In Pics | Year Ender 2023: General, Presidential elections around the world

This year’s general elections in Thailand were tumultuous, to say the least, with Thai voters having delivered a stunning blow to the army-backed rule and having to settle for the runner-up party. Here’s what happened. 

The election results were what some analysts have called a political earthquake showing a significant shift in public opinion with the progressive Move Forward Party winning most seats in the general election in May. 

However, after failing to garner enough votes following multiple rounds of voting Move Forward Party’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat (L) could not become the prime minister amid a host of abstentions and votes against him in the country’s 749-member parliament. 

This is after conservative lawmakers strongly opposed Move Forward over its proposed reform of a law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy. In a bid to avert a political crisis, Pita’s party stepped aside in July for runner-up and alliance partner Pheu Thai to try and form the next government. 

It was not until August that the Thai parliament chose real estate tycoon and political newcomer Srettha Thavisin (R) of the populist Pheu Thai party to be the country’s 30th prime minister ending the months-long deadlock. 

The 60-year-old received 482 votes out of a possible 747 in both houses of parliament.

Marking another unlikely election winner among Latin American countries, Daniel Noboa (R), an inexperienced politician and an heir to a fortune built on the banana trade won Ecuador’s presidential runoff election, in October. 

Noboa, 35, is also the youngest elected president and is now faced with the virtually impossible task of reducing a terrifying, drug-driven crime wave which has gripped the country in the last three years or so. 

The election in Ecuador was also marked by violence which led to the shocking assassination of presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio. 

Noboa has proposed a number of measures including turning ships into floating jails and getting police more gear to address the spike in violence which has been attributed to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighbouring Colombia and Peru. 

With nearly all votes counted, electoral officials said Noboa had just over 52 per cent of votes when compared to his rival Luisa González (L), an ally of exiled former President Rafael Correa, who garnered nearly 48 per cent of the ballots.  

Noboa and González had advanced to the runoff in October after beating six other candidates in the first-round elections in August. 

In October, New Zealand voted for former airline boss and incumbent Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (R) of the National Party, along with his new right-of-centre government, marking the end of an era of liberal governments.

Chris Hipkins (L), of Labour, who replaced two-term leader Jacinda Ardern in January 2023, released a statement conceding his defeat.

The 53-year-old former CEO of Air New Zealand is now leading the country’s conservative coalition after his party struck a deal with two smaller parties – libertarian ACT New Zealand and populist New Zealand First – to form a government in late November. 

The win also marked a rapid rise for Luxon, who became a member of parliament in 2020 and the leader of his party the year after. The formation of the current coalition took place a month after the elections ending six years of left-wing government led by Labour.

Since New Zealand operates a mixed-member proportional system, which means coalition governments are the norm. 

Argentina’s general elections made headlines across the world, garnering quite a bit of attention since it saw not only the candidacy but also the win of a former rock musician and far-right libertarian economist and outsider Javier Milei. 

Milei clinched victory in Argentina’s presidential run-off elections in November following a campaign marked by unconventional tactics, including wielding a chainsaw at one point. 

The defeat was surprising, to say the least for Sergio Massa (not in the image), the now former economy minister who gracefully conceded the race. With nearly 90 per cent of votes counted Milei secured nearly 56 per cent of the vote. 

Milei’s victory came at a critical juncture for Argentina as the country had been yearning for a change amid decades-long economic crises and an inflation rate, as of November, close to 150 per cent. 

The incumbent president’s campaign was also marked by bold economic proposals which included “detonating” the central bank and endorsing the US dollar as the official currency, which seemed to have struck a chord with voters disillusioned with traditional politics.

The presidential elections in Egypt marked an unsurprising win for incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a third term as he faced no serious challengers. 

With a 66.8 per cent turnout – well above the 41 per cent recorded at the last presidential election in 2018 – Sisi secured 89.6 per cent votes, according to the country’s National Election Authority. 

The election came as Cairo struggles with a slow-burning economic crisis and tries to manage the risk of spillover from the war adjacent to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. 

“Egyptians lined up to vote not just to choose their president for the next term, but to express their rejection of this inhumane war to the entire world,” said Sisi in a speech after the results were announced. 

While many people in Egypt expressed indifference about the election held in December, saying that the result was a foregone conclusion, others said that the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas had encouraged them to vote for Sisi. 

The incumbent president has called the war Egypt’s primary challenge. The election had featured three other candidates, but the most prominent one was backed in October saying that officials and thugs had targeted his supporters.