrest prodded him to set the push the date forward to 1978. The election was held as scheduled, but candidate Gen. Juan Pereda Asbún carried out a coup in July 1978 after the National Electoral Court annulled the elections because of widespread fraud by his supporters. The next several years saw a series of compromised elections and coups amidst labor unrest and rising paramilitary activity. A 1980 coup installed Gen. Luis García Meza, and over the next two years paramilitary units carried out arbitrary arrests, torture, and disappearances aimed at destroying the opposition. Gen. Guido Vildoso Calderon was named president on 19 July 1982 and promised new elections in 1983. In September 1982, during a general strike that brought the country close to civil war, Calderon decided to convene the legislature elected in 1980 and to accept its choice as president. Siles Zuazo, leader of the Democratic and Popular Unity coalition, was named president on 10 October 1982.

Bosnia & Herzegovina 1992, new country->democracy

Competitive elections to the republican legislature in 1990 produced a body divided among three parties representing Bosnia and Herzegovina's three largest ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. In 1991, declarations of independence by Croatia and Slovenia propelled discussions of Bosnia's status in the Yugoslav federation, and the Serb Democratic Party and Croatian Democratic Union responded by endorsing drives for separation from Bosnia. The republican legislature adopted a declaration of sovereignty in 1991, and in 1992 an endorsement by referendum led to a declaration of independence. That declaration, in turn, sparked several years of civil war and genocidal violence.

Bosnia & Herzegovina 1995, D->country termination

In 1994, Bosniak and Croat delegations signed the Washington Accords, creating a new Bosniak-Croat federation. The next year, a NATO bombing campaign helped produce the Dayton Accords, under which the Republika Srpska rejoined the Bosnian-Croat federation under a new national government. That government included a presidency shared among the three largest ethnic groups and multiple layers of federalism. The agreement also made the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovia, the chief of the international civilian delegation to the country, the highest political authority in Bosnia. The High Representative's mandate was supposed to expire in 2008, but that mandate was extended indefinitely after a February 2008 review by the Peace Implementation Council, the ad hoc international body tasked with implementing the Dayton Accords.

Botswana 1966, new country->democracy

Britain granted Botswana, then known as Bechuanaland, self-government in 1965. That same year, a new constitution was adopted and elections were held. The pro-independence Bechuanaland Democratic Party dominated those elections, and party leader Seretse Khama was chosen as prime minister. The country officially gained independence on 30 September 1966, and the parliament named Khama as its first president.

Brazil 1964, democracy->autocracy

After attempting to introduce reforms addressing inequalities in land and wealth distribution and other societal problems, President João Goulart was overthrown on 1-2 April 1964 by a military coup, the leaders of which accused him of intending to introduce a leftist dictatorship. President Goulart's overthrow was preceded by a two-day revolt of 1,400 sailors and marines in support of his political demands, which aroused strong resentment among the military, particularly the army. After the coup, which was supported by many influential state governors, Goulart fled to Uruguay and the armed forces assumed power, conferring extensive powers to the president and initiating large-scale arrests of communists and alleged left-wing sympathizers. On 11 April, the congress elected Army Chief of Staff Gen. Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco as president.

Brazil 1985, autocracy->democracy

The return to civilian rule was marked on 15 March 1985 by the swearing-in of a government that included members of the opposition Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement as well as defectors from the ruling Social Democratic Party (PDS). Although President João Figueiredo, who took power in March 1979, had refused to move up a timetable for a direct election and the PDS held a majority in the country's electoral college, the college voted overwhelmingly on 15 January in favor of opposition presidential candidate Dr. Tancredo de Almeida Neves. When Neves died after emergency surgery on the eve of his inauguration, Vice President-elect Jose Sarney was sworn in as president on 22 April 1985. Later that year, the Sarney administration legalized the two communist parties, extended the frachise to illiterates, and called for direct elections for mayors of all capital cities and "national security" municipalities. Sarney's PMDB party then led a broad coalition to victory in 1986 legislative elections, gaining an absolute majority in the ANC (National Constituent Assembly).

Bulgaria 1990, autocracy->democracy

Within weeks of a mass demonstration in Sofia in November 1989, Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) leaders announced the resignation of longtime General Secreatry Todor Zhivkov. In January 1990, the National Assembly repealed sections of the constitution defining the BCP as the "leading force in society and in the state," and legislative elections were scheduled for June 1990. In September, more than three months after it won a parliamentary majority in competitive elections, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) abandoned its efforts to build a coalition government that included the main opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). BSP head Andrei Lukanov was formally named prime minister on 19 September 1990, but his government resigned on 29 November in the face of mass demonstrations and strikes. A coalition government that divided cabinet posts among all major factions was approved by the Assembly on 20 December 1990.

Burkina Faso 1978, autocracy->democracy

Under pressure from trade unions following a severe drought and a dispute with neighboring Mali over mineral-rich land, the government of Lt. Col. Aboukar Sangoule Lamizana agreed to restore civilian rule. A new constitution was promulgated in 1977, and political parties were allowed to operate freely. The constitution took effect the next year, when multiparty presidential and legislative elections allowed Lamizana to retain his position as the head of government, held since a military coup in 1966. The Union Démocratique Voltaique won a plurality of seats in the legislative assembly.

Burkina Faso 1980, democracy->autocracy

President Angoule Lamizana's government faced economic crisis and problems with the country's traditionally powerful trade unions, and on 25 November 1980 Colonel Zaye Zerbo overthrew Lamizana in a bloodless coup. Zerbo established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress as the supreme governmental authority and expunged the 1977 constitution, amid some hints that he had conspired with Lamizana, himself a former army commander who had allegedly grown tired of the frustrations of his position. In late 1982, after also encountering labor unrest, Zerbo was overthrown by Maj. Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation.

Burma 1958, democracy->autocracy

Burma gained its independence from Britain on 4 January 1948, less than three years after allied forces drove out the occupying Japanese army. The country's first parliamentary government was led by the socialist Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL), originally an anti-Japanese resistance movement formed during World War II. In October 1958, when a split within the ruling AFPFL threatened to turn into open conflict, Premier U Nu, whose premiership had barely survived a vote of no confidence, asked Gen. Ne Win to take over as head of a "caretaker" government.

Burma 1960, autocracy->democracy

Parliamentary elections in 1960 returned U Nu as premier when his faction of the AFPFL defeated a rival faction led by U Ba Swe.

Burma 1962, democracy->autocracy

On 2 March 1962, the civilian government led by Prime Minister U Nu was overthrown in a military coup led by Gen. Ne Win, ending a 14-year run of democratic rule following independence in 1948. The coup occurred in a period of dissention among the country's minority groups and continued opposition to the establishment of Buddhism as the state religion. U Nu and other leaders of the Union Party were arrested, parliament was abolished, the constitution discarded, and the ruling Revolutionary Council established. The Council gave Gen. Ne Win full executive, legislative, and judicial powers and announced a political and economic program for the building of a society based on "Burmese Socialism." All political parties except for the regime's Myanmar Socialist Program party were banned.

Burundi 1993, autocracy->democracy

"Pierre Buyoya, a member of the long-dominant Tutsi minority, became Burundi’s head of state after a coup in 1987 and later introduced reforms designed to lessen ethnic divisions, including a 1991 referendum on a Charter of National Unity that formally abolished ethnic discrimination. A new constitution adopted by referendum in 1992 provided for a multiparty political system, and general elections were held in June 1993. Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu, defeated Buyoya to win the nation’s first free presidential election, and his Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frobedu) dominated Buyoya's Uprona party in legislative balloting.

"

Burundi 1996, democracy->autocracy

In October 1993, a group of Tutsi soldiers assassinated President Ndadaye. Parliament elected in early 1994 to replace him with Cyprien Ntaryamira, another Hutu, who was then assassinated in April along with the president of Rwanda. Parliament speaker Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was named president in October 1994, and the mainly Tutsi Union for National Progress party withdrew from the government and parliament amidst a wave of communal violence. Finally, in 1996, Major Pierre Buyoya seized power for a second time through a military coup d’état.

Burundi2005, autocracy->democracy

After eight years of civil war, a power-sharing agreement was finalized in Arusha, Tanzania, in July 2001. Buyoya was named president and Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu, vice president until April 2003, when Ndayizeye succeeded Buyoya for an 18-month term and Alphonse Kadege, a Tutsi, became vice president. A peace deal with the leading rebel group, Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), was finalized in November 2003, and FDD representatives joined the government the next month, but the smaller Forces for National Liberation (FNL) continued to fight. A constitution proposed in July 2004 was not signed by Tutsi parties, who wanted a guarantee that the presidency would alternate between Hutus and Tutsis and objected to the way seats were assigned in the legislature, postponing elections until the next year. In February 2005, voters approved the new constitution, and July 2005 elections to the National Assembly gave the FDD a slim majority. Senatorial and presidential elections held in July and August 2005, respectively, were indirect, with communal counselors choosing the senate and parliament choosing the president.

Burundi2010, democracy->autocracy

As local and then presidential elections neared in 2010, state security forces and partisan militias engaged in a campaign of harrassment and intimidation against the incumbent party's political opponents, including efforts to suppress voter registration among opposition supporters. By early 2010, the regime had effectively crossed the line to authoritarian rule, and the elections held in May (local) and June and July (presidential) were not fair as a result.

Cambodia 1993, NS->democracy

In 1989, a decade after driving the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh, Vietnamese troops pulled out of Cambodia, and Hun Sen, prime minister since 1985, abandoned socialism. Two years later, a peace agreement with the Khmer Rouge was signed in Paris. In 1991, A U.N. Transitional Authority was established that shared power with elements of the country's political factions, including Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who was named head of state. Competitive elections were held in 1993, and the royalist Funcinpec party won a plurality of seats, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party. A three-party coalition was formed, with Funcinpec's Prince Norodom Ranariddh as prime minister and Hun Sen as deputy prime minister. The monarchy was restored with Norodom Sihanouk as king.

Cambodia 1997, democracy->autocracy

The coalition government of Funcinpec and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) collapsed violently in July 1997. Deputy Prime Minister Hun Sen's forces declared victory after a few days of fighting between the two factions in the capital, which had witnessed months of political skirmishes, and Prime Minister Ranariddh fled the country. Fighting continued through September, with allegations that Ranariddh loyalists had been hunted down, tortured, and executed. Under a foreign-brokered peace plan, Prince Ranariddh returned to the country in March 1998 and became an opposition candidate in legislative elections held that July. Hun Sen and his CPP claimed victory, but their claim was strongly challenged by the two main opposition parties, including Funcinpec. In early August, Hun Sen offered to bring those parties into a coalition government while allowing CPP to retain control of key ministries, but both parties rejected his overtures and continued protests. Hun Sen and Ranariddh signed a formal agreement of cooperation on 23 November 1998, which contained details of a joint political platform and a division of cabinet posts.

Central African Republic 1993, autocracy->democracy

Five years after siezing power from another military ruler in a coup, André Kolingba introduced a new constitution that was adopted by referendum in 1986. Parliamentary elections held in 1988 were boycotted by leaders of major opposition parties, which were not allowed to compete. In 1990, citizens agitated for a national conference, but Kolingba refused. Under pressure from the U.S. and France, a ban on political parties was lifted in 1991, and elections were held the next year. When Kolingba finished last, however, the results were annulled by the country's top court on grounds of widespread irregularities. Elections resumed in August 1993 amidst an economic crisis, with pay for civil servants and teachers often six months or more in arrears. Kolingba tried to rig the elections after his elimination in the first round of voting. Under pressure from former colonizer France, a September 1993 run-off election date was virtually forced on the president. The results confirmed victory for Ange-Felix Patasse, leader of the opposition Central African People’s Liberation Party (MPLC), and he was declared president on 27 September 1993.

Central African Republic2003, democracy->autocracy

Coup attempts were mounted against President Ange-Felix Patassé in 2001 and 2002, but they were thwarted with help from Libyan troops, which withdrew after the second attempt and were replaced by peacekeepers from the Central African Economic Community. In March 2003, while Patassé was abroad, supporters of former general François Bozizé, who had twice before attempted to oust the president, seized power, and Bozizé was named president. Bozizé then established a broad-based National Transitional Council to draft a new constitution and announced that he would step down and run for president after it was approved. The new constitution was approved in December 2004, and legislative and presidential elections were held in May 2005, but the quality of the electoral processes was severely compromised, and Bozizé and his supporters retained power.

Chile 1973, democracy->autocracy

In the early 1970s, an enduring economic crisis spawned a wave of strikes, demonstrations, and acts of violence by leftists and rightists alike. As the situation worsened, the traditionally neutral military began to pressure President Salvador Allende to step down. The government of President Allende was overthrown on 11 September 1973 in a coup led by the leaders of the army, navy, air force, and national police; Allende committed suicide that afternoon. The Allende-appointed commander in chief of the army, Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, took control of the country. The new regime was recognized by the country's supreme court on 13 September 1973, and the junta declared Congress to be dissolved and all seats vacant. All provincial governors and mayors were dismissed and replaced with nominees of the junta. On 26 September, the junta declared that the trade union federation was unlawful, and the next day all political parties were suspended. Over the next three years, supporters of the former regime and other leftists were tortured, disappeared, exiled, and executed.

Chile 1990, autocracy->democracy

In 1980, Gen. Pinochet's regime promulgated a new constitution that established a permanent, tutelary role for the military but also included a series of "transitional" articles establishing a timeline that included a constitutional plebiscite in 1988-89 and legislative elections in 1990. By the time of the plebiscite in October 1988, the opposition had become enlivined by economic collapse in 1982, ensuing mass protests, and the end of authoritarian rule in many neighboring countries, and voters rejected a proposal that would have allowed Pinochet to continue in office. Chile's first presidential elections since the 1973 military coup were held on 14 December 1989, and Patricio Aylwin Azócar, leader of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and candidate of a coalition of 17 left and center parties, won decisively and was inaugurated in March 1990.

Colombia 1958, autocracy->democracy

In December 1957, citizens voted to amend the constitution and allow a joint government of Liberals and Conservatives. A coalition of those two groups had aligned against dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla with an agreement calling for the restoration of the constitution of 1886, the alternation of the presidency between the two parties, party parity in all legislative bodies, a two-thirds majority vote for passage of legislation, establishment of an administrative career service of neutral parties, and women's suffrage. Pinilla resigned in May 1957—just days after the arrest of an opposition candidate and his reelection as president—amidst student demonstrations, massive strikes, violent riots, and, finally, the opposition of the church and defection by top-ranking military officers. Power reverted to a junta led by Gen. Gabriel París, legalized in the December plebiscite to rule until the 1958 elections, when Alberto Lleras Camargo was chosen as president.

Comoros 1996-77, autocracy->democracy

After the assassination of long-time President Ahmed Abdallah Abderrahman in November 1989, Comoros held elections in 1990. The elections collapsed amid a host of irregularities, and acting President Said Mohamed Djohar—former head of the Supreme Court and supported by the previous ruling party—rejected opposition demands for his resignation. Djohar beat his opponent Mohamed Taki in a controversial second round of voting on 11 March 1990 and threatened to use force if Taki objected. After observers expressed satisfaction with the elections, the Supreme Court dismissed Taki's allegations of fraud, and Djohar was sworn in for a 6-year term on 20 March 1990. In September 1995, President Djohar was removed in a coup led by Bob Denard, acting this time without French support. Under the terms of a 1978 defense agreement with Comoros, France sent an expeditionary force, and Denard surrendered without violence. Prime Minister Caambi El-Yachourtu became acting president until Djohar returned from exile in January 1996. Taki won presidential elections held in March 1996 brought to office Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim, a member of the civilian government that French mercenary Bob Denard had tried to establish the year before. Abdoulkarim drafted a constitution that extended the powers of the president, limited the powers of the island assemblies, and established Islam as the basis of law. The constitution was adopted by referendum in October 1996.

Comoros 1999, democracy->autocracy

In 1997, In the islands of Anjouan and Moheli announced their secession from Comoros. The move sparked violence, and on 30 April 1999 the Comoran military staged a coup against interim President Tajidine Ben Said Massounde, with Col. Azali Assoumani assuming leadership of the country. Azali said the army had taken power because opposition protests against an autonomy deal signed on 25 April threatened to plunge the country into chaos. He declared that he would only stay in power for a year, but he later said the return to civilian rule was contingent on the return of Anjouan and Moheli to the republic.

Comoros2002, autocracy->democracy

With the African Union as broker, the interim government and separatist forces reached an accord in 2001 and began debating a new constitution. Approved overwhelmingly in a December 2001 referendum, the new constitution affords the islands of Anjouan and Moheli greater autonomy, including an elected president on each island, and provides for a central presidency that rotates among the three islands. In April 2002, Col. Azali Assoumani was elected president in balloting that international observers described as free and fair. Opposition candidates participated in the first round, in which Azali won a plurality of the vote, but boycotted the second round.

Comoros2010, democracy->autocracy

Presidential elections held in November and December 2010 were marred by credible accusations of widespread fraud in favor of the incumbent party.

Congo-Brazzaville 1960, new country->democracy

Competitive elections to the National Assembly were held in June 1959, prior to independence, and were won by the Democratic Union for the Defense of African Interests (UDDIA), which got 58 percent of the vote but 51 of 61 seats. Congo officially became independent on 15 August 1960, with Fulbert Youlou of the UDDIA as its president.

Congo-Brazzaville 1963, democracy->autocracy

A three-day uprising led by trade unions and opposition parties drove President Fulbert Youlou to resign on 15 August 1963. Youlou's resignation was initially announced to the country by a senior army officer, who declared the National Assembly dissolved and said that the army would assume power pending a new constitution and government. The presidency was suspended, and a transitional government was established with M. Alphonse Massemba-Débat at its prime minister. A constitutional referendum held in December 1963 officially established a one-party system under the Marxist National Revolutionary Movement (NRM). Elections to the National Assembly were also held in December 1963, and, following those elections, an electoral college appointed by the assembly and controlled by the NRM named Massemba-Débat president. Pascal Lissouba was then named prime minister.

Congo-Brazzaville 1992, autocracy->democracy

In February 1991, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso convened a four-month national conference to discuss the political future of the country. Delegates renamed the state the Republic of Congo and laid plans for a transition to multiparty democracy. A constitutional referendum in November 1991 was to be followed by local elections in January 1992, legislative elections in March 1992, and presidential elections in May 1992. A transitional legislature seated on 22 December 1991 adopted a new constitution, which replaced the former Marxist single-party regime with a multiparty political system and provided for an elected head of state who would appoint a prime minister from the party winning a majority in bicameral parliament elections. After delays, controversy, and unrest, voters in 1992 approved the constitution and participated in general elections. The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) wins a plurality of seats in the legislature, and its candidate Pascal Lissouba won the two-round presidential election held in August 1992.

Congo-Brazzaville 1997, democracy->autocracy

Former dictator Denis Sassou-Nguesso was installed as president on 25 October 1997, following a short but bloody civil war that broke out in June of that year between his supporters and those of President Pascal Lissouba. With the failure of several ceasefire agreements, fighting had escalated after presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 were cancelled. Lissouba eventually fled the capital.

