MANILA, Philippines – 29 years ago, on February 7, 1986, a housewife went up against a dictator in a snap presidential election.
Corazon “Cory” Aquino, wife of assassinated senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr, heeded public clamor and challenged Marcos for the presidency.
The snap polls in 1986 were marred by reports of cheating, violence, and disenfranchisement of voters. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared Marcos the victor, but the National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said Aquino was the real winner, based on its own quick count.
Similar presidential snap polls have recently taken place in other parts of the world. Some resulted in a change in leadership, as what happened in the Philippines in 1986, while others solidified the incumbent’s hold on power.
Saakashvili, the lead figure in widespread protests in 2003 dubbed the “Rose Revolution”, became president of the former Soviet republic after the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze. He overwhelmingly won a 5-year term in the January 2004 elections.
Saakashvili survived the polls, garnering nearly 55% of the votes. He defeated fellow “Rose Revolution” participant Levan Gachechiladze, the candidate of the opposition coalition, and 5 other candidates.
Saakashvili’s second term ended in November 2013. He was barred from seeking a third term.
In December 2014, Japan went through an election two years ahead of schedule. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called for it, so he could delay a scheduled consumption tax hike, following a series of weak economic indicators. Abe’s party was triumphant in the snap polls.
The left-wing and anti-austerity Syriza party trumped the ruling party in the polls, with Alexis Tsipras sworn in as prime minister. Their victory was seen to set up a confrontation with the European Union over its plans to renegotiate the country’s massive bailout.
On the other hand, in France and New Zealand, the ruling parties suffered. French President Jacques Chirac’s strategy to defeat left-wing opposition parties by calling the 1997 snap legislative polls backfired.
Meanwhile, the 1984 New Zealand snap polls led to the victory of the opposition Labor Party and the defeat of then prime minister Robert Muldoon and the National Party.