Croatia 1991, new country->democracy

In round-table talks in January 1990, Croatian Communist Party leaders and opposition figures agreed on a framework for multiparty elections to the republican legislature that spring. In balloting held in late April and early May, the nationalist and anti-communist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by Franjo Tudjman, won only 41.5 percent of the vote, and parties from across the spectrum won notable shares. Nevertheless, a two-round, majoritarian electoral system translated the HDZ's plurality share into 58 percent of the seats in the three-chamber body, including 67.5 percent in the powerful lower house. Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991.

Croatia 1995, democracy->autocracy

After gaining power in competitive, multiparty elections in 1990, the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) gradually expanded its control over political and economic affairs, including the media. Franjo Tudjman won the country's first direct presidential election in 1992 with nearly 57 percent of the vote; his closest rival received just 22 percent. Looking to capitalize on a decisive military victory in central Croatia, the HDZ in 1995 called early elections to the Chamber of Representatives, whose term was set to expire the next year, and changed electoral laws in ways that favored the ruling party, mostly by raising the threshold for smaller parties or coalitions to gain seats in the legislature. Tudjman was elected to a second five-year term in 1997 in balloting characterized by OSCE observers as "fundamentally flawed."

Croatia2000, autocracy->democracy

With President Franjo Tudjman of the nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on his deathbed in November 1999, Vlatko Pavletic, speaker of the Assembly, was named acting president. Tudjman died in December 1999, and the HDZ won just 40 of 151 seats in the assembly's lower house in the January 2000 legislative elections. In presidential balloting that began the next month, Stjepan Mesic of the Croatian People’s Party (HNS) won the presidency in a run-off election. Mesic was reelected to a second five-year term in 2005.

Cyprus 1960, new country->democracy

Under British authority since 1878, Cyprus gained its independence in 1960. For the preceding several years, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had been engaged in negotations over the island's status, and the parties had finally reached a settlement in 1959, with separate treaties precluding both unification with Greece and partition of the island's Greek and Turkish areas. According to the constitution that emerged from those negotiations, Cyprus was to have a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice president, and general executive authority was vested in a council of ministers with a ratio of seven Greeks to three Turks. Greek Cypriot nationalist Archbishop Makarios III won presidential elections held in December 1959, and Turkish Cypriot Dr. Fazil Küçük became vice president after running unopposed. Elections to the House of Representatives were held in July 1960, and Cyprus officially became independent on 16 August of that year.

Cyprus 1963, D->-77

A proposal by President Makarios to amend the constitution to overcome gridlock was deemed unacceptable by Turkish Cypriots, and the government collapsed. Fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots erupted in December 1963 first in Nicosia and then spread to the rest of the island. The UN sent a peacekeeping force in 1964, but fighting persisted.

Cyprus 1968, -77->democracy

Makarios won presidential elections held in February 1968 with more than 90 percent of the vote. At his inauguration, Makarios said that the Cyprus problem could not be solved by force, but must instead be worked out within the framework of the UN, and that he and his followers wanted to live peacefully in a unitary state where all citizens enjoyed equal rights. That same month, Dr. Fazil Küçük again ran unopposed for vice president.

Cyprus 1973, democracy->autocracy

In 1973, Archbishop Makarios ran unopposed and was re-elected to the presidency. In July 1974, the Greek Cypriot National Guard acted on orders from Athens and overthrew President Makarios, who fled to London but was still recognized by the UN as the country's legitimate head of state. Greek Cypriot paramilitary leader Nicos Sampson was declared provisional president of a new government in Nicosia.

Cyprus 1983, autocracy->democracy

In late July 1974, Turkey responded to the Greece-backed coup with a military invasion, and the provisional government quickly collapsed along with the military junta in Athens. The result was de facto partitioning of the island's north and south. Makarios resumed his post as president of the internationally recognized government in the south, and both halves held parliamentary elections in 1976, but Makarios' selection in an uncontested election in 1973 left the country without a competitively chosen president. Makarios died in 1977 and was replaced by Spyros Kyprianou, who was elected to the office the next year without opposition. Parliamentary elections held in 1981 split the body among four parties, and a three-way presidential contest in 1983--won again by Kyprianou--finally gave the country a competitively chosen legislature and chief executive for the first time since 1973's one-candidate presidential election.

Czechoslovakia 1990, autocracy->democracy

After security forces violently suppressed a peaceful protest on 17 November 1989, citizens turned out for massive demonstrations, and leading dissidents formed an anti-communist coalition that negotiated the government's resignation on 10 December and installed a new government under Marián Čalfa. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December, and that body chose former dissident Václav Havel to become president in a unanimous vote the next day. In June 1990, competitive multiparty elections were held for the bicameral Federal Assembly and the National Councils of the country's two regions.

Czechoslovakia 1992, D->country termination

On 25 November 1992, Czechoslovakia's Federal Assembly endorsed a plan negotiated by the governments of the country's two federal regions to split the country. The so-called Velvet Divorce became effective at midnight on 31 December 1992, at which time the Czech Republic's elected National Council formed the government of the new country.

Czech Republic 1993, new country->democracy

On 25 November 1992, Czechoslovakia's Federal Assembly endorsed a plan negotiated by the governments of the country's two federal regions to split the country. The so-called Velvet Divorce became effective at midnight on 31 December 1992, at which time the Czech Republic's elected National Council formed the government of the new country.

Dominican Republic 1963, autocracy->democracy

Generalissimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic since a coup d'etat in 1930, was assassinated in a car ambush on 30 May 1961. In the country's first free elections in 38 years, held on on 20 December 1962, Juan Bosch of the moderate left-wing Dominican Revolutionary Party won the presidency. He was installed as president on 27 February 1963 in succession to Dr. Rafael Bonnelly, who had held the post since Trujillo's death.

Dominican Republic 1963, democracy->autocracy

President Bosch was overthrown in a military coup on 25 September 1963, just seven months after he took office. The ensuing junta banned leftist parties. Supporters of the deposed president fought back, leading to civil war, and the United States intervened militarily in 1965.

Dominican Republic 1978, autocracy->democracy

Silvestre Antonio Guzman Fernández won competitive presidential elections held on 16 May 1978 and was sworn in on 16 August in what was reported to be the first peaceful transfer of power to an opposition candidate in the country's history. Guzman, the candidate of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, assumed power for a four-year term from Trujillo protege Dr. Joaquin Balaguer, who had held office for three consecutive terms since 1966. Among Guzman's first acts as presidents were the release of hundreds of political prisoners, easing restrictions on the media, and purging the military of Balaguer supporters.

Dominican Republic 1990, democracy->autocracy

In the presidential elections of 1990, incumbent Joaqin Balaguer used partisan control of the electoral process to tilt the vote in his favor through vote-buying, military voting, and manipulation of registration and voter identification, all facilitated by partisan control over the country's electoral management body. The result was a narrow and highly controversial win for Balaguer. The same tools were used more blatantly four years later, when fraud was more extensively documented.

Dominican Republic 1996, autocracy->democracy

After incumbent president Joaqin Balaguer was declared the winner in 1994 presidential elections in which extensive fraud was documented by the country's election management body and other observers, Balaguer, under pressure from the United States, in August negotiated a Pact for Democracy with his opponents that shortened his new term to two years and forbid consecutive terms for future presidents. In the 1996 elections described by international observers as free and fair and not contested by domestic losers, PLD candidate Leonel Fernandez narrowly defeated his PRD rival in a runoff.

East Timor2002, new country->democracy

In a 1999 referendum held amidst a campaign of violent intimidation by Indonesian security forces, East Timorese voted in favor of independence from Indonesia, which had occupied their country after colonial power Portugal's withdrawal in 1975. An international peacekeeping force intervened to halt the violence, and the ensuing U.N. Transitional Authority established a timetable for elections. Legislative balloting in August 2001 gave 55 of 88 seats in a Constituent Assembly to Fretelin, the political wing of the country's longtime independence movement, and presidential elections in April 2002 were won by former rebel leader Xanana Gusmao.

Ecuador 1961, democracy->autocracy

After a prolonged political crisis and growing unrest, including demonstrations, riots, and an open clash between the army and air force over who should hold the presidency, President Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra was ousted by the military on 8 November 1961 after he had ordered the arrest of leftist Vice President Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy. With the military's backing, Arosemena was then sworn in as president. Two years later, on 11 July 1963, Arosemena was deposed by a military junta, which implemented a series of social and economic reforms. The junta acted after a crisis over Ecuador's relations with Cuba, the emergence of a guerrilla movement in the coastal jungle, and a series of small-scale terrorist attacks (which were later shown to have been carried out by conservative provocateurs).

Ecuador 1966, autocracy->democracy

In 1966, the ruling military junta was ousted amidst a general strike and mass unrest sparked by a dramatic drop in banana exports. The next day, civilian leaders chose Clemente Yerovi Indaburu, a non-partisan banana grower who had served as minister of economy under Galo Plaza, as provisional president. In October, a popularly elected constituent assembly drafted a new constitution and elected Otto Arosemena Gómez, a political centrist, to serve as provisional president until general elections in June 1968. Dr. Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, who had served as president four times before, beat out four other candidates in the 1968 presidential balloting,

Ecuador 1970, democracy->autocracy

Faced with economic problems and protests by leftists, President Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, elected for the fifth time in 1968, assumed dictatorial powers on 22 June 1970. The president took action after months of almost continuous conflict between security forces and student rioters, also announcing that the constitution would be cancelled in favor of one that provided strong powers for the executive branch, that the Supreme Court would be "reformed," and that foreign investments and civil rights would be protected except for "subversives and trouble-makers." The president said he would retain these powers until his term of office ended in September 1972. The military intervened four months before the scheduled election, however, when it appeared that populist candidate Asaad Bucaram Elmhalim would win, just as the country was about to start reaping vast revenues from a new petroleum concession, and Velasco was overthrown in a military coup led by Gen. Guillermo Rodriguez Lara in 1972.

Ecuador 1979, autocracy->democracy

A bloody but failed coup attempt in September 1975 was followed by a bloodless but successful one in 1976. In June 1976, the new junta announced a timetable for a two-year return to constitutional, civilian rule. A national referendum on a new constitution was held in January 1978, and the document was approved by a fractious electorate. Presidential balloting was delayed; the first round occurred in July 1978, and the final round went off in April 1979, after a tense nine months in which it was unclear whether the transition would proceed as planned. Jaime Roldos Aguilera emerged the victor, and he was sworn in on 10 August 1979 for a four-year term.

Ecuador2000, democracy->autocracy

On 22 January, President Jamil Mahuad resigned after military leaders abandoned him in the face of an insurrection led by an indigenous peoples' movement and leftist labor unions. The uprising began in early 1999 in response to rising prices and government austerity measures. On the day the president resigned, protesters stormed the Supreme Court and Congress buildings, and soldiers did not interfere. After Mahuad's resignation, a junta led by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, Indian federation leader Antonio Vargas, and former Supreme Court judge Carlos Solorzano claimed control of the national government. The next day, the junta was abruptly dissolved by Gen. Mendoza, and Vice President Gustavo Noboa Bejarano, who was elected on the same ballot as Mahuad, was sworn in as president with the military's backing. Mahuad never officially resigned, however, and he claimed the military deposed him because he had sought peace with Peru and cut the military's budget.

Ecuador2003, autocracy->democracy

Lucio Edwin Gutierrez Borbua, a former army colonel and member of the three-man junta that briefly claimed power after President Jamil Mahuad's ouster in January 2000, defeated banana tycoon Alvaro Naboa by almost 10 percent of the vote to win the presidency in a runoff election held in November 2002. Gutierrez ran as the anti-establishment leader of his recently formed political party, the Jan. 21 Patriotic Society, and garnered strong support from the country's indigenous minority and other leftist groups. Elections for the National Assembly also held in October gave the center-right Social Christians the largest share of seats. International observers described the elections as free of systematic or widespread irregularities. Gutierrez was sworn in on 15 January 2003.

Ecuador2007, democracy->autocracy

Leftist economist Rafael Correa won the presidency in a November 2006 election and was sworn into office in January 2007. He promptly issued a decree calling for a national referendum on rewriting the country's constitution and ceding legislative power to the constituent assembly that would draft that document, a move that sparked a dispute between President Correa and the sitting Congress. In March 2007, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) dismissed 57 of 100 legislators--all of them opponents of Correa--and barred them from politics on the grounds of “interference with the electoral process,” apparently clearing the way for Correa's referendum. When the Supreme Court ruled against the TSE in favor of those legislators, the TSE--whose members were chosen by Correa--dismissed the Court as well. Constituent Assembly elections were held in September 2007. Correa's supporters won roughly two-thirds of the seats in the CA, but EU observers noted that the banning of opposition legislators from politics and a new electoral system tilted the field in favor of Correa's Movimiento Pais, and academic reporting noted extensive use of state resources on behalf of Correa's movement.

Ecuador2009, autocracy->democracy

In general elections held in April 2009, incumbent President Rafael Correa and his PAIS movement retain the presidency and control of Congress, but opposition parties cheer what they see as substantial gains in the legislature. International observers note problems with blurring of lines between state and partisan resources but assess that they were generally conducted in line with international standards.

El Salvador 1982, autocracy->democracy

After a seven-year tenure marked by civil unrest, the civilian government of Gen. Carlos Humberto Romero was overthrown in a military coup on 15 October 1979. A series of short-lived juntas ensued, and the leftist Farabundo Marti Liberation Movement (FMLN) responded to rising repression and political killings with a "final offensive." With the United States increasingly involved in the conflict against the FMLN, Salvadoran moderates and rightists agreed in 1981 to establish an elected government. Elections to a constituent assembly in March 1982 were contested by six parties, a group that did not include the FMLN's political wing, and the resulting body was dominated by conservatives. In April 1982 and under pressure from Washington to pass over the conservative Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta, the assembly appointed Alvaro Magana Borja, a political moderate, to the post of interim president. The new constitution came into force on 23 December 1983, and presidential elections held in 1984 brought José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes back to the office he had held for two years (1980-82) under military rule.

Equatiorial Guinea 1968, new country->democracy

Equatorial Guinea gained limited autonomy from Spain in 1963 and became independent as a presidential republic on 12 October 1968. Francisco Macías Nguema was elected president in two rounds of balloting in September 1968, but his Popular Idea of Equatorial Guinea party finished third in legislative balloting held that same month.

Equatiorial Guinea 1969, democracy->autocracy

Soon after Equatorial Guinea gained its independence, a public dispute arose when President Nguema demanded that Spain reduce its control over the domestic economy. A state of emergency was declared on March 1 after a failed coup attempt, and the President used the crisis to consolidate power and eliminate opposition leaders, ethnic Bubi separatists, and potential rivals. In 1972, Nguema declared himself "president for life."

Estonia 1991, new country->democracy

Competitive elections held in March 1990 gave the Estonian Popular Front control of the republic's legislature, the Supreme Soviet, which adopted a resolution on independence from the USSR later that month. Following the failed reactionary coup in Moscow in August 1991, Estonia regained its independence. A new constitution was ratified and went into effect in 1992; Lennart Meri was elected president, and Mart Laar became prime minister.

Fiji 1970, new country->democracy

Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970 with with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of the Fijian Alliance Party as its prime minister. Mara had served as elected chief minister in the final years of British colonial rule.

Fiji 1987, democracy->autocracy

In April 1987 elections, the Indian-led Labor Party defeated the Mara's Alliance Party, the traditional political vehicle for native Melanesians, for the first time since independence. With Mara's tacit approval, the army overthrew the new Labor government a month later. Following negotiations to secure constitutional changes that would increase the political representation of the native Melanesian community, Brigadier Sitiveni Rabuka on 25 September again used military force to overthrow the government. The Advisory Council established on 25 May 1987 as a means of restoring the country to civilian rule after the first coup was dissolved and replaced by a military council presided over by Rabuka. On 6 December, Rabuka stepped aside as head of state and became Minister of Home Affairs in an interim government led by former Governor General and now President Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was appointed prime minister.

Fiji 1992, autocracy->democracy

A new constitution promulgated in July 1990 established Fiji as a democratic republic with a bicameral legislature; it also served to guarantee a majority in both houses to the native Melanesian population and included a controversial clause that was criticized by some as giving the army authority to stage further coups. Elections were finally held in 1992, and new constitution was promulgated in 1998.

Fiji2000, democracy->autocracy

Led by businessman George Speight, armed civilians stormed Parliament and seized several hostages, including Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000. Ten days later, the Fijian army imposed martial law and suspended the 1997 multi-ethnic constitution. The ensuing hostage crisis ended 56 days later when the gunmen surrendered to military forces. Rather than restoring Chaudhry as prime minister, the army chose to dissolve parliament and set up an interim government led by an ethnic Fijian, Laisenia Qarase. The military then established a Constitutional Review Committee to revise the 1997 Constitution in order to guarantee ethnic Fijian control of the government, a central demand of Speight-led coup attempt.

Fiji2001, -88->democracy

On 16 November 2000, Fiji's top court deemed the military-installed interim government unconstitutional. The following March, the High Court upheld its decision, prompting a calculated sequence of political moves that allowed Laisenia Qarase to regain the prime minister's post a few days later. New elections were held in August and September under the terms of the 1997 Constitution, and Qarase’s United Fiji Party (SDL) won a plurality of seats. The SDL subsequently formed a ruling coalition with the Conservative Alliance Party (CAP), and Qarase was named prime minister of the new government. Although Chaudhry’s Fiji Labour Party (FLP) cried fraud, the Commonwealth and EU monitors deemed the balloting generally free and fair, and fears of ethnic violence were not realized.

Fiji2006, democracy->autocracy

After threatening for more than a year to oust the elected government if it went through with a plan to pardon the jailed plotters of the 2000 coup, Commodore Frank Bainimarama on 5 December 2006 finally did so, accusing Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's government of discriminating against the country's ethnic Indian minority. Bainimarama said he would eventually allow a return to elected civilian rule, but he did not set a specific timetable for doing so.

Gambia, The 1965, new country->democracy

The Gambia became fully self-governing in 1963 and gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. Elections to the national House of Representatives in 1962 produced a government led by the rurally based People's Progressive Party (PPP), with Dawda Jawara as prime minster. A 1970 referendum switched the Gambia to a presidential government, and Jawara was named the country's first president. He won re-election a total of five times.

Gambia, The 1970, democracy->autocracy

As Gambia's second post-independence election approached, the leading opposition party effectively disintegrated in response to efforts at cooptation by the ruling PPP. In 1970, the secretary-general of the leading opposition party, the UP, resigned to join the PPP. In elections held the next year, the PPP won 28 of 32 seats in the legislature.

Georgia 1991, new country->democracy

Competitive elections to the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR held in October 1990 gave 155 of 250 seats to Zviad Gamsakhurdia's Round Table-Free Georgia bloc, which called for independence from the USSR, multipartism, and special rights for the republic's ethnic Georgian majority. With 64 of the 250 seats, the Georgian Communist Party formed the only significant opposition. Many prominent opposition parties had boycotted the balloting, arguing that it would only legitimate Soviet rule, and in September 1990 they staged elections to a shadow legislature. The Supreme Soviet declared Georgia's independence in April, and Gamsakhurdia was elected president the next month.

Georgia 1992, democracy->autocracy

Gamsakhurdia's ambivalent response to the August putsch in Moscow encouraged a confrontation with a broader coalition of opposition forces that led to an armed showdown in the capital in December 1991. Gamsakhurdia fled the country in January 1992. A self-appointed Political Consultative Council composed of members of various parties acted as a provisional government but soon ceded power to a larger but also self-appointed State Council, which acted as a provisional parliament.

Georgia 1992, autocracy->democracy

Multiparty parliamentary elections were held in October 1992, and international monitors deemed the balloting free and fair, with minor exceptions. When the elected parliament convened in November, it named former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze to the new post of head of government. Following the adoption of a new constitution in 1994, Shevardnadze won election to the restored post of president in 1995.

Georgia2000, democracy->autocracy

Eduard Shevardnadze won a second term as president in April 2000, five years after a new consitution re-established that office and just a few months after the president's party had won 56 percent of the seats in parliamentary elections. OSCE observers noted that fundamental freedoms were generally respected and candidates able to express their views, but they also decried the politicization of the electoral administration process, violations of electoral procedures (including ballot stuffing) after the polls closed, and stated that "there was no clear dividing line between State affairs and the incumbent's campaign." According to OSCE observers, parliamentary elections held in 2003 were characterized by systematic and widespread fraud.

Ghana 1957, new country->democracy

Ghana achieved virtual self-rule in 1952, and the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP), led by Kwame Nkrumah, won elections held that year. Competitive, multiparty elections were held again in July 1956 after the British governor general dissolved the National Assembly to provide an electoral test of the CPP's demands for independence. Although the CPP only won 57% of the votes cast, the electoral system translated that modest majority into more than two-thirds of the assembly seats, giving the CPP the power to amend the constitution. Ghana officially became independent in March 1957.

Ghana 1958, democracy->autocracy

Shortly after Ghana became independent, Nkrumah's CCP set about changing the structure of government, abolishing the country's regional assemblies, politicizing appointments to the civil service, and banning ethnic, regional, and religious political parties. The Deportation Act of 1957 gave the government the authority to expel persons whose presence was deemed not to be in the public good, and the Private Detention Act of 1958 allowed the government to detain persons for up to five years without trial. With these powers, the CPP set about silencing its political opponents. The country became a republic in 1960, and Nkrumah was elected president. Following his election, Nkrumah was declared president for life. He was overthrown in a military coup in February 1966.

Ghana 1969, autocracy->democracy

On 29 August 1969, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia and his Progress Party won an overwhelming victory in what were regarded as the country's first free elections since the pre-independence vote in 1956. Busia had been the most persistent opponent of Kwame Nkrumah, the nationalist figure who was deposed in 1966 by army leaders fed up with the excesses and corruption of his government. The elected government took power on 3 September 1969 from the National Liberation Council (NLC), which had been set up to rule until the restoration of civilian government. Prior to the elections, the NLC had freed political prisoners, reopened the country's borders, appointed a representative assembly to draft a new constitution, and allowed parties to resume activity.

Ghana 1972, democracy->autocracy

In the face of economic problems linked to an unpopular structural adjustment program, the elected government of Kofi Busia was overthrown on 13 January 1972 in a bloodless military coup led by Lt. Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. Acheampong announced that Prime Minister Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo had been dismissed, that the constitution had been withdrawn, parliament dissolved, political parties banned, and that former ministers and members of parliament must report to the police. State power was vested in a National Redemption Council composed of military officers; in 1975, the body was renamed the Supreme Military Council.

Ghana 1979, autocracy->democracy

In the midst of serious economic difficulties and controversy surrounding the military leadership's plans for a government excluding party politics, military head of state Gen. Ignatius K. Acheampong was removed from office by his colleagues in the Supreme Military Council (SMC) on 5 July 1978. The SMC, led by new chairman Lt. Gen. Fred W. K. Akuffo, then announced economic and political initiatives, including releases of detainees and increased press freedoms. Presidential elections in June and July 1979 were won by Hilla Limann of the People's National Party, which won a one-seat majority in legislative elections also held in June 1979. Limann took office on 24 September.

Ghana 1981, democracy->autocracy

On 31 December 1981, Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings staged a second military coup, ousting the elected civilian government that had taken office after a first (failed) coup attempt weeks before the elections in 1979. Once again, the coup occurred against a backdrop of economic malaise, with a rash of strikes in autumn 1981 further damaging economic productivity. Parliament was dissolved and the constitution suspended, and Rawlings assumed the chairmanship of a Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC). On 21 January 1982 the PNDC appointed a civilian government that included established political figures.

Ghana 1992, autocracy->democracy

In April 1992, popular agitation for political opening induced the Rawlings government to convene a National Commission for Democracy, which drafted a new constitution. The government lifted its ban on political parties in May 1992, and Rawlings won the presidential election with 58% of the vote. Foreign observers, including the Commonwealth Observers Group and the Carter Center, noted some irregularities but declared the vote free and fair and the results valid. Nevertheless, most opposition parties boycotted the legislative balloting later that year, and Rawlings' NPP won nearly all of the seats as a result. Rawlings was reelected in 1996, but Ghana’s 1992 constitution limits the president to two terms, so the December 2000 presidential elections became a test of the NDC's commitment to constitutional government. Despite Rawlings' efforts to tilt the results in favor of his hand-selected NDC candidate, John Atta Mills, the election was won by New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate John Kufuor, who took office in January 2001.

Greece 1967, democracy->autocracy

Ahead of elections scheduled for May, a group of conservative army officers purportedly concerned with the threat of a Communist takeover staged a coup on 21 April 1967. Political activity was sharply curtailed, especially for leftists, many of whom were arrested. A countercoup failed in December 1967. Gen. George Zoitakis was made regent, and George Papadopoulos and Stylianos Patakos, two of the three coup leaders, resigned their army posts and were named, respectively, prime minister and deputy prime minister.

Greece 1974, autocracy->democracy

In July 1974, after its failure to gain control of Cyprus, the government of President Phaidon Gizikis—who had led a bloodless coup in November 1973—voluntarily turned over power to the first civilian government since establishment of military dictatorship in 1967. Former premier Constantinos Caramanlis returned from exile to form a provisional government, and in August 1974 the constitution was restored. Martial law was lifted, helping pave the way for the country's first free elections in more than 10 years. Caramanlis' New Democracy party won a strong majority in the 17 November 1974 parliamentary elections. A referendum the next month saw Greek voters reject reestablishing the monarchy in favor of a presidential parliamentary republic. In 1975, parliament chose Constantine Tsatsos, a close friend of Carmananlis, to be president.

Guatemala 1986, autocracy->democracy

Amidst widespread public discontent in the aftermath of the fraudulent 1982 presidential elections, a military coup brought to power a new government led by Gen. Rios Montt. The brutal, albeit short-lived, Montt dictatorship exacerbated the country's civil war and triggered a 1983 coup by reformist military leader Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia. Spurred on by the reformist military government, a new democratic constitution was promulgated in 1985 as restrictions on press and political party activities were lifted. Democratic elections were held in 1986, and Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo became the country’s first civilian president in over two decades. While the return to civilian rule was a positive development, nevertheless, the military continued to exert significant political powers and the civil war remained a constant threat to the political and economic stability of the country.

Guinea-Bissau 1994, autocracy->democracy

Citizens participated in the country's first free elections in July 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal and four years after the People's Assembly scrapped one-party rule. The ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) secured a majority in the National Assembly, and President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira, who siezed power in a 1980 coup, was also returned to office after edging Kumba Yala, 52 percent to 48 percent, in an August run-off. Opposition leaders contested as the presidential election as fraudulent, but international observers declared it free and fair.

Guinea-Bissau 1999, democracy->autocracy

Civil war erupted after President Joao Vieira dismissed his chief of staff, Gen. Ansumane Mané, and rebel soldiers, led by Mané, mutinied. Amidst widespread civil violence, troops loyal to former chief of staff Gen. Ansumane Mané toppled President Joao Bernardo Vieira in May 1999. The military junta named National Assembly Speaker Maladan Bacai Sanhá of the PAIGC interim president and established a timetable for a return to democracy.

Guinea-Bissau2000, autocracy->democracy

The ruling PAIGC finished third in legislative elections held in November 1999, and six candidates competed in the presidential elections held that same month. After a second round of balloting in January 2000, Kumba Yala was declared the victor over Sanhá, with 72 percent of the vote. These elections were deemed relatively free and fair by international observers.

Guinea-Bissau2003, democracy->autocracy

After alienating most of his former allies, President Yala was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by Gen. Verussuni Correia Seabra on 14 September 2003, less than 48 hours after the National Election Commission declared that the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2003 would be postponed--for the fifth time--due to irregularities in voter lists. The National Assembly had been dismissed by President Yala in November 2002, and the delays in reconvening parliament had produced a serious budget crisis in the country. The coup gained widespread domestic and international support after the army agreed to rapidly hand over power to a broad-based civilian administration charged with returning the country to democratic governance within 18 months. Yala’s reign had been marred by frequent cabinet changes, poor relations with the media, labor and the military as well as claims of ethnic favoritism.

Guinea-Bissau2005, autocracy->democracy

Two weeks after ousting President Yala in a bloodless and popular coup, military leaders in September 2003 agreed with political parties on the make-up of a transitional government and a timetable for elections. In legislative elections held in March 2004, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won a plurality in the People's Assembly with nearly 34 percent of the vote. Presidential elections were not held until June/July 2005, and Joao Bernardo Vieira, who ruled the country from a coup in 1980 until his ouster in 1999, defeated the PAIGC's candidate in a run-off vote that EU observers described as "calm and organized." The ruling party protested the results and only relinquished power in October.

Guinea-Bissau2009, democracy->autocracy

President Joao Bernardo Vieira was murdered by armed men on 2 March, just hours after his longtime rival and armed forces chief Gen. Batista Tagme Na Waie had been killed by a remote-controlled bomb. Soon thereafter, Raimundo Pereira, speaker of the National Assembly, was sworn in as president, as required by the Constitution. Presidential elections held in summer 2009 are conducted in an atmosphere of violent intimidation, with the country's military allegedly attacking and harrassing candidates whom it does not favor. International observers describe election as free and fair but also note widespread use of state resources on behalf of candidates associated with ruling PAIGC.

Guyana 1966, new country->democracy

Guyana's major political parties, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) and the People's National Congress (PNC), were founded after World War II, when the country was still a British colony. Starting in 1928, the colony held regular elections for a share of seats on an advisory Legislative Council, and universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1950. In general elections held in 1964, the socialist PNC, led by Linden Forbes Burnham, finished second to the PPP, but it allied with the conservative United Force (UF) to form a coalition government that would prevent the PPP and its leader Cheddi Jagan from retaining his post as prime minister. After a constitutional conference held in London in 1966, Guyana became independent on 26 May of that year.

Guyana 1968, democracy->autocracy

In December 1968 elections marred by manipulations and coercion, the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) won 30 of the 53 seats in the country's parliament, allowing it to rule without its erstwhile coalition partner, the United Force (UF). Linden Burnham retained his post as prime minister, and the PNC undertook further efforts to consolidate its hold on power through gerrymandering, electoral fraud, and intimidation of voters.

Guyana 1992, autocracy->democracy

A long-postponed general election held on 5 October 1992 ended the 28-year run of the People's National Congress, which had ruled Guyana since independence in 1966. The opposition People's Progressive Party (PPP) won a narrow victory, and PPP veteran leader Cheddi Jagan was sworn in as president on 9 October 1992, facing a weak economy and lingering ethnic tensions between East Indians and Africans. Jagan, once a hardline Stalinist, had first led the PPP to an election victory in pre-independence Guyana, but he was dismissed as leader of the assembly when the British government suspended the constitution. He had been returned to office in 1957 and 1961, but was defeated in 1964, two years before independence was granted.

Haiti 1991, autocracy->democracy

Nearly 30 years after "Papa Doc" Duvalier came to power in a flawed election, the Duvalier family dictatorship collapsed in 1985 in the face of a popular uprising against poverty and corruption. After two years under an interim government led by Brig. Gen. Prosper Avril and widely regarded as corrupt, an independent electoral council was formed and elections called for December 1990. Populist Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide became the country's first freely elected president in a landslide. He was inaugurated on 7 February 1991, the fifth anniversary of the overthrow of the Duvalier regime.

Haiti 1991, democracy->autocracy

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced into exile by a violent military coup on 30 September 1991, only nine months after becoming the country's first freely elected president. Although the origins of the coup were disputed, military leaders, rank-and-file soldiers, and Haiti's rich minority had felt threatened by Aristide's government, which had been a champion of the poor and had initiated attempts to combat corruption. Hundreds of people were reportedly killed by police and members of the army, and in succeeding days more murders and arrests were reported as troops continued raids in search of Aristide loyalists. Coup leader Brig. Gen. Raoul Cedras appealed for calm and, without specifying a date, promised that new elections would be held. Despite sanctions and international outcry, however, the following months saw increased oppression by the military and the Tontons Macoutes.

Haiti 1994, autocracy->democracy

After an almost complete trade embargo and under threat of U.N.-approved, U.S.-led military action, junta leaders agreed to relinquish power under a compromise formula reached on 18 September 1994. On 19 September, U.S. forces began to arrive in Haiti to oversee the transition from the junta, which had seized power in 1991. Deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti on 15 October 1994, welcomed by huge crowds, and the chief of police and the heads of the military government went into exile. Aristide's term was to end in 1995, although he had spent only a fraction of that time in office since his election in 1990.

Haiti 1999, democracy->autocracy

President René Préval, the successor to Jean-Bertrand Aristide who had split from the former president's Lavalas party, began ruling by decree in early 1999 after disagreements with the legislature over results of the 1997 election, ratification of a prime minister, the date of new elections, and composition of an election committee. In a move criticized by his political opponents, on 26 March 1999 Préval appointed a new government by decree in an attempt to end prolonged political crisis and regain the confidence of the international community. New elections were called for late 1999, but the balloting was subsequently postponed amid organizational disarray. Only 5 percent of the electorate voted in flawed presidential elections held the next year, returning Jean-Bertrand Aristide to office for a second five-year term.

Haiti2006, NS->democracy

In 2004, a rebellion led by the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti spread from Gonaives toward Port au Prince, spurring President Aristede to flee the country under pressure from outside powers. An interim government petitioned the UN for help, and a peacekeeping force of thousands arrived within days. Elections were held in February 2006 under the auspices of the UN's MINUSTAH mission. Although the elections suffered from significant technical problems and some fraud was alleged, there was no evidence of large-scale or systematic fraud or abuse. Rene Preval narrowly won the presidency without a runoff, and his Front for Hope won a plurality of seats in both chambers of the bicameral legislature.

Honduras 1957, autocracy->democracy

In October 1956, only a few months after a failed uprising by troops in the capital, a military coup led by Maj. Roberto Gálvez ousted Julio Lozano Díaz from the presidency, a post he had claimed after indecisive elections in 1954 produced a constitutional crisis. The coup leaders set a timetable for a return to civilian rule and established a new system of proportional representation. In elections held in October 1957, the Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH) won a majority of seats. The new body named Villeda Morales to a six-year term as president, starting in December 1957. The PLH adminstration undertook a variety of economic reforms and invested more heavily in infrastructure and education.

Honduras 1963, democracy->autocracy

Growing rural disorder, complaints from conservative landowners, and deteriorating relations with neighboring states helped prod the military, led by Air Force Col. Oswaldo López Arellano, to stage a coup on 3 October 1963, shortly before scheduled general elections. The elections were canceled, the constitution suspended, and López Arellano became the country's chief executive.

Honduras 1971, autocracy->democracy

After the 1969 Soccer War with El Salvador, support for the military declined precipitously in Honduras, and the government came under pressure to undertake political and economic reforms. Labor, peasant, and business organizations collaborating as the so-called fuerzas vivas (living forces) met with López Arellano to propose a Plan of National Unity that called for free elections, a coalition cabinet, and a division of government posts and congressional seats. The government declared a general amnesty and set general elections for 28 March 1971. In balloting regarded as generally free and fair, Ramón Ernesto Cruz of the PNH won the presidency, and he lived up to the bargain to appoint several members of the rival PLH to his cabinet.

Honduras 1972, democracy->autocracy

Not long after taking office in 1971, President Cruz pushed through economic reforms that angered labor and business groups. As tensions with the rival PLH rose, Cruz began dismissing opposition members from his cabinet. In autumn of 1972, military-brokered efforts to renegotiate the pre-election pact between the leading parties and business and labor groups failed. On 4 December 1972, the military, with the support of the country's labor movement, carried out a bloodless coup and reinstalled Lopez Arellano as president.

Honduras 1982, autocracy->democracy

In April 1980, the ruling three-man junta led by Gen. Policarpo Paz García fuliflled the promise it made when it took power from another military junta in a 1978 coup and permitted the first national elections in Honduras since 1971. Honduran citizens went to the polls in record numbers to choose delegates for a new Congress that would select an interim government and establish procedures for presidential and congressional elections to be held in 1981. The liberal Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH), founded in the 19th century, won a surprise victory in the election, and power was formally transferred to the Assembly on 20 July. On 25 July, the Assembly named Gen. Paz García as interim president, and the military was given several key cabinet posts, including the Ministry of National Defense and Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A new constitution was promulgated in 1981, and the PLH dominated legislative and presidential elections held that November. PLH candidate Suazo Córdova was inaugurated as president of Honduras in January 1982, ending nearly a decade of military presidents.

Honduras2009, democracy->autocracy

On June 28, Honduran soldiers forced President Manuel Zelaya Rosales into exile in Costa Rica. The soldiers were apparently carrying out a secret Supreme Court ruling authorizing Zelaya's arrest because of his efforts to organize a referendum on a Constituent Assembly that would consider, among other things, abolishing presidential term limits. With Zelaya in exile, the country’s legislature voted to remove him from office and installed President of the Congress Roberto Micheletti as interim chief executive, as mandated by the constitution. Many foreign governments condemned these actions and insisted that President Zelaya be reinstated, but that did not happen, and elections held in November 2009 gave the presidency to Porfirio Lobo Sosa, candidate of the conservative Partido Nacional, which also won 71 of 128 seats in Congress. The legality of Zelaya's attempts to organize a referendum and his subsequent exile remains ambiguous, but the November elections were marred by restrictions on freedoms of the press and assembly imposed by the interim government as part of a "state of emergency."

Hungary 1990, autocracy->democracy

Recognizing the regional push toward democracy, the ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HSWP) in 1989 formally ended the nomenklatura system of control over appointments and restructured the party, which reemerged in October as the Hungarian Socialist Party. After resuming session that month, the National Assembly approved an amended constitution describing the country as an "independent democratic state" and enacted many other reforms, including opening the border with Austria. On the final day of the session, an electoral law was approved providing for elections before June 1990 under a mixed system of proportional and direct representation. In December 1989, the Assembly voted to dissolve itself in March 1990 so that multiparty elections could be held. The first round of legislative elections was held on 25 March 1990. József Antall, a member of the conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum, was named prime minister. Árpád Göncz was elected president of Hungary in 1990 and reelected in 1995.

India 1975, democracy->autocracy

On 25 June 1975, the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi convinced the president to declare a state of emergency and began a period of rule by decree and restricted civil liberties that included a harsh crackdown on her political opposition. The move came shortly after Gandhi was convicted by a state court of a minor offense--a conviction that would have required her to leave office and barred her from politics for six years--and amidst widespread strikes and protests by her political opponents. This declaration was allowed under India's constitution, but that document also limits so-called presidential rule to a six-month period, but the Emergency, as it came to be known, lasted for 21 months.

India 1977, autocracy->democracy

On 23 January 1977, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi--who at the time ruled by decree under a state of emergency declared in June 1975--called elections for March 1977 and released people who had been imprisoned in a preceding crackdown on her political opponents. The state of emergency was officially lifted on 23 March, the day after general elections brought the Janata Party to power, handing Gandhi's Congress Party its first electoral defeat since Indian independence. Morarji Desai became the country's first non-Congress Party prime minster on 24 March, marking a return to democracy.

Indonesia 1955, autocracy->democracy

Indonesia held its first general election on 29 September 1955. All adult citizens were afforded the right to vote, and nearly 38 million did so. The PNI, led by Sukarno, won a narrow plurality with 22.3 percent of the vote, and three other parties won sizable shares of seats in the country's unicameral legislature. A constituent assembly was elected that December and convened the next year to draft a new constitution, and those elections broke along similar lines.

Indonesia 1957, democracy->autocracy

On 14 March 1957, several months after a failed coup and in the face of local army uprisings and a spreading Islamist movement, Sukarno proclaimed martial law and launched an era of so-called Guided Democracy led by the PNI but in coalition with the army and the PKI.

Indonesia 1999, autocracy->democracy

After more than 30 years as head of state, Gen. Suharto resigned in 1998 amidst widespread anti-government protests and rioting sparked by the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. Suharto’s handpicked successor, B.J. Habibie, opted not to seek reelection after a series of unpopular reform initiatives earned him widespread emnity. In June 1999, elections to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) gave a majority of seats in the House of Representatives to opposition candidates. That October, the assembly chose Abdurrahman Wahid to become the country's first democratically elected president; Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of the deposed leader Sukarno, was named vice president.

Iraq2006, NS->democracy

General elections held in December 2006 under the aegis of Coalition forces produced a fragmented Iraqi National Assembly. After months of haggling over the composition of the new government, the Assembly on 20 May 2006 approved a new government, marking the onset of democracy for the first time in Iraq's history. Although Coalition forces remained in Iraq as crucial providers of security, the government approved in May was effectively sovereign.

Jamaica 1962, new country->democracy

In 1944, several years after black rioting prompted Britain to reconsider its racial policies in the colony, Jamaica was granted a new constitution that provided for universal adult suffrage and an elected house of representatives. Jamaica gained its independence in August 1962 under an elected government led by Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaican Labor Party.

Kenya 1963, new country->democracy

Kenya gained its independence on 12 December 1963. In elections held the previous May, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), led by Jomo Kenyatta, defeated its rival KADU to win 83 of 124 seats in the country's new legislature, and Kenyatta was later named executive president.

Kenya 1966, democracy->autocracy

In November 1964, Kenya's leading opposition party, KADU, which had split from KANU in 1960, officially rejoined the now-ruling party. In 1966, Jaramomi Oginga Odinga formed a new leftist opposition party, the Kenya People's Union (KPU). The party was promptly banned and its leader arrested, and Kenyatta was re-elected president--effectively without opposition--later that year. Kenya officially became a one-party state in 1969.

Kenya2002, autocracy->democracy

Presidential and legislative elections held on 27 December 2002 resulted in defeat for long-time President Daniel arap Moi and his Kenya African National Union (KANU), which had allowed opposition parties to operate openly starting in 1991 but sustained its hold on power through a mix of coercion, co-optation, and the systematic manipulation of the electoral process. Constitutionally barred from participating in the election, Moi had engineered the nomination of Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s first leader, as the KANU candidate, but Kenyatta was defeated nevertheless by opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition. Kibaki was sworn in on 30 December 2002.

Kenya2007, democracy->autocracy

President Mwai Kibaki won re-election on 29 December 2007 over Raila Odinga in elections marred by widespread vote-buying, the use of state resources in the incumbents' campaigns, and fraud in vote-counting that swung the election in Kibaki's favor at the 11th hour. In spite of the fraud, Mr. Odinga's ODM won a plurality of seats in parliament. The evident fraud sparked mass protests and communal violence throughout the country. President Kibaki was sworn in for a second term hours after the results were announced.

Korea, South 1960, autocracy->democracy

The March 1960 election of President Syngman Rhee to a fourth term was marked by widespread violence, police brutality, and accusations of government fraud. The violent suppression of a nonviolent demonstration triggered a wave of rioting across the country. Rhee resigned in April 1960, and senior cabinet minister Huh Chung became acting president, pending new elections. On 15 June 1960, the National Assembly approved a bill for revision of the constitution, replacing the presidential system with a parliamentary one. Assembly elections were held on 29 July 1960, and the opposition Democratic Party scored an overwhelming victory. The new Assembly elected Yoon Bo Sun as president on 12 August 1960, and Dr. John M. Chang was named prime minister several days later.

Korea, South 1961, democracy->autocracy

With the government of Prime Minister John M. Chang unable to turn the economy around or maintain order, members of the armed forces on 16 May 1961 seized power in a nearly bloodless coup. The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction assumed power under the chairmanship of Lt. Gen. Chang Do Yung, with Maj. Gen. Park Chung Hee as vice chairman. A new cabinet was formed on 18 May 1961, and the government dissolved the National Assembly and all local government bodies, introduced a provisional constitution whereby the Supreme Council became the supreme ruling body of the republic, banned political parties and trade unions, arrested suspected communists, suppressed newspapers, and purged the civil service. Chang Do Yung was removed from the chairmanship on 3 July 1961 and was succeeded as chairman of the Council by Gen. Park Chung Hee and as prime minister by Lt. Gen. Song Yo Chan.

Korea, South 1963, autocracy->democracy

In 1962, a new constitution that would return the country to a presidential system--this time with few checks on executive authority--was approved by popular referendum. Under internal and international pressure, Gen. Park Chung Hee resigned his military post and upheld his promise of holding elections in 1963. Last-minute attempts by opposition parties to select a single presidential candidate broke down; when nominations closed in September 1963, seven candidates had been put forward, including Gen. Park. Despite accusations on both sides of minor irregularities, Park was elected president in relatively peaceful polling on 15 October 1963. Elections to the National Assembly were held on 26 November 1963. President Park formed a "non-partisan" cabinet on 12 December 1963, and he was sworn in five days later.

Korea, South 1972, democracy->autocracy

President Park proclaimed martial law on 17 October 1972, suspending certain articles of the constitution, dissolving the National Assembly, and suspending all political activities. Park claimed the measures were taken to reform the political structure and to facilitate the peaceful reunification of Korea. That day, a decree was issued banning all political meetings and demonstrations, requiring advance approval for all non-political gatherings, imposing censorship on the media, temporarily closing all colleges and universities, prohibiting strikes and sabotage, and authorizing the arrest without warrant of people violating the decree. In December 1972, President Park was elected to a new six-year term under a revised "yushin" (revitalization) constitution granting him almost complete power. The revised constitution allowed Park to succeed himself indefinitely, to appoint one-third of the National Assembly's members while decreasing its powers, and to dissolve parliament and exercise emergency powers at will.

Korea, South 1988, autocracy->democracy

Confronted by widespread popular protests, military President Chun Doo Hwan—who had assumed power seven years earlier after the assassination of Park Chung Hee—in July 1987 accepted a plan for constitutional reforms, including popular election of the president and reduction of the presidential term. In June 1987, Chun and other senior members of the ruling Democratic Justice Party (DJP) had picked Roh Tae Woo to be the party's presidential candidate. After large and violent protests nationwide throughout that month, Roh had announced his support for the reforms and submitted them for presidential approval in a surprising reversal of policy. The revised constitution was approved by the National Assembly and the public in October 1987. In the 16 December 1987 presidential election, the opposition vote was split between Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam. Roh was declared the winner the next day, and protests erupted as opposition supporters accused the DJP of perpetrating electoral fraud.

Kyrgyzstan2010, autocracy->democracy

An uprising in April 2010 ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, giving way to a transitional government led by Roza Otunbayeva. A constitutional referendum in June established a framework for parliamentary democracy, and parliamentary elections were held on 10 October 2010. Allegations of vote-buying and partisan abuse of state resources were not widely substantiated by the electoral commission or international observers, and the elections appear to have satisfied the criteria for democracy. The newly elected parliament convened in early November, marking the start of the country's first episode of democracy. A coalition government was formed later that month without the participation of Ata Zhurt, the party that won the most votes in October.

Laos 1954, new country->democracy

Delegates to Laos' first popularly elected Constituent Assembly were chosen in December 1946, amidst guerrilla raids from across the Mekong and while still under French colonial rule. The country was granted semi-autonomous status by France in 1950. In Assembly elections held in August 1951, the Progressive Party won a plurality with 15 of 39 seats. Laos became fully independent as a constitutional monarchy in 1954. Elections held in December 1955 excluded the nationalist-cum-communist resistance movement, the Pathet Lao, and the Progressive Party retained its leading role with eighteen seats.

Laos 1960, democracy->autocracy

After a period of brief army rule and accusations that right-wing groups had rigged elections in May and June 1960, a protracted three-way power struggle—and successive coups—among neutralist, rightist, and communist forces led to the outbreak of civil war and the installation of a right-wing government in December 1960. After taking the capital, forces led by Gen. Phoumi Nosavan, who controlled the bulk of the royal Laotian army, installed the new government under Prince Boun Oum in Vientiane. A section of the army supporting former Prime Minister Prince Souvanna Phouma continued its resistance under the command of Captain Kong Le in alliance with the communist Pathet Lao.

Latvia 1991, new country->democracy

Competitive elections held in March 1990 for the republic's legislature put the Latvian Popular Front in control of the body, which adopted a resolution on independence from the USSR two months later. Following the failed reactionary coup in Moscow in August 1991, Latvia's independence was again recognized internationally.

Lebanon 1976, democracy->autocracy

Civil war erupted in Lebanon in April 1975 between the predominantly Christian Lebanese Front, which favored the constitutional status quo, and the predominantly Muslim Lebanese National Movement. President Franjiyah fled under fire in March 1976, and the Chamber of Deputies selected Ilyas Sarkis as his replacement. Syrian forces intervened in 1976 on behalf of the Lebanese Front, and the war was formally ended by the Riyadh Conference in October 1976. In December 1976, President Sarkis named Salim al Huss as prime minister and authorized his cabinet to rule by decree for six months--a period that was later extended. That authorization rendered the country's elected legislature irrelevant and thus formally marked the end of Lebanon's democratic regime.

Lebanon2005, autocracy->democracy

Following the assassination of prominent anti-Syrian parliamentarian and former prime minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005, citizens took to the streets to demand an end to Syrian involvement in Lebanon's domestic politics. Large counterdemonstrations also occurred, but international pressure on Syria to withdraw escalated as well, and Syria announced in April 2005 that it had withdrawn all of its troops from the country. Competitive elections held in June 2005 under Lebanon's complex confessional system gave control of the country's parliament to an anti-Syrian alliance led by Saad al-Hariri.

Lesotho 1966, new country->democracy

Basutholand gained independence as Lesotho on 4 October 1966 under a constitution developed with the British in 1960. The Basutholand Congress Party (BCP) dominated elections to the newly created Legislative Council in 1960 but narrowly lost the 1966 elections to the Basutholand National Party (BNP), which achieved a one-seat majority in the 60-seat body.

Lesotho 1970, democracy->autocracy

After elections marked by alleged irregularities on the part of the government still resulted in victory for the opposition Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Prime Minister Joseph Leabua Jonathan on 30 January declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, expelled the country's king, and arrested members of the opposition. Despite reportedly receiving advice from South African allies to concede the election, Jonathan claimed he took action to protect law and order and shield the country from the threat of communism. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the military frequently clashed with the Lesotho Liberation Army, the armed wing of the BCP.

Lesotho 1993, autocracy->democracy

The BNP ruled by decree until a military coup in 1986. The coup leaders granted executive power to the king, but, a year later, after a falling-out with the military, the king was forced into exile and replaced by his son, Letsie. A second coup in 1991 brought to power Maj. Gen. Elias Ramaema, who initiated a return to democracy. Citizens went to the polls on 27 March 1993 for the first legislative elections since 1970. Using a majoritarian, single-member-district formula, the elections gave all 65 seats in the legislature to the opposition Basotho Congress Party (BCP), led by Ntsu Mokhehle, which in many constituencies secured five times as many votes as the Basotho National Party (BNP). Mokhehle was sworn in as prime minister on 2 April 1993.

Lesotho 1994, democracy->autocracy

In May 1994, King Letsie III announced the dissolution of Mokhehle's government and its replacement with an appointed council amidst a strike by the nation's police force and a wave of looting and robbery. A few months earlier, factions within the country's 2,000-man military had fought a day-long gun battle, and in April the deputy prime minister had been killed by mutinous soldiers.

Lesotho 1994, autocracy->democracy

On 14 September, the elected BCP government was restored after diplomatic pressure from neighboring South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe led King Letsie to reconsider. The restoration was conditional on reinstatement of Letsie's father, King Moshoeshoe II, and termination of an investigation into corruption by Moshoeshoe.

Liberia 1997, NS->democracy

In 1990, a pair of rebel forces led by Charles Taylor and Prince Yormie Johnson began clashing with government forces, and dictator Samuel Doe was eventually captured and killed. As the rebel groups battled for control of Monrovia, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened to negotiate a peace settlement and sent a Nigerian-led force to make and keep the peace. An August 1995 deal signed in Abuja, Nigeria, established an interim government and a timetable for elections. Fighting flared again in April 1996, but disarmament began later that year, and the war ended before multiparty presidential and legislative elections were held in July 1997. In elections described by the UN and OAU as free and fair, Charles Taylor won the presidency, and his National Patriotic Party won a large majority in both houses of Congress, with 75 percent of the vote. An 18,000-strong ECOMOG force was stationed in Liberia during the run-up to the balloting, and ECOWAS helped to administer the process.

Liberia 1998, democracy->autocracy

Beginning soon after his election in 1997, President Charles Taylor used his security forces to intimidate and harm political opponents and journalists who reported unfavorably on his government. These activities accelerated in 1998, effectively terminating the country's brief experiment with democracy.

Liberia2006, autocracy->democracy

Two rounds of presidential balloting in November 2005 gave the country's highest office to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, an economist and former finance minister. Legislative elections held the same month produced fractionalized lower and upper houses, with no party or coalition winning as much as 20% of the seats in either body. International observers characterized the elections as broadly free and fair. Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated in January 2006. In early 2007, the U.N. was still maintaining a peacekeeping force of approximately 15,000 soldiers in Liberia.

Lithuania 1991, new country->democracy

In February 1990, nationalist movement Sajudis dominates competitive elections to the republican legislature, which declares its independence from the USSR on 11 March 1990. Moscow retaliates with an economic blockade, and the legislature backs down in June with a 100-day moratorium on its declaration. In January 1991, Soviet special forces storm strategic targets in Vilnius, killing 15 civilian demonstrators in the process. Following the failed reactionary coup in Moscow in August 1991, Lithuania returns to independence under a Sajudis government.

Macedonia 1991, new country->democracy

In elections held in late 1990, Macedonian voters spread their ballots over 12 of the 20 parties fielding candidates, and the Communist Party lost control of the government. The next year, voters approved independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum. Over objections from ethnic Albanian deputies, the legislature adopted a new constitution, and the country officially marked its independence on 8 September 1991.

Macedonia2008, democracy->autocracy

After observing general elections held in June 2008, OSCE monitors described extensive use of state resources on behalf of the incumbent party in spite of a state corruption commission's condemnation of that practice, partisan law enforcement in response to election-related incidents, and organized violence and intimidation--especially in predominantly ethnic Albanian districts--that led to irregularities and fraud. A coalition that included the party of the sitting prime minister won an absolute majority of seats, the first time any party had done that since independence.

Madagascar 1960, new country->democracy

In 1956, France's Socialist government adopted the loi-cadre, which provided for universal suffrage and parliamentary government in its colonies, including Madagascar. In 1958, voters in Madagascar approved a referendum favoring automony within the French Community short of full independence, and in April 1959 Philibert Tsiranana of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Madagascar was elected president. After a year of negotiations with France, Madagascar became independent on 26 June 1960. Tsiranana was re-elected in 1965 and 1972 with little opposition, and the PSD dominated parliament throughout this period.

Madagascar 1965, democracy->autocracy

President Philibert Tsiranana, who was elected indirectly in 1959, ran unopposed in 1965's direct presidential election. The internal weakness of the nationalist opposition party, AKFM, facilitated the PSD's consolidation of power, as did the constitutionally mandated first-past-the-post electoral system.

Madagascar 1993, autocracy->democracy

After weeks of mass demonstrations and strikes organized by a coalition of 16 opposition parties, longtime President Didier Ratsiraka announced on 28 July 1991 that he had dismissed his government and would organize a referendum on a new constitution, inviting opposition leaders to join discussions on new electoral laws. The concessions failed to satisfy the opposition, which continued to call for Ratsiraka's resignation. Following continued demonstrations, months of exchanges between Ratsiraka's government and the opposition, and one unsuccessful attempt to form a "unity government," on 19 December 1991 Ratsiraka's government announced the formation of a new broader-based coalition, including members of the opposition Comité des Forces Vives. A new constitution was adopted by referendum in August 1992. Opposition leader Albert Zafy defeated Ratsiraka in presidential elections held in two rounds in November 1992 and February 1993--he was inaugurated on 27 March--and the Forces Vives won a majority in the National Assemby in legislative elections held in June 1993.

Madagascar2009, democracy->autocracy

In December 2008, President Marc Ravalomanana ordered a TV station owned by Antananarivo Mayor Andy Rajoelina closed after it aired a speech by an exiled former president. Rajoelina decried the order as a move toward dictatorship and organized protests in response. The protests swelled and were sustained, producing weeks of turmoil in which more than 100 people were killed. After his attempt to organize impeachment of the president was blocked by the constitutional court, Rajoelina organized a parallel government and continued to call for Ravalomanana's arrest. In March, groups of soldiers began openly to side with Rajoelina and forced the resignation of the country's recently appointed defense minister. On March 17, under pressure from top military officers, President Ravalomanana resigned and handed power to a military directorate. That directorate then appointed Rajoelina as head of a High Transitional Authority, and Rajoelina promptly suspended parliament, which was dominated by members of Ravalomanana's party.

Malawi 1994, autocracy->democracy

After suffering through the worst drought of the century, a suspension of Western aid, and a wave of antigovernment protests, "President for Life" Hastings Kamuzu Banda in 1993 convened a multiparty national council to draft a new constitution. The switch from one-party rule to multipartism was approved in a 14 June 1993 referendum, and citizens went to the polls on 17 May 1994 to elect a president and parliament. Banda conceded defeat on 19 May 1994 to his former protégé Bakili Muluzi, who called for a policy of national reconciliation. Muluzi formed a coalition cabinet with members from his own United Democratic Front and the rival Alliance for Democracy. After winning reelection in 1999, Muluzi campaigned in 2002 to amend the constitution so he could seek a third term, but he abandoned that effort under political and popular opposition. In 2004, UDF candidate Bingu wa Mutharika won the presidency, but the UDF failed to secure a majority in parliament.

Malawi 2004, democracy->autocracy

In general elections held in May 2004, the ruling United Democratic Front abused its incumbency to ensure its continuation in government. According to EU observers, the UDF flagrantly used state resources, state-owned media, and traditional chiefs to tilt the field in its favor, and it intimidated rival candidates and their supporters. UDF candidate Bingu wa Mutharika won the presidency, replacing outgoing UDF chief Bakili Muliuzi, with 36% of the vote. The UDF took only 49 of 193 seats in the legislature, however, second to the Malawi Congress Party with 59.

Malaysia 1957, new country->democracy

The Federation of Malaya, established in 1948, gained its independence from the UK on 31 August 1957. The country's first prime minister was Tunku Abdul Rahman, leader of the Alliance Party, a coalition of Malay, Chinese, and Indian parties. Tensions between ethnic Chinese and Malays remained high, however, and an eruption of violence in 1969 led to a 22-month suspension of parliament. Since 1970, the country has been led by the Alliance Party, a coalition of ethnic Malay parties that is headed by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

Malaysia 1969, democracy->autocracy

Tensions between ethnic Malays and Chinese erupted into rioting in Kuala Lumpur on 13 May 1969, three days after ethnic-Chinese parties had gained seats in parliamentary balloting. The government declared a state of emergency on 16 May, suspending parliament and the press and establishing a National Operations Council that ruled by decree. In September 1970, Prime Minister Rahman was ousted by members of a rival faction within the UMNO and replaced by Tun Abdul Razak, who had led the National Operations Council. When parliament reconvened in 1970, Tun Razak was named prime minister, and the National Front government began implementing the New Economic Policy, an affirmative-action program aimed at promoting the status of ethnic Malays. General elections were held in 1973, but those and all ensuing elections have not been sufficiently competitive to mark a return to democracy. Key shortcomings include restrictions on freedoms of the press, assembly, and association that are used to undercut UMNO's political opponents; questionable practices related to the voter-registration process; and the extensive use of state resources on behalf of UMNO candidates.

Mali 1992, autocracy->democracy

Under rising popular pressure (including violent riots) for multiparty democracy, President Moussa Traoré was overthrown on 26 March 1991 after 23 years in office and 18 years of official one-party rule under the Democratic Union of the Malian People. Coup leader Lt. Col. Amadou Toumani Toure headed a transitional committee to lead the country to a constitutional referendum and new elections. The appointment of transitional Prime Minister Soumana Sacko was announced on 2 April 1991. A new constitution establishing multiparty politics was given popular approval in a referendum on 12 January 1992, multiparty legislative elections were held in February and March, and Alpha Oumar Konaré of the Alliance for Democracy (ADEMA) became Mali’s first democratically elected president in April.

Mali 1997, democracy->autocracy

Legislative elections held in April 1997 were marred by serious technical problems, and members of the leading ADEMA party were implicated in many of the discovered instances of electoral misconduct. In accord with an agreement between the incumbent president and several opposition leaders, the country's Constitutional Court annulled the results later that month. The court refused to order a rescheduling of the presidential balloting, however, and incumbent president Alfred Konare won re-election with nearly 96 percent of the vote when the major opposition parties successfully sustained a threatened boycott, leaving only one challenger on the ballot. Meanwhile, Amnesty International reported that dozens of members and supporters of the opposition were arrested ahead of the elections, and some were allegedly tortured. When legislative elections were re-run later in the year, supporters of President Konare won a large majority of seats.

Mauritania2007, autocracy->democracy

Mauritania began its first attempt at democracy in 2007 with the inauguration of President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi following a March 25 runoff victory over Akhmed Ould Daddah. Parliamentary elections held in November and December 2006 gave 41 of 95 seats to Al-Mithaq, an alliance of moderate Islamist independents; an RFD-UFP alliance finished second with 25 seats. Senate elections held in January and February 2007 produced a similar outcome, with al-Mithaq winning 34 of 56 seats and the RFD-UFP alliance a total of 7. Observer missions from the Arab League, the African Union, and Francophonie all declared the presidential balloting credible.

Mauritania2008, democracy->autocracy

On 6 August 2008, a group of senior military officers seized power in a bloodless coup, arresting the president and prime minister and declaring their intention to hold fresh elections "soon." The coup came shortly after the president attempted to dismiss several top army officers, including the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who was named leader of the four-man National Council that claimed power following the ouster. The crisis came two weeks after a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the cabinet that led to a walkout by 48 members of the ruling party. The cabinet in question had replaced one installed earlier in the year amid popular protests over rising food prices.

Mauritius 1968, new country->democracy

A 1947 constitution extended the franchise to the island nation's majority-Indian population. Elections to the Legislative Council in 1967 gave a majority of seats to a coalition associated with the Mauritius Labor Party led by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who then became the country's first prime minister when Mauritius gained independence from Britain on 12 March 1968.

Mexico 1997, autocracy->democracy

In the 1980s, an economic crisis brought on by falling oil prices and ensuing austerity measures stoked popular discontent with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which had led Mexico since 1929. In 1988, PRI candidate Carlos Salinas de Gortari narrowly won the presidency over independent candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a former governor and leader of a faction of disaffected PRI members, in balloting marred by charges of fraud. In the next presidential election, in 1994, PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León won the race by a narrow but broadly accepted margin in balloting that was closely watched by international monitors; he was inaugurated in December. In 1996, the PRI signed an agreement with the country's three main opposition parties that aimed to open the electoral process further. Although the PRI won a plurality of seats in July 1997 congressional elections, it did not win a majority, and a four-party opposition coalition took control of the congress's lower house. In presidential elections in 2000, the PRI's Francisco Labastida Ochoa lost to opposition candidate Vicente Fox Quesada.

Moldova 1997, autocracy->democracy

In multiparty elections for the Moldovan legislature held in early 1990, the nationalist Popular Front gained a significant share of seats, but the Communist Party of Moldova retained a majority. Clashes ensued between ethnic Romanian nationalists, who favored immediate independence, and ethnic Russians, who favored remaining in the USSR and were concentrated on the eastern side of the Dneistr River. The conflict turned violent in the fall of 1990, but Moldova gained its independence in late 1991 after the failure of a reactionary coup in Moscow. Presidential elections held in December 1991 were won by the only candidate on the ballot, Mercia Snegur; the National Front boycotted to emphasize their focus on unification with Romania, and Snegur's two leading rivals were disqualified on technicalities. Legislative elections held in February 1994 shifted power from Romanian nationalists to forces backing Moldovan independence and accomodation of ethnic minorities. A new constitution was adopted later that year that provided for a mixed presidential/parliamentary system, and general elections held in December 1996 gave the presidency to Petru Lucinschi, who was inaugurated in early 1997.

Moldova2009, democracy->autocracy

Parliamentary elections held in April were marred by significant abuses, particularly in the padding of voter rolls with hundreds of thousands of fake voters whose ballots helped (barely) give the incumbent Communist Party the 61-seat majority it needed to choose a president on its own. OSCE observers also decried allegations of police intimidation and abuses of state resources. After protests erupted, a recount trimmed one seat from that total, but the constitutional court declined to endorse efforts to undertake a more thorough scrubbing of the results.

Moldova2010, autocracy->democracy

Moldova held a constitutional referendum on 5 September 2010 and then parliamentary elections on 28 November 2010. Voter turnout for the referendum was too low for it to pass. The parliamentary elections held at the end of November were judged largely free and fair by OSCE ODIHR's election observation mission, and that assessment was not substantially challenged. The transition is dated to December 2010, when the parliament chosen in those elections was seated.

Mongolia 1990, autocracy->democracy

In 1990, amidst mass demonstrations, the Mongolian Communist Party officially relinquished its role as the country's leading political force. Citizens went to the polls on 29 July 1990 in the country's first multiparty elections, but the Communist Party--reborn as the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP)--retained overwhelming control of the legislature. The legislature met for its first session in September 1990 and elected Punsalmaagiyn Ochirbat as the country's first president, a post with little power. A new constitution was adopted in 1992. The MPRP dominated off-cycle elections to the legislature's upper house held in 1992 and Ochirbat won the country's first direct presidential election in 1993, but the opposition Democratic Union Coalition won nearly two-thirds of the seats in legislative elections held in 1996.

Montenegro2006, new country->democracy

Following a closely fought referendum held on 21 May 2006, the Republic of Montenegro officially declared its independence on 3 June 2006 and was admitted to the United Nations later that month. In parliamentary elections held in September 2006, the center-left Coalition for European Montenegro won 41 of 81 seats and named Milo Djukanovic prime minister, while pro-Serbian parties won 23 seats. Observers from the OSCE's ODIHR reported that the election was "largely" in line with OSCE and international standards.

Mozambique 1994, autocracy->democracy

The country's first multiparty elections for the presidency and national assembly were held in October 1994, two years after a severe drought helped to spur a peace accord ending a civil war that had begun in 1980, five years after independence from Portugal. Joaquim Alberto Chissano--president since 1986--and his Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) claimed victory in the balloting, which was held with U.N. peacekeepers on the ground, and Chissano was sworn in to serve a new five-year term on 9 December of that year. Since 1994, Frelimo has maintained a majority in the national assembly, and its candidates have won each presidential election.

Mozambique 2004, democracy->autocracy

Observers from the Carter Center cited "serious irregularities" in the administration of parliamentary elections in December 2004, including evidence of ballot-stuffing sufficient to affect the composition of the legislature. It also notes that complaints from the opposition about these problems were all dismissed on technical grounds unrelated to their merits. A report from the EU's Observation Mission catalogued numerous problems as well, including the use of state resources on behalf of the ruling party, Frelimo. Elections in 1999 suffered some similar problems, but the reports from international observers suggest they were not as extensive at that time.

Namibia 1990, new country->democracy

The territory that is now Namibia was occupied by South Africa during World War I. After World War II, South Africa refused to put Namibia under the UN's trusteeship system, and in the 1960s the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) began a guerrilla war aimed at gaining independence. A 1978 UN plan called for a cease-fire with SWAPO and UN-monitored elections, but that plan was not implemented until 1989 after an agreement brokered by the United States linked the end of South African rule to the withdrawal of Cuban forces from neighboring Angola. SWAPO won a majority in parliament, and party leader Sam Nujoma was elected president. Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990 under a constitution adopted the previous month. Nujoma was re-elected in 1994 and again in 1995 after the SWAPO-dominated parliament changed the constitution to permit a third term. After failing to amend the constitution to permit a fourth term, Nujoma stepped aside in 2005 and was replaced by SWAPO's Hifikepunye Pohamba, who won in a landslide.

Nepal 1959, autocracy->democracy

From 1846, Nepal was a de jure monarchy that was ruled in fact by a series of hereditary prime ministers (Ranas) with unclear rules of succession. The British withdrawal from India in 1947 and the Communist revolution in China in 1949 removed pillars of foreign support for the Rana dynasty, and the ensuing guerrilla incursions and protests in support of democratic government--led by the newly formed Nepali Congress Party--prodded Rana Moham Shansher in January 1951 to restore the king and hold elections. The next several years saw a series of short-lived civilian governments and periods of monarchic rule, and elections were continually postponed. King Mahendra, who rose to the throne after his father's death in 1955, took power in November 1957 from premier K.I. Singh, who had spent only a few months in office. Mahendra finally scheduled parliamentary elections for February 1959, and he promulgated a new constitution that left the king with substantial executive powers; under any number of emergency conditions, he could suspend the constitution or parliament and assume its powers.

Nepal 1960, democracy->autocracy

On 15 December 1960, King Mahendra staged a royal coup, announcing in a broadcast that he had dissolved the cabinet and both houses of the country's first elected parliament. The king declared a state of emergency, suspended sections of the constitution including those guaranteeing fundamental rights, and assumed all powers of administration. All forms of political activity were banned the next day, and some prominent politicians were arrested, including members of the Nepali Congress Party. In place of parliamentary government, the king established a village council (panchayat) system that ostensibly involved popular consultation through four tiers of councils, including the National Panchayat. In fact, the king retained absolute power, and the councils served largely as sources of royal patronage.

Nepal 1991, autocracy->democracy

After King Mahendra's death in 1972, Nepal was ruled by his successor Birendra, who proved to be more open to change. In 1980, Birendra put the panchayat system to a national referendum; after it was endorsed by only a narrow margin, he allowed direct elections to the National Panchayat. General elections were held in 1981 and 1986. In 1989, a squabble with India over Nepal's relations with China led to a trade dispute that damaged Nepal's fragile economy. Strikes and violent demonstrations followed, and in April 1990 Birendra lifted the ban on political parties and dissolved the Panchayat system. Opposition parties formed an interim government that month and called for elections within a year. On 9 November 1990, Birendra promulgated a new constitution that legalized political parties, protected human rights, and greatly reduced the king's powers in a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature. Elections were held on 12 May 1991, with nearly 20 parties and hundreds of independent candidates participating. The Nepali Congress party won a narrow majority, and Girija Prasad (G.P.) Koirala was named prime minister.

Nepal2002, democracy->autocracy

After a prolonged political crisis that involved the murder of several members of the royal family and a Maoist insurgency that began in 1996, King Gyanendra in October 2002 dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his cabinet for "incompetence," temporarily assumed executive powers, and indefinitely postponed elections that had been scheduled for the next month. King Gyanendra appointed an interim government under monarchist and former prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.

Nepal2008, autocracy->democracy

A November 2006 peace deal brought Nepal's decade-long Maoist insurgency to an end. Early the next year, the Maoists joined an interim government that led the country to elections for a Constituent Assembly in April 2008. Maoists won 220 of the 575 contested seats. Although those elections were marred by coercion of candidates and voters, these problems appear to have been local and not systematic. The monarchy was officially abolished in May, and the Maoists, led by Prachanda, formed a government in August.

Nicaragua 1984, autocracy->democracy

Popular opposition to the dictatorial Somoza regime intensified in the 1970s, and the regime was toppled in 1979 by a coalition of opposition forces. The more radical Sandinista National Liberation Front siezed control and began to institute far-reaching political, social, and economic reforms. The United States then funded armed opposition to the Sandinista regime, overtly at first and then covertly after Congress voted to cut off aid to the so-called contras. The Sandinistas called and then won general elections in November 1984; party leader Daniel Ortega retained the presidency, and the Sandinistas retained a substantial majority in the legislature, but numerous opposition parties also ran and won a notable minority. Although the U.S. government actively sought to portray the balloting as a sham, observers from a variety of countries and organizations described the process as free and fair. The next general elections were held ahead of schedule in 1990, and Ortega lost and peacefully ceded the presidency to Violeta Chamorros.

Niger 1993, autocracy->democracy

After the death of longtime military ruler Seyni Kountché in 1987, a group of officers led by Chief of Staff Col. Ali Saibou claimed executive authority. The junta promulgated a new constitution, released some political prisoners, and expanded civil liberties. Under pressure from students and labor unions, Seibou convened a national conference in the capital on 29 July 1991. Some 1,200 delegates representing the government, political parties, professional and labor bodies, and farming and nomadic communities attended the conference, which was tasked with preparing for the country's first multiparty elections. Members of the conference suspended the constitution and dissolved the government. On 2 November 1991, delegates nominated 15 officials to form a transitional legislative assembly to ensure the implementation of conference decisions, and the conference ended the next day. In presidential and legislative elections held in February and March 1993, a coalition of opposition parties defeated the former ruling party, the National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD), and Mahamane Ousmane became president.

Niger 1996, democracy->autocracy

After a prolonged power struggle between President Mahamane Ousmane and Prime Minister Hama Amadou, army officers led by Col. Ibrahim Baré Mainassara seized power in a coup on 27 January 1996. Baré declared that a National Salvation Council (CSN) had assumed power in attempt to save the country from political paralysis. He suspended the constitution, placed Ousame and Amadou under arrest, dissolved the cabinet and the national assembly, suspended political parties, and imposed a national state of emergency. Presidential elections were held in July 1996; while voters were still casting ballots, Baré replaced the electoral commission, and the new body declared him the winner, sparking violent street protests. Baré was sworn in on 7 August 1996, and legislative elections on 23 November resulted in victory for a party close to the president, the National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal.

Niger 1999, autocracy->democracy

Maj. Daouda Malam Wanké became head of state in April 1999 after President Ibrahim Baré Mainassara—who came to power after a 1996 coup—was assassinated by members of his own presidential guard. Wanké was then named head of a National Council for Reconciliation, charged with implementing a return to democracy within nine months. Under a new constitution approved by referendum in July 1999, Niger moved to a French-style semi-presidential system. Presidential and legislative elections were held in October and November; the National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara (MNSD-Nassara) was the leading vote-winner in parliamentary balloting, and Tandja Mamadou of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya (PNDS-Tarayya) won the presidency in a run-off. A coalition government led by Mamadou took office in December.

Niger2009, democracy->autocracy

On May 26, President Tandja Mamadou unilaterally dissolved parliament and announced that there would be a referendum on a new constitution that would allow him to avoid term limits and run again. On 1 June, he established a committee to draft a new constitution. Opposition groups called for protests and the Constitutional Court deemed these moves illegal, but the president proceeded anyway. In late June, the president announced that he would rule by decree as and "emergency measure." Later that month, the government suspended broadcasts of a major opposition media outlet, arrested a key opposition leader, and dissolved the constitutional court. Opposition parties boycotted the referendum on the new constition, held in August, and legislative elections held in October.

Nigeria 1960, new country->democracy

Delegates representing Nigeria's regions and various political leanings met in London in 1957 and 1958 to prepare a new federal constitution, and elections for a new and greatly enlarged House of Representatives were held in December 1959. The Northern People's Congress (NPC) captured 142 seats in the new 312-member legislative body. The Congress also included a 44-member Senate, the members of which were named by elected regional legislatures. NPC member Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was named to head a coalition government, and Nigeria officially gained its independence on 1 October 1960. In 1963, Nigeria became a republic within the Commonwealth, and a president replaced the British monarchy as head of state. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who had served as governor general, was chosen as the country's first president.

Nigeria 1966, democracy->autocracy

Following months of violent unrest in the wake of 1964 federal and 1965 regional elections, a group of Igbo army officers in January 1966 instigated a coup in which several leading government officials were killed. The government officially ceded power to Maj. Gen. Johnson T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, also an Igbo, who abolished the federal system and established a unitary government, declaring himself president of a new Supreme Military Council. Fear of Igbo domination lead to violence in the North, and in late July 1966, army troops, mostly from the North, mutinied and killed Aguiyi-Ironsi and other officers. Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon assumed control of the government on 1 August 1966 as the country moved toward civil war.

Nigeria 1979, autocracy->democracy

In 1975, military ruler Murtala Muhammad began preparations for a return to civilian rule. Muhammad was assassinated in an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1976 and replaced by Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, who sustained the reform process Muhammad had set in motion. In September 1978, Obasanjo lifted the state of emergency and ban on political-party activities that had been in force for more than a decade. A new constitution was promulgated that month, and elections held in July and August 1979 gave control of the legislature and the presidency to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), a descendant of the Northern People's Congress (NPC), which had headed the country's government when independence was granted.

Nigeria 1983, democracy->autocracy

On 31 December 1983, the military again seized power in a coup, this time under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Muhammed Buhari. Buhari—whose background tied him to the Muslim north and the deposed government—cited the controversial reelection of President Alhaji Shehu Shagari earlier that year, and the corruption, economic mismanagement, and inept leadership of the government as justification for the takeover. With the economy in shambles, Buhari initiated a severe austerity program, and as a further attempt to mobilize the country launched a "war against indiscipline" in spring 1984, enforcing work ethic, patriotism, and environmental sanitation.

Pakistan 1958, democracy->autocracy

With the support of the army, President Iskander Mirza on 7 October 1958 annulled the constitution, dismissed the government, and dissolved the parliament, provincial assemblies, and political parties. Citing political corruption, partisan strife, and the "prostitution of Islam," Mirza cancelled elections scheduled for January 1959 and named Gen. Mohammed Ayub Khan administrator of martial law. On 27 October 1958, Khan took control of a military government, also citing corruption. Mirza was forced into exile, and Khan focused on intimidating the opposition and consolidating power.

Pakistan 1972, autocracy->democracy

In December 1970, Pakistan for the first time ever held a general election based on the one-person, one-vote principle, and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won a large majority in West Pakistan in the free and fair balloting. Following the government's military defeat in East Pakistan, violent demonstrations erupted against the military government, prodding Yahya Khan to resign on December 20, and Bhutto assumed power as president and chief martial law administrator. In April 1972, Bhutto lifted martial law and convened the National Assembly minus the Awami League deputies who had been elected from East Pakistan. The regional assemblies elected in 1970 were also reconvened, and the various bodies set to work on drafting a new constitution. The result--Pakistan's third constitution--came into force on 14 August 1973, Pakistan's independence day. The new document formally established a parliamentary system and a modified federal structure. Bhutto was named prime minister.

Pakistan 1977, democracy->autocracy

After a bitter election campaign and balloting that produced an overwhelming victory for the ruling Pakistan People's Party, opposition members denounced the process as "rigged" and organized widespread protests. Talks between Bhutto and the opposition failed to quiet the unrest, and on 5 July 1977 the army arrested all political leaders and declared martial law, announcing that the national and provincial governments had been dissolved. Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, chief of army staff, became martial law administrator and was officially named president in September 1978, when the term of President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry expired.

Pakistan 1988, autocracy->democracy

After dismissing parliament and charging it with rampant corruption, President Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq announced in July 1988 that "free, fair, and independent" elections to the national and provincial assemblies would be held on 16 November 1988. Zia died under mysterious circumstances in a plane crash that August. After elections in November 1988, Benazir Bhutto, daughter of deposed leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and head of the Pakistan People's Party, was appointed prime minister on 1 December 1988. Bhutto's government was dismissed by the president in August 1990, and elections held in October 1990 brought to power a government led by her chief political Rival, Nawaz Sharif of the IJI. While not free from irregularities, those elections were deemed largely free and fair by international observers.

Pakistan 1999, democracy->autocracy

On 12 October 1999, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried to dismiss the army's chief of staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the army responded by arresting Sharif. A state of emergency was declared on 15 October, and Gen. Musharraf appointed himself chief executive, suspending political offices and the constitution. A National Security Council and civilian cabinet were appointed, and civilian courts continued to function under the authority of President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar.

Panama 1956, autocracy->democracy

In 1955, José Antonio Remón--elected president in 1952 after several years as kingmaker from his position as commander of the National Police--was assassinated, and his first vice president was arrested in connection with the killing. Second Vice President Ricardo Arias served out the remainder of Remón's term. In the presidential election of 1956, Ernesto de la Guardia, the candidate of Remón's National Patriotic Coalition (CPN), defeated the candidate of the opposition National Liberal Party (PLN).

Panama 1968, democracy->autocracy

President Arnulfo Arias Madrid was ousted by members of the National Guard on 11 October 1968, less than two weeks after taking office. Arias had defeated the chosen candidate of former president Marco A. Robles—who at one time had the support of the National Guard—in the May 1968 presidential elections, and shortly thereafter had demanded the return of the canal zone to Panamanian jurisdiction and attempted to change the senior leadership of the Guard. The junta moved quickly to consolidate government control, arresting political leaders, disbanding the national assembly, restricting the media, and temporarily closing the University of Panama after protests there. Although Col. José María Pinilla assumed the title of president, Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera emerged as the provisional junta's dominant figure.

Panama 1989, autocracy->democracy

Following a U.S. invasion on 20 December 1989, opposition leader Guillermo Endara Gallimany was sworn in as president, and Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno surrendered and was arrested by the United States three weeks later. Endara had won the presidential election in May 1989 but was prevented from taking office by Gen. Noriega, who had risen to power as head of the National Guard in the early 1980s and had acted as kingmaker ever since, apparently manipulating election results or simply pushing out candidates and presidents he did not like.

Papua New Guinea 1975, new country->democracy

Under Australian control after World War I, the territories of Papua and New Guinea were merged administratively in 1949, became self-governing in 1973, and gained independence as a parliamentary democracy on 16 September 1975.

Papua New Guinea2002, democracy->autocracy

In elections described by some observers as the country's "worst ever," parliamentary balloting in 2002 were plagued by concerns about problematic voter rolls, violent harrassment of candidates and election observers, and intense tribal-cum-partisan violence, especially in the central Highlands provinces. Polling stations opened hours late in many areas, and reports of ballot-stuffing and various other forms of fraud or interference. Elections were declared failed in six constituencies, and a post-election audit by The Commonwealth described serious deficiencies in the planning, coordination and implementation of the 2002 elections, including apparently fraudulent tampering with the voter rolls. In spite of significant efforts to rectify many of these problems, elections in 2007 reportedly suffered many of the same deficienies, especially in the Highlands provinces, where Commonweath observers said fraud was particularly widespread and blatant.

Paraguay 1993, autocracy->democracy

On 3 February 1989, a group of military officers ousted President Alfredo Stroessner, who had seized power in a coup 35 years earlier. Coup leader Gen. Andrés Rodríguez was named provisional president, a long-standing state of emergency was lifted, censorship was eliminated, opposition parties were legalized, and political prisoners were released. Rodríguez easily won a presidential election held on 1 May 1989 as the candidate of the ruling Colorado Party. Observers have characterized that election as free but not fair; opposition parties were legalized and participated, but the brief space between the coup and the balloting and voting irregularities meant the vote was not effectively competitive. A new constitution was promulgated in 1992, and general elections were held in 1993. The Colorado Party retained a simple majority in Congress, and Colorado candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy won the presidency after Rodríguez pledged not to run again.

Peru 1956, autocracy->democracy

Ahead of presidential elections in 1956, the leftist Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) entered into the so-called convivencia, agreeing to support the candidacy of conservative Manuel Prado y Ugarteche in exchange for legal recognition. Prado y Ugarteche won the election with 45 percent of the vote, but many Apristas angered by the alliance voted instead for runner-up Fernando Belaunde Terry of Acción Popular (37 percent). Hernando de Lavalle Vargas of the UN finished third with 18 percent.

Peru 1962, democracy->autocracy

After Victor Raúl Haya De la Torre of the leftist Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) edged Fernando Belaúnde Terry in presidential elections, 33 to 32 percent, the military intervened, annulling the election results and establishing a reformist junta led by Gen. Ricardo Pérez Godoy.

Peru 1963, autocracy->democracy

In 1963's virtual rerun of the previous year's balloting, Fernando Belaúnde Terry, in alliance with the country's Christian Democratic Party, defeated APRA's Victor Raúl Haya De la Torre, 39 to 34 percent. Manuel A. Odría of the Unión Nacional finished third with 26 percent of the vote.

Peru 1968, democracy->autocracy

In an atmosphere of rural stagnation and discontent with a land distribution program that helped to spark a leftist guerrilla movement, and following what was viewed by nationalists as capitulation to a foreign-owned company in a dispute over oil fields in northern Peru, President Fernando Belaúnde Terry was overthrown in a bloodless military coup on 3 October 1968. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Juan Velasco Alvarado succeeded Belaúnde as president and formed an all-military cabinet. The new government suspended the constitution, and Velasco assumed dictatorial powers and began implementing reforms.

Peru 1980, autocracy->democracy

In 1978, President Francisco Morales Bermúdez Cerrutti--who had replaced military leader Gen. Juan Velasco Alvarado in 1975--responded to rising public dissatisfaction with economic malaise and military rule by announcing elections for a Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution in preparation for a return to civilian rule. Held in June 1978, the elections to the 100-member assembly were the first in Peru since 1963. A new constitution was adopted in 1979, and voters returned former president Belaúnde Terry to that office in balloting the next year.

Peru 1992, democracy->autocracy

In 1990 presidential elections, Alberto Fujimori won a surprise victory over writer Mario Vargas Llosa. As president, Fujimori launched an ambitious program of macroeconomic restructuring, but his agenda was stymied by the opposition parties that controlled both chambers of Congress. On 5 April 1992, President Fujimori seized near-dictatorial powers in a "self coup," suspending the constitution, dissolving Congress, proclaiming a state of emergency, and calling elections to a new Democratic Constitutional Congress that was tasked with drafting a new constitution.

Peru 1993, autocracy->democracy

In elections held on 22 November 1992, parties supporting President Alberto Fujimori won a majority in the newly formed Democratic Constitutional Congress, which established a new constitution the next year. Opinion polls taken at the time indicated that Fujimori's autogolpe enjoyed broad popular support, and Fujimori justified it as a means to break the hold of entrenched interests on Peruvian politics. In 1995 presidential balloting, Fujimori won a landslide victory over Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the former secretary general of the United Nations. Despite controversy over the constitutionality of his candidacy, Fujimori stood for a third term in 2000 and won, but a scandal soon erupted over meddling by his intelligence chief in the campaign. Fujimori called new elections and this time did not run. Alejandro Toledo of Peru Posible won the April 2001 election.

Philippines 1972, democracy->autocracy

In September 1972—a year of devastating floods and continuing civil unrest—President Ferdinand Marcos decreed martial law, supposedly to counter the threat of communist rebellion. Under the decree, military commanders replaced elected officials; all communications were subjected to censorship; newspapers and radio stations were closed; and a curfew was imposed. A number of opposition figures were arrested, including Benigno Aquino, two senators, and journalists. The government also took control of public services such as electricity, railways and civil aviation, and it prohibited demonstrations and strikes in some industries.

Philippines 1986, autocracy->democracy

Confronted with massive antigovernment protests dubbed the "People Power" movement and a breakaway military faction, Ferdinand Marcos ceded the presidency to Corazon Aquino and fled the country after losing controversial snap elections in February 1986. Mrs. Aquino, widow of assassinated Sen. Benigno Aquino, was inaugurated on 25 February 1986. On 25 March 1986, President Aquino announced an interim constitution and promised that a commission would be appointed within 60 days to draft a fresh constitution for national approval. A vote on the new constitution and congressional elections were held in 1987.

Philippines 2004, democracy->autocracy

In what became known as the "Hello, Garci" scandal, incumbent president Gloria Arroyo was implicated by wiretapped phone calls in a scheme with electoral officials to ensure her re-election by fraud in the aggregation of results. Before the tapes were made public, independent analysis by two investigative journalists had uncovered evidence of just such manipulation. The scheme was not publicized until after the election, however, and her supporters in Congress rebuffed opposition attempts in 2005 to impeach her on related charges. By rigging the election in favor of the incumbent, the scheme resulted in a breakdown of democracy by self-coup.

Philippines 2010, autocracy->democracy

National elections in May 2010 were fraught with allegations of fraud perpetrated via the country's new automated voting systems, but none of the allegations was proved, and polling data suggest the vote tallies were generally credible. Incumbent president Gloria Arroyo was not eligible to run again for that post, and her ally in that race lost to challenger Benigno Aquino III. Politics in the Philippines is organized primarily around clans that dominate local government through patronage and use private militias to defend their "turf," and vote-buying is pervasive. Both of these practices continued in the 2010 elections, but neither one directly violates any of the coding criteria for this data set. There were also reports that President Aquino surreptitiously used state funds to bolster allies in legislative elections ahead of the vote. This activity could violate the criterion concerning partisan use of state resources, but the coding criterion is vague and the allegations were not widely substantiated, so the reports alone are not sufficient to characterize the regime as non-democratic.

Poland 1989, autocracy->democracy

Following widespread strikes led by Solidarity, an independent but (at the time) legal trade union, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski in December 1981 declared martial law, banned Solidarity, and arrested its leaders. Martial law was lifted in 1984, Jaruzelski became president in 1985, and Solidarity was again legalized in early 1989. The so-called Round Table negotiations ensued, and free elections held later in June 1989 gave candidates backed by Solidarity control of both houses of the legislature. In August 1989, Solidarity's Tadeusz Mazowiecki became prime minister, and Lech Walesa won the presidency in balloting held in November and December 1990.

Portugal 1976, autocracy->democracy

On 25 April 1974, a group of officers with the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) toppled the regime in place since the military appointed António de Oliveira Salazar prime minister in 1932. Salazar had died in 1969, and dissention within the military had been growing as wars in Portugal's colonies took a rising toll on the country's military. The MFA encountered minimal resistance, and Portugese poured into the streets by the tens of thousands to celebrate and demand broader political change. Gen. António de Spínola was appointed head of the ruling military junta, and a largely civilian government was formed on 15 May 1974. A series of provisional governments and coup attempts ensued, and the country appeared on the brink of anarchy as the revolution spread to the countryside and the military command structure broke down. Elections for an assembly to draft a new constitution were held in April 1975. A new constitution was proclaimed on 2 April 1976; elections for the new parliament were held that same month, and presidential elections were held in June. The first constitutional government was officially formed on 23 July 1976.

Romania 1996, autocracy->democracy

Nicolae Ceausescu, leader of the Romanian Communist Party since 1965, was toppled in a bloody revolution that started when anti-government violence broke out in Timisoara on 21 December 1989 and ended with the execution of the deposed president and his wife by security forces on 25 December. As citizens celebrated the fall of the regime, a provisional government calling itself the National Salvation Front was formed with former communist official Ion Iliescu as its president. Elections held in May 1990 gave the presidency to Iliescu and a large majority in parliament to the National Salvation Front, but violent repression, state control over the media and other communications, and possible electoral manipulation rendered those elections less than competitive. Iliescu won reelection and his faction of the National Salvation Front won legislative elections in 1992 in balloting marred by similar problems, but Iliescu was defeated by opposition presidential candidate Emil Constantinescu in November 1996, and opposition parties won pluralities in both legislative houses that same year.

Russia 1991, new country->democracy

In May 1990, Boris Yeltsin was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet (legislature) of the RSFSR, and that body issued a declaration of sovereignty the next month. In conjunction with a March 1991 USSR-wide referendum, Russian voters approved the establishment of a directly elected president for their republic. Elections were held on 12 June 1991, and Yeltsin won with 57 percent of the vote. Russia officially became independent on 25 December 1991.

Russia 1993, democracy->autocracy

Political struggles over Yeltsin's economic reforms intensified in 1992, and Russia's legislature began to assert more control over the government. On 20 March 1993, Yeltsin announced that he was assuming special powers pending the results of a referendum on a new constitution, the timing of new legislative elections, and public confidence in him. In the referendum held on 25 April, voters backed Yeltsin and his plan for early legislative elections. A constitutional convention was convened in July. In September, Yeltsin unilaterally dissolved parliament, gave himself extraordinary powers, and called for legislative elections and a constitutional referendum in December. The next day, the Constitutional Court ruled the move unconstitutional; parliament declared the move null and void and appointed an alternative government. Yeltsin's opponents holed up in the White House and were joined by mass protesters. On 4 October, the military forcibly evicted the holdouts in a violent assault that resulted in at least 187 deaths. Yeltsin then banned leftist parties and newspapers that had supported his opponents.

Russia 1993, autocracy->democracy

On 12 December 1993, Russian voters simultaneously approved a new constitution and elected a new legislature (a body that would not have existed had the constitution failed to gain approval). Yeltsin's new constitution, which gave the president broad powers to rule by decree and dismiss the legislature, won passage by a comfortable margin, but the bicameral legislature elected the same day included many deputies from parties opposed to Yeltsin's agenda for economic reform, including members of the Communist and so-called Liberal Democratic parties.

Russia2003, democracy->autocracy

In December 2000, Vladimir Putin handily won the presidency a few months after Boris Yelstin unexpectedly resigned, making then-Prime Minister Putin acting president. Over the next few years, the Putin administration took a variety of steps to consolidate state authority under the central government and, more important fhere, restrict civil liberties and quash political opposition. By the time of the next legislative elections in October 2003, the state's entanglement in the political process on behalf of the incumbent administration had become pervasive, and government influence over the media was effectively restricting political debate. United Russia, a party formed two years earlier as a vehicle to support Putin's policies, won a commanding majority of seats in the Duma in an electoral process criticized by the OSCE Observer Mission as "seriously distorted." The presidential election held just a few months later suffered similar deficiencies, according to OSCE observers, and Putin was reelected with more than 70% of the vote.

Senegal 1960, new country->democracy

Elections to the Senegalese National Assembly were held in 1959, prior to independence, with universal adult suffrage. Facing an opposition divided between Marxist and conservative forces, the Union Progressiste Senegalais (UPS) won 82.7 percent of the vote. The country gained its independence in 1960 as part of a Federation of Mali, but the federation collapsed in September of that year. Leopolod Senghor, secretary general of the UPS, was elected president in August by an electoral college composed of parliamentarians and representatives from municipal and regional councils, as the country's new constitution indicated. Although the UPS dominated these early elections, sources consulted for this research do not indicate any fraud or direct manipulation.

Senegal 1963, democracy->autocracy

Senegal's post-independence constitution provided for a mixed presidential-parliamentary system, and power struggle between President Senghor and Prime Minister Mamadou Dia intensified in 1962. After a parliamentary vote of censure on 17 December, Dia attempted a coup, which was put down the next day by forces loyal to Senghor. The next year, Sengor initiated constitutional and electoral reforms that concentrated power in the presidency and switched to a single-constituency electoral system that only allowed parties to compete if they offered a complete list of candidates, a rule that effectively guaranteed future UPS domination of the legislature. In January 1964, the government adopted a new law requiring parties to register with the Minister of the Interior, contributing to the dissolution later that year of the leading opposition party.

Senegal2000, autocracy->democracy

In 1997, after 37 years of Socialist Party rule, a National Electoral Observatory (ONEL) was established to guarantee the transparency of future elections. Limits on the number of legal political parties had been lifted in the early 1980s, but the government had periodically lifted and reimposed other restrictions on opposition activity, compromising the competitiveness of legislative and presidential balloting. In 2000, opposition candidate Abdoulayé Wade decisively defeated the ruling Socialist Party incumbent Abdou Diouf in a tense second round of presidential elections held on 19 March. International observers declared the elections free and fair. President Wade announced in October 2000 that Senegal would hold a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution in January 2001, and legislative elections were held in March 2001.

Senegal2007, democracy->autocracy

Presidential elections in February 2007 were plagued by credible allegations of widespread fraud on behalf of incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, who retained his office by beating 18 challengers with more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, according to official results. Although observers from ECOWAS declared the elections free and fair, opposition politicians and domestic human-rights groups claimed that the PDS perpetrated fraud in the February elections by manipulating the voter registration process, to include producing multiple voting and identity cards for PDS supporters and witholding cards from registered voters in areas expected to support opposition candidates. Security forces also harrassed and arrested journalists from independent media ahead of the elections. Legislative elections had been delayed to coincide with the presidential contest in February but were then delayed until June after a court upheld allegations of irregularities in the pre-election process. In those elections, which were boycotted by most opposition parties, the ruling PDS won 131 of 150 seats.

Serbia2006, new country->democracy

After a May 2006 referendum on independence for Montenegro produced a narrow victory for pro-secession forces, Serbia officially declared itself the independent successor to Serbia and Montenegro in early June. At the time, the government was in the hands of a coalition formed in March 2004, with Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, as prime minister. A new constitution was adopted in an October 2006 referendum. The new country held its first post-independence elections in January 2007, and observers from the OSCE's ODIHR declared them "in line" with international commitments and OSCE standards.

Sierra Leone 1961, new country->democracy

Sierra Leone gained its independence on 27 April 1961 with Dr. Milton Margai, an ethnic Mende, of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) as its prime minister. Formed in 1951 and dominated by ethnic Mende from the country's south, the SLPP had won multiparty elections to the colony's Legislative Council in 1951 and 1957. Milton Margai died in 1964, and his brother Albert became leader of the SLPP in his stead.

Sierra Leone 1967, democracy->autocracy

In 1967 parliamentary elections, the opposition All People's Congress (APC) narrowly defeated the ruling SLPP, and APC leader Siaka Stevens--an ethnic Lunda--was named prime minister on 21 March. Within minutes, Chief of the Army Brigadier David Lansana placed Governor General (the formal head of state) Sir Henry Lightfoot-Boston and Stevens under house arrest and declared martial law. Stevens' supporters took to the streets to protest, and on 23 March 1967 a group of young army and police officers headed by Col. Andrew Juxom-Smith seized power in a counter-coup. The coup leaders announced that the governor general and all political leaders had been taken into protective custody, political parties dissolved, political activity prohibited, all newspapers closed, and the constitution suspended.

Sierra Leone 1968, autocracy->democracy

In 1968, an army revolt overthrew the ruling junta and installed the parliament that had been elected in 1967. APC leader Siaka Stevens became prime minister.

Sierra Leone 1971, democracy->autocracy

On 18 April 1971, one day after a failed coup attempt and after a few years of ethnic and military unrest, parliament changed the constitution to make Sierra Leone a presidential republic and declared Siaka Stevens to be the country's first president. Guinean troops were invited into the country to support Stevens' government and stayed until 1973, when the next parliamentary elections were held. The APC won all 85 contested seats, due in part to an opposition boycott. Stevens ran unopposed for president in 1976, and a constitutional referendum in June 1978 officially transformed Sierra Leone's political regime into a one-party system.

Sierra Leone 1996, autocracy->democracy

In 1991, Sierra Leonians voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum providing for a multipartism and a more powerful legislature. Before the results could come into force, however, Maj. Gen. Joseph Saidu Momoh, president since 1986, was overthrown in a military coup led by Capn. Valentine E.M. Strasser. In January 1996, Strasser was toppled in turn by second-in-command Brig. Gen. Julius Maada Bio, who promised to return the country to civilian rule. Multiparty presidential and legislative elections were held in February 1996. Amid massive celebrations, on 29 March the military government relinquished power to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who had won the second round of presidential elections two weeks earlier. Kabbah pledged to end violence and corruption, and to seek an end to the five-year conflict with the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). After months of talks, Kabbah and RUF leader Foday Sankoh signed a short-lived agreement on 30 November 1996 to end the fighting.

Sierra Leone 1997, democracy->autocracy

In May 1997, mutinous soldiers sided with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) guerrillas to overthrow recently elected President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Led by Maj Gen. Johnny Paul Koroma, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, and invited the RUF to join the government in a ruling junta.

Sierra Leone 1998, autocracy->democracy

ECOMOG forces drive the mutinous junta from the capital and resto re Kabbah's elected government to power. Another AFRC coup attempt faled in early 1999, but the civil war persisted until 2002. General elections in May 2002 kept Kabbah in the presidency and gave his Sierra Leone Peoples' Party (SLPP) a healthy majority of seats in parliament.

Slovakia 1993, new country->democracy

After the fall of communism in Cezechoslovakia in 1989 and competitive elections in June 1990, Slovak nationalists who were dissatisfied with their Slovakia's "junior" status began to advocate for separation of the country's two regions. June 1992 elections in Czechoslovakia gave the post of premier of Slovakia to Vladimír Mečiar, leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HDZS), who had also served as premier in 1990-91. Mečiar and his Czech counterpart, Václav Klaus, agreed to splilt the country, and the so-called Velvet Divorce occurred on 1 January 1993. Mečiar was unseated as prime minister in March 1994 but regained the post again after parliamentary elections that fall.

Slovenia 1991, new country->democracy

Seventeen parties contested republican elections held in April 1990. The republic's pro-independence Communist Party won a plurality with 17 percent of the vote, and party leader Milan Kucan won the presidency in direct elections, but the DEMOS coalition of seven antiocommunist but also pro-independence parties won 55 percent of the parliamentary vote and formed the new government. On 2 July 1990, parliament voted in favor of complete sovereignty. Slovenia declared independence nearly a year later, on 25 June 1991. Federal troops moved in but withdrew in July after relatively little fighting.

Solomon Islands 1978, new country->democracy

A British colony since the 1890s, the Solomon Islands became self-governing in 1976 and independent in 1978 as a parliamentary democracy with the British monarch, represented by a governor general, as its formal head of state.

Somalia 1960, new country->democracy

Contested elections for bodies at various levels were held throughout Somalia in the 1950s, even as some regions contested the country's unity. With the assent of Britain, the leaders of Somalia's two major regions met in April 1960 and agreed to form a unitary state under a 123-seat parliament representing the two territories, which had held competitive elections for Legislative Councils in 1957 and 1960. After independence on 26 June 1960, the newly formed legislature appointed Aadan Abdullah Usmaan as president; he then appointed Abdirashiid Ali Shermaarke to be the country's first prime minister. Shermaarke formed a coalition government dominated by the southern Somali Youth League (SYL) but supported by the two clan-based northern parties, the Somali National League (SNL) and the United Somali Party (USP). Usmaan's appointment as president was ratified a year later in a national referendum. The regions continued to function effectively as separate countries, however, and the first national election was a June 1961 referendum on the new constitution. National legislative elections were held in March 1964.

Somalia 1969, democracy->autocracy

On 15 October 1969 President Abd-i-rashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated by a member of the police force, reportedly as an act clan-based retribution, and army officers began a takeover days later as criticism of the government of Prime Minister Mahammad Ibrahim Igaal intensified. Maj. Gen. Mahammad Siad Barre assumed leadership of the officers, and the new governing body, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), installed him as its president. Calling its action a Marxist revolution, the SRC arrested leading members of the democratic regime, banned political parties, dissolved the National Assembly, suspended the constitution, declared a state of emergency, and imposed a curfew. The new regime's reported goals included an end to "tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and misrule," and the country was renamed the Somali Democratic Republic.

South Africa 1994, autocracy->democracy

In January 1989, after President P.W. Botha suffered a stroke, F.W. de Klerk succeeded him as National Party leader and then as president. That year, de Klerk began talks with African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela, who was still imprisoned. Soon thereafter, the government began to dismantle the Apartheid system, and formal negotiations over a new constitution began in December 1991. Unrest surged in 1992-93, but the negotiations produced a constitution that was formally ratified in December 1993, when a Transitional Executive Council was formed to run the country until elections could be held the next year. The ANC dominated legislative elections held in April 1994, and the newly seated body named Nelson Mandela to the presidency.

Spain 1977, autocracy->democracy

After nearly four decades in power, Generalissimo Francisco Franco died in November 1975, having earlier named as his successor Juan Carlos I, the grandson of former King Alfonso XIII and heir to the Spanish throne. On 30 October 1975, Juan Carlos provisionally assumed the powers of chief of state and head of government. In 1976, amidst a wave of strikes, demonstrations, and Basque terrorist violence, Juan Carlos and his newly appointed prime minister, Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez, ushered in a program for political reform that was almost unanimously endorsed by voters in a December 1976 referendum. In 1977, political parties were legalized, elections held, and the new bicameral legislature seated. A new constitution was ratified in 1978.

Sri Lanka 1982, democracy->autocracy

In 1977, the United National Party (UNP) nearly swept parliamentary elections, and Junius Jayewardene became prime minister at a time of rising communal violence. In 1978, parliament adopted a new constitution that replaced the parliamentary system with a presidential one, and Jayewardene became the country's first president. In 1979, the government adopted the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and Jayewardene was elected to a second term in October 1982. In 1983, following massive communal rioting in July, the president declared a state of emergency after the discovery of an alleged plot to kill him and overthrow the government. The UNP-dominated parliament then canceled legislative elections scheduled for August 1983 and instead called a referendum on extending its mandate for another six-year term. Held on 22 December, the referendum passed by a wide margine, but domestic critics of the UNP and some international NGOs documented various problems with the conduct of the referendum (http://www.tamilnation.org/indictment/indict022.htm).

Sri Lanka 1994, autocracy->democracy

Presidential elections in 1988 and legislative elctions held in 1989 were compromised by state control of the media, intimidation of opposition parties, and the inability to conduct balloting in Tamil areas. The UNP won both of these elections. In 1994, Chandrika Kumaratunga of the People's Alliance won the presidency by a wide margin over the UNP candidate, and the People's Alliance won a narrow plurality of seats in parliament (105 of 225, compared with 94 for the UNP).

Sri Lanka2010, democracy->autocracy

After winning re-election in January 2010, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa used emergency-law provisions in a partisan manner to cripple or silence opposition parties, NGOs, and journalists. including the arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka, a former commander of the Sri Lankan Army, who was his chief competitor in the election.

Sudan 1956, new country->democracy

In 1948, Britain authorized a measure of self-rule for Sudan under a partially elected Legislative Council. Elections held in late 1952 gave control of the Council to the pro-independence National Unionist Party (NUP) led by Ismail al Azhari. In December 1955, parliament adopted a resolution on independence, and Sudan officially gained independence on 1 January 1956.

Sudan 1958, democracy->autocracy

Citing national instability and partisan strife, Gen. Ibrahim Abboud seized power in a military coup on 17 November 1958, the day parliament was to reconvene. Abboud suspended the Transitional Constitution under which the country had operated since independence, dismissed parliament, dissolved political parties, outlawed political gatherings, suspended newspapers, and restricted freedom of the press. The next day, Abboud and his colleagues created a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and a cabinet to rule the country. Abboud himself became president of the Council and prime minister. He appointed a commission to draft a permanent constitution but maintained that political parties served only as vehicles for personal ambitions, so they would not be reestablished when civilian rule was restored.

Sudan 1965, autocracy->democracy

President Ibrahim Abboud 's military regime, which had held power since a coup in November 1958, was overthrown at the end of October 1964 by a popular uprising centered in Khartoum. Unable to improve the country's weak economy or end a revolt in the country's South, Gen. Abboud agreed to reestablish civilian government. A transitional government was formed on 30 October 1963, and Abboud announced his resignation on 15 November. Elections were held in March 1965 to a parliament tasked with writing a new constitution. The Umma and NUP won a majority of seats, and in June the two parties formed a coalition cabinet headed by Umma leader Muhammad Ahmad Mahjub. NUP leader and former prime minister Ismail al Azhari became the Supreme Commission's permanent president and chief of state.

Sudan 1969, democracy->autocracy

On 25 May 1969, a military coup led by Col. Jaafar an Nimeiri deposed the coalition government of Umma leader Muhammad Ahmad Mahjub, who had become prime minister after elections in 1968 produced another fractious parliament. Nimeiri justified the coup on the grounds that civilian politicians had left the country without a permanent constitution, had paralyzed the decision-making process, and had failed to deal with the country's economic problems or the ongoing conflict in the southern region. Nimieri's Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) suspended the still-transitional constitution and parliament, dissolved all political parties under threat of death, and announced that arrests could be made any time in the name of national security. Nimeiri initially appointed a former chief justice, Babiker Awadalla, as prime minister, but he took over the post himself later that year and was named president after a 1971 plebiscite.

Sudan 1986, autocracy->democracy

On 6 April 1985, President Jaafar an Nimeiri was deposed by one of his appointees, Gen. Abdul Rahman Siwar el-Dahab, following Nimeiri's decision to introduce sharia law and redivide the country's southern region in violation of a 1972 autonomy agreement, a move that sparked renewal of a long-running civil war. The coup also occurred on the third day of a general strike precipitated by rioting over bread and gas price increases. Three days later, Gen. Dahab authorized the creation of the Transitional Military Council (TMC), which suspended the constitution; dissolved the country's lone political party, the secret police, and assemblies; dismissed government officials; and released hundreds of political detainees. Dahab promised to negotiate an end to the southern civil war and return a civilian government within 12 months. General elections were held in April 1986, and in June Sadiq al Mahdi of the Umma formed a coalition government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the National Islamic Front (NIF), and four southern parties.

Sudan 1989, democracy->autocracy

In the face of an impasse over how to end the bloody civil war in the south, which had been inflamed by disagreements over enforcement of sharia law, the civilian government of Sadiq al-Mahdi was overthrown in a bloodless coup on 30 June 1989. Col. Omar Ahmed al-Bashir established the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, which strengthened ties with Libya, Iran, and Iraq, reinforced Islamic law nationwide, abolished various government institutions, banned opposition parties, restricted the press, and continued to pursue the war with the Sudanese People's Liberation Army in the south.

Swaziland 1968, new country->democracy

A British protectorate at the time, Swaziland was granted limited self-government in 1963. Elections to a Legislative Council were held in June 1964 and April 1967, and the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM)--a traditionalist movement formed in 1964 by King Sobhuza II--dominated both constests. The country gained full independence on 6 September 1968 under a constitution that established a parliamentary government with the king as head of state.

Swaziland 1973, democracy->autocracy

In 1973, one year after his INM won 21 of 24 seats in the country's parliament, King Sobhuza II abrogated the constitution on grounds that it did not reflect Swazi culture and assumed personal rule. The royal decree of 12 April 1973 banned political parties and significantly curtailed political freedoms such as the freedom of assembly and processions. Parliament was reconvened four years later under a new constitution that vested executive power exclusively in the king.

Syria 1958, D->NS

By the end of 1957, Baathists and their leftist allies had gained control of Syria's government, aided in part by victories in by-elections held earlier in the year. The Baathists entered talks with Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser on a political union. The United Arab Republic officially came into being on 1 February 1958, effectively placing Syria under Nasser's control.

Syria 1961, autocracy->democracy

In September 1961, Syrian military officers staged a coup in Damascus and promptly withdrew Syria from the United Arab Republic. General elections held in December were contested by all groups except the Communist and pro-Nasser factions. The new assembly named moderate Nazim al Qudsi president, and he named conservative Maruf Dawalibi prime minister.

Syria 1962, democracy->autocracy

"Yet another military coup occurred on 28 March 1962. President Qudsi and his government resigned, and the executive and legislative functions of the government were taken over by an organization called the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces. The coup sparked protests in several cities and, on April 5, prompting other military leaders to send the seven military officers who had organized and implemented the coup into exile. Qudsi resumed the presidency on 10 April, but the National Assembly did not immediately reconvene, and its status was unclear. Clashes between pro- and anti-Nasser factions intensified and were accompanied by more frequent student demonstrations and terrorist bombings. The next several years saw a series of coups and government changes prompted by factional fighting within the Baath party.

Taiwan 1992, autocracy->democracy

After President Lee Teng-hui ended emergency rule in 1991 and members of the national assembly—including mainlanders originally elected in 1947—stepped down, a general election to the Legislative Yuan was held on 19 December 1992, the first time since 1948 that the entire body had been reelected, and the first time it was elected entirely within Taiwan. In what was viewed as a major setback for the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), which continued to promise unification with the mainland and managed to hold on to a majority, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, strongly advocating an independent republic, won nearly one-third of the seats. Four years later, the country held its first direct election for president, and Lee retained his office by defeating DPP candidate Peng Ming-min with 54 percent of the vote, but the DPP's Chen Shui-bian defeated the KMT's Lien Chan in 2000, marking the first transfer of executive power from the KMT in the country's history.

Tanzania 1995, autocracy->democracy

After nearly three decades of one-party rule, Tanzania amended its constitution in 1992 to allow multipartism and then held its first competitive elections in 1995. Although the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party retained the presidency and control of the legislature, observers from the Commonwealth described the elections as generally free and fair. The CCM largely abided by the laws it had adopted to promote a fair campaign, and the major difficulties described by the international observers were technical ones. The CCM's Bejamin Mkapa won the presidency with 62 percent of the vote, and the CCM won 186 of 232 contested legislative seats with 59 percent of the vote. The CCM also won elections on Zanzibar, but the size of the margin (0.4 percent in the presidential balloting) and delays in vote-counting led to allegations of fraud in that contest.

Thailand 1975, autocracy->democracy

In 1973, a week of mass protest and unrest in Bangkok--the third significant bout of protest since the 1971 coup--led to the resignation of the military junta on 14 October. King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed Thailand's first civilian premier in 20 years, naming university rector Sanya Thammasak to the post. Sanya announced his intentions to promulgate a new constitution and hold general elections as soon as possible. He formed a predominantly civilian government that month, and in December 1973 the king nominated a national convention to choose a National Assembly that would ratify a new constitution. A new constitution was promulgated in October 1974, and parliamentary elections were finally held in January 1975. Some 42 parties contested the election, and a bloc of right-wing and centrist parties won control of nearly 90 percent of the seats. Kukrit Pramoj, leader of the small, right-wing Social Action (Kit Sangkhom) Party, cobbled together a centrist coalition and became premier.

Thailand 1976, democracy->autocracy

After police and rightist paramilitary groups intervened violently to suppress student riots, the coalition government headed by Prime Minister Seni Pramoj--seated after parliamentary elections that April--was overthrown by a military coup on 6 October 1976. The violence reflected a climax in tensions between leftist and rightist factions in the country, which had been clashing over various issues, including relations with Vietnam and Laos. Calling itself the National Administrative Reform Council (NARC), the junta restricted the media, suspended the parliament and constitution, and promulgated a new constitution that month, replacing parliament with an appointed National Administrative Reform Assembly. Gen. Kriangsak Chomanand, secretary general of the NARC, installed a civilian government under Prime Minister Thanin Kraivichien. Thanin called for closer regional cooperation against communism. The government cracked down on students and suspected communists, arresting thousands; police reportedly seized allegedly pro-communist books, strict media censorship was imposed, and schools were temporarily closed.

Thailand 1983, autocracy->democracy

In October 1977, Gen. Kriangsak Chomanand deposed the civilian government of Thanin Kraivichien. An interim constitution was promulgated in November, and a legislative assembly was nominated that month to draft a new constitution. Gen. Kriangsak Chomanand was appointed prime minister on 11 November 1977. A new constitution was adopted in December 1978 that called for a bicameral legislature with a popularly elected lower house but military-appointed Senate, and the constitution included other clauses that explicitly reserved military control over politics. Polling was held on schedule in April 1979; moderate rightist parties, including the Social Action Party, the Thai Citizens' Party, and the Chart Thai (Thai Nation) Party, won the largest number of seats, while the Democrat Party lost most of its seats. Chomanand resigned under popular pressure amidst an economic crisis in April 1980 and was replaced by a fellow officer, Prem Tinsulanonda. Elections held in April 1983, on the eve of the expiration of the constitutional clauses protecting military rule, produced a coalition of parties favoring a return to civilian rule. The coalition chose to reappoint Prem as premier.

Thailand 1991, democracy->autocracy

On 23 February 1990, the armed forces toppled the elected government of Maj. Gen. Chatichai Choonhaven in a bloodless coup. The coup came after months of increasing tension between the military and Chatichai, who had served as prime minister since 1988. The ensuing junta, dubbed the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC), established a timetable for a return to civilian rule but ensured that it would determine the shape of the future political system and employ harsh measures if necessary to maintain control of the country before a general election.

Thailand 1992, autocracy->democracy

On 2 March 1991, the NPKA appointed Anand Panyarachun, a diplomat turned businessman, as interim prime minister. The country's 15th constitution took effect on 9 December 1991. Elections were held in March 1992, but they proved inconclusive, and the subsequent appointment of former army commander and junta leader Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon as prime minister led to violently suppressed demonstrations in which dozens of people were killed. The unrest provoked an unprecedented intervention by King Bhumipol Adulyadej, after which Suchinda resigned, the House of Representatives was dissolved, and a new interim government appointed until fresh general elections could be held in September 1992. Newly elected House members opposed to the military formed a coalition and formally approved Democrat Party leader Chuan Leekpai as prime minister on 23 September 1992—the first with no military background since the mid-1970s.

Thailand 2006, democracy->autocracy

After weeks of massive street protests demanding his resignation over allegations of corruption, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved parliament in February and called snap elections for April. Thaksin's opponents boycotted those elections, and the prime minister's Thai Rak Thai party won 57% of the vote. The result was a political stalemate, and King Bhumibol ordered the Constitutional Court to break the impasse. The court declared the election invalid and ordered that new balloting be held later in the year, and Thaksin took a seven-week "break," leaving the country in a political limbo. On 19 September, the military announced it was taking control, and Retired General Surayud Chulanont was named the next month to head a technocratic interim government.

Thailand 2008, autocracy->democracy

In August 2007, voters approved a new constitution drafted by the military-led government, and Thailand held fresh elections for the lower house of its legislature in December 2007. Although the Thai Rak Thai party of former prime minister Thaskin was banned, its members ran under new labels and again won a majority of the seats. The new parliament convened for the first time in January 2008, and Samak Sundaravej was sworn in as prime minister in February, marking the country's return to democratic government.

Thailand 2008, democracy->autocracy

In August 2008, protesters calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occupied the government campus in Bangkok to demand the government's resignation. In early September, in a case technically unrelated to the ongoing protests, a Thai court ruled that Samak had broken the law by receiving payment after his election for appearances on a television cooking show and therefore had to resign from the post of prime minister. In December, after PAD protesters occupied the country's two international airports, the Supreme Court banned the incumbent People's Power Party, the successor to Thai Rak Thai, for alleged fraud in the 2007 elections. Soon thereafter, the People's Democratic Party formed a new government with support from deputies who defected from the former ruling party, possibly under pressure from the military. The change in power amounted to a successful rebellion with support from sympathizers in the judiciary and military.

Turkey 1960, democracy->autocracy

On May 27, 1960, the Turkish army seized the country's principal government buildings and communications centers and arrested President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, most legislators affiliated with their Democrat Party (DP), and many other public officials, charging them with abrogating the constitution and instituting a dictatorship. A 38-member Committee of National Unity (CNU) took power, appointing a mixed civilian-military government led by Cemal Gürsel, the chief of General Staff who had led the bloodless May coup.

Turkey 1961, autocracy->democracy

In January 1961, the ruling Committee of National Unity (CNU) appointed and participated in a constituent assembly that produced a new constitution. The new document was ratified in May and submitted to a popular referendum in July, when it won approval with 60 percent of the vote, marking the start of the so-called Second Republic. Fourteen parties participated in the elections held in October 1961, but only four won seats in the bicameral Grand National Assembly created by the new constitution. The legislature elected former chief of General Staff and 1960 coup leader Cemal Gürsel president, and he, in turn, named former president and Ataturk protege Mustafa İsmet İnönü to the post of prime minister.

Turkey 1971, democracy->autocracy

In an incident referred to as "coup by memorandum," a group of military leaders on 12 March 1971 presented a memorandum to President Cevdet Sunay and Assembly and Senate leaders warning that the armed forces would seize power unless a "strong and respected government" was formed to halt civil unrest and impliment social and economic reforms stipulated in the 1961 constitution. Military leaders charged that Premier Suleyman Demirel's policies had pushed Turkey into anarchy, citing the government's inability to deal with student riots, leftist agitation, and Kurdish separatist efforts. Prime Minister Demirel resigned that day, and President Sunay immediately began consultation with military and political leaders to form a new "national unity, above-party government." Martial law was imposed and the constitution amended, limiting political and personal freedoms and the rights enjoyed by universities, media, trade unions, and other associations. A series of caretaker governments was installed until elections in 1973.

Turkey 1973, autocracy->democracy

Presidential balloting in the Grand National Assembly in March 1973 touched off a political crisis when no candidate could secure election on the first ballot. The political wrangling that ensued ended on 6 April with the selection of Senator Fahri Korutürk, helping stem discontent in the military after the army candidate F. Gurler failed to secure the required number of votes. Martial law was lifted in late September 1973, and elections to the Grand National Assembly held in October produced yet another fractious body.

Turkey 1980, democracy->autocracy

Amidst internal violence and economic crisis, the country's armed forces on 12 September 1980 overthrew the minority administration of Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel and took control of the country with the declared purpose of ending domestic terrorism and stabilizing politics. The legislature—which had failed to elect a successor to President Fahri Korutürk after more than 100 attempts—was dismissed, and martial law was extended across the entire country. A new ruling National Security Council of five members was sworn into office just days later, with Gen. Kenan Evren named as head of state. Political activity was suspended, and a ban imposed on radical organizations. Striking workers were ordered to return to work, and their employers were told to give them a pay increase. A new civilian government was formed on 21 September 1980, and it was announced that a Constituent Assembly would be formed to draft a new constitution.

Turkey 1983, autocracy->democracy

Shortly after taking power in 1980, the National Security Council appointed a 160-member Consultative Assembly and tasked it with drafting a new constitution. The new constitution, which strengthened the presidency, was approved overwhelmingly in a referendum held on 7 November 1982, and a new law on political parties adopted in March 1983 included a 10-year ban on all politicians active in the decade prior to the 1980 coup. In order to participate in the 6 November 1983 parliamentary elections, parties and candidates were required to get approval from the ruling National Security Council, and only three of 15 parties passed muster. The Motherland Party, led by Turgut Ozal, won an absolute majority of seats, and on 6 December 1983 the National Security Council was dissolved and its military members formed an advisory civilian Presidential Council, with all announcing their resignation from their respective commands to assume civilian status. The Ozal Government was formed on 13 December 2003 and confirmed by parliament on the 26th of that month.

Uganda 1962, new country->democracy

In the early 1950s, colonial Governor Sir Andrew Cohen reorganized Uganda's Leglislative Council to include representatives elected from districts throughout Uganda. This move sparked the formation of political parties, but it also fanned resistance to the integration of Uganda's kingdoms from regional leaders seeking to maintain their power and autonomy. Traditionally dominant Baganda attempted to assert the priority of its king (kabaka), but Milton Obote formed the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) to resist Baganda hegemony. After negotiations over a compromise arrangement failed, elections held in March 1961 for a transitional government were boycotted by the king's backers, organized as the Kabaka Yekka (KY). The resulting victory by the alternative Democratic Party unsettled the KY and the UPC, who worked out a deal involving a new federal arrangement and the kabaka's appointment as ceremonial head of state. Elections in April 1962 gave the UPC a plurality in the national parliament, and it formed a coalition government with the KY under Milton Obote to lead Uganda into independence in October 1962.

Uganda 1966, democracy->autocracy

In the midst of a corruption scandal that sparked a vote of no confidence from his own party's MPs, Prime Minister Milton Obote--with the support of his protégé in the military, Idi Amin Dada--on 22 February 1966 carried out what amounted to a self-coup, announcing that he had assumed full powers of the government and suspended the constitution. He was sworn in as president on 15 April 1966 under a new constitution that provided for an executive president and abolished the country's federal system, establishing in its stead a system of four districts that were governed from the center by martial law. Five years later, in January 1971, Amin would topple Obote in a coup executed after Obote had ordered Amin's arrest, ushering in a period of military rule during which Amin systematically exterminated political opponents and personal enemies.

Ukraine 1991, new country->democracy

In March 1990 legislative elections, an opposition bloc led by the nationalist movement Rukh won one-quarter of the seats in Ukraine's Supreme Soviet despite widespread fraud. Under pressure from mass demonstrations, the legislature in July 1990 passed a resolution on sovereignty, but conservative forces soon reasserted their control over the republican government. Students mobilized to push back in October 1990, and, after workers from Kiev's largest factory joined the protests, the government agreed to meet the students' demands for insistence on Ukrainian sovereignty. In July 1991, the legislature passed a law establishing the post of president of the Ukrainian SSR. Leonid Kravchuk was elected president in December 1991, and Ukraine officially gained independence later that month.

Ukraine 1998, democracy->autocracy

According to OSCE observers, the March 1998 legislative elections and 1999 presidential election were marred by "substantial breaches" of electoral procedures, including heavy involvement of state officials in support of the ruling party and incumbent president, partisan adjudication of complaints, and instances of violence against opposition candidates and their supporters. In those elections, incumbent President Leonid Kuchma won a second term in office in a runoff, and his supporters retained firm control of the legislature.

Ukraine2005, autocracy->democracy

Ahead of parliamentary elections in 2003, Ukraine adopted a new Election Law designed to address concerns raised by the OSCE and COE about previous contests. The ensuing election was described by OSCE observers as an improvement over the 1998 balloting, albeit not without notable flaws involving the use of state resources on behalf of the ruling party media bias, and, again, instances of violence. The hard-fought 2004 presidential election went to a runoff in November. Official results gave the victory to Viktor Yanukovich, the chosen successor of outgoing incumbent Leonid Kuchma, but evidence of fraud was rife. In events that came to be known as the Orange Revolution, supporters of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko flooded the streets of Kiev to demand a do-over. On 3 December, the country's constitutional court agreed, Yushchenko won the new election, and the court rejected Yanukovich's appeals. Yushchenko was inaugurated in January 2005.

Uruguay 1972, democracy->autocracy

After allegedly flawed elections on 28 November 1971, President Jorge Pacheco's hand-picked successor, conservative Colorado Party candidate Juan María Bordaberry Arocena, was narrowly declared president. Faced with the leftist Tupamaro insurgency, the country had been under a virtual state of emergency since 1969, and in September 1971 the army was effectively given carte blanche to defeat the rebels. After Bordaberry took office in March 1972, the military began playing an even greater role in politics when, at the president's urging, Congress declared a "state of internal war," giving Bordaberry the power to suspend civil liberties and proclaim martial law areas. In June 1973, the ensuing confrontation between the president, the legislature, and the military was effectively resolved by Bordaberry in favor of the military: Bordaberry dissolved the General Assembly and replaced it with a Council of State and empowered the armed forces and police to take whatever measures were necessary to ensure normal public services.

Uruguay 1985, autocracy->democracy

In 1977, a year after rebuffing President Bordaberry's attempt to establish a personal dictatorship, Uruguay's military government announced plans to purge the country's long-dominant political parties and submit a new constitution to a national plebiscite that would leave the military with veto power over all political decisions. When the plebiscite happened in 1980, voters surprised the military leaders by rejecting the new charter by a safe margin (57 percent against). Around the same time, the country's economy took a turn for the worse, and the military undertook a gradual and partial liberalization of politics. After mass protests and strikes convinced the military to back down from its aim of a formal veto role, elections were finally held on 25 November 1984. The reconstituted Colorado Party won, and Colorado candidate Dr. Julio Maria Sanguinetti Cairolo was sworn in as president on 1 March, 1985. Restrictions on the press were completely lifted, and legal status was restored to all formerly proscribed groups, including the Communist Party.

Venezuela 1959, autocracy->democracy

After more than nine years of military rule—led since 1952 by Col. Marcos Pérez Jiménez—civilian opposition groups and members of the military overthrew the regime in a bloody conflict that ended on 23 January 1958 when Pérez fled the country. Under a new electoral law decreed in May, the junta convoked elections for December 1958. Rómulo Betancourt of the opposition Democratic Action Party (AD) was elected president, and the AD also gained a majority in both houses of Congress. Betancourt was inaugurated on 13 February 1959.

Venezuela 2005, democracy->autocracy

Hugo Chavez, leader of a failed coup in 1992, won the presidency in 1998 with 56% of the vote after campaigning to eradicate poverty and dismantle the country's traditional two-party system. In a July 1999 referendum, voters elected a Constitutional Assembly dominated by Chavez's supporters, and a new constitution that expanded the president's powers was adopted later that year. In July 2000 elections, Chavez held his office and his supporters won two-thirds of the seats in the now-unicameral National Assembly. Observers from the Carter Center characterized those elections as "flawed" but said they did not think the "electoral irregularities would have changed the presidential results." Over the next few years, Chavez survived a lengthy general strike, an attempted coup in April 2002, and a recall referendum in August 2004 that was declared legitimate by some international observers but fraudulent by others. Ahead of the next legislative elections, Chavez stacked the country's electoral commission and Supreme Court with political supporters, and questions of fraud in voter registration and vote-counting dogged the December 2005 contest. Observers from the Organization of American States and Carter Center faulted the electoral commission's partiality and lack of transparency, and Human Rights Watch noted a significant decline in freedom of expression ahead of the balloting. After an opposition boycott, pro-Chavez parties won every seat in the legislature, and Chavez went on to win a second full term in presidential elections held a year later.

Yugoslavia, Former 2000, autocracy->democracy

After changing election rules so that he could run for a second term as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia--he had previously served as president of Serbia--Slobodan Milosevic ignored calls to step down while the results of the 24 September 2000 balloting were disputed. Pressure mounted to drive Milosevic from office, however, and by the beginning of October 2000 strikes and protests had spread across the country. Milosevic's opponents sacked the parliament building, took over state media outlets, and began negotiations with security forces. On 5 October 2000 Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition, was announced the winner of the presidential balloting. A transitional cabinet was sworn in the next month, and reformers won a landslide victory in legislative elections held on 23 December of that year.

Yugoslavia, Former 2006, D->country termination

After a May 2006 referendum on independence for Montenegro produced a narrow victory for pro-secession forces, Serbia and Montenegro peacefully split on 3 June 2006.

Zambia 1964, new country->democracy

In 1959, former schoolteacher Kenneth Kaunda organized a new political party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), to resist efforts to establish a southern African federation that would sustain white domination. A campaign of civil disobedience in 1961 won black Africans a stronger voice in the affairs of the protectorate, and elections in 1962 led to a coalition government of UNIP and the African National Congress (ANC). A new constitution was adopted and elections held in January 1964, this time producing a clear victory for UNIP over the ANC, and Kaunda was named prime minister. Zambia gained independence from Britain on 20 October 1964, and Kaunda became the country's first president at the same time.

Zambia 1968, democracy->autocracy

After a violent campaign season ahead of general elections in December 1968, President Kenneth Kaunda banned all political parties save his ruling United National Independence Party (UNIP). Kaunda ran unopposed for president that year, and UNIP won 81 of 105 seats in the legislature. Zambia was officially declared a one-party state in 1972, after UNIP rival Simon Kapwepwe split to form the rival United Progressive Party.

Zambia 1991, autocracy->democracy

In the face of a deteriorating economy and social unrest, Kenneth Kaunda in 1990 signed a constitutional amendment allowing a return to multipartism. In elections held on 31 October 1991, Kaunda and members of his United National Independence Party were all but swept from office. Frederick Chiluba, leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), was elected president with nearly 76 percent of the vote, and the MMD won 125 of the National Assembly's 150 seats. A state of emergency in force since 1964 was allowed to expire several days later.

Zambia 1996, democracy->autocracy

In 1996, President Frederick Chiluba pushed through constitutional amendments that effectively barred his chief rivals, including longtime autocrat Kenneth Kaunda, from contesting that year's presidential elections. In response to this move and concerns over the voter-registration process, Kaunda's UNIP boycotted parliamentary elections. Chiluba effectively ran unopposed, and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) won a supermajority in the National Assembly, taking 131 of 150 seats. Term limits prevented Chiluba from running again in 2001, but MMD candidate Levy Mwanawasa won office with a bare plurality of the vote in balloting that was challenged by opposition parties. While the presidential campaign was not overtly fraudulent, international electoral observers indicated that pre-election manipulation of the process and numerous administrative hitches had distorted the playing field in favor of the ruling party.

Zambia 2006, autocracy->democracy

President Levy Mwanawasa was reelected in September 2006 balloting with 43% of the vote, defeating Michael Sata, who received 29% of the vote. One of Mwanawasa's closest rivals, Anderson Mazoka, had died in May 2006, and his party squabbled publicly before settling on a presidential candidate in Hakainde Hichilema. In total, five candidates contested the presidental election, and, although Sata complained that the results were manipulated, international observers declared the balloting generally free and fair, albeit with room for improvement. Meanwhile, Mwanawasa's MMD won 72 of 150 seats in legislative elections held at the same time; with the eight seats the president is allowed to appoint, he retained a narrow minority in that body.

Zimbabwe 1980, autocracy->democracy

In 1965, the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith unilaterally declared Rhodesia's independence from the United Kingdom. Armed resistance to white domination accelerated in 1970, and, after a decade-long war, a conference held in London produced an agreement that would lead to independence and free elections. The elections were held in February 1980, and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) won a landslide victory, but, under the agreement forged in London, they ruled in coalition with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo.

Zimbabwe 1987, democracy->autocracy

In 1982, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe ousted Joshua Nkomo from his cabinet after a cache of weapons was found at Nkomo's house. The ouster sparked armed fighting between ZANU and ZAPU, and the ensuing military campaign involved atrocities against ethnic minorities. ZANU and ZAPU reached a peace accord in 1987, merging the two parties and establishing a formal system of one-party rule with Mugabe at its head as executive president.