Bulgaria
On 30 August 2006, the National Assembly adopted amendments to the Penal Code, stipulating a prison sentence of two to three years for persons attempting to sell their vote. People who vote several times will also be fined the equivalent of between 250 and 1,000 euros. The National Assembly rejected proposed amendments to introduce compulsory voting.

Italy
A referendum held on 25 and 26 June 2006 rejected proposed constitutional amendments by 61.7 per cent of voters. In all, 53.6 per cent of the 43 million eligible voters took part in the referendum, the highest turnout for a referendum in the past ten years. The amendments, which had been approved by Parliament in November 2005, would have transformed the Senate into a federal body and reduced presidential powers in favour of the prime minister (see Issue N°20, February 2006). They would also have given Italy's 20 regions full autonomy in the areas of health, schools and local police. Opponents had argued that such measures would threaten national unity.

Japan
On 7 June 2006, the House of Councillors unanimously passed amendments to the Electoral Law allowing Japanese nationals living overseas to vote for constituency candidates. Previous amendments in 1998 had allowed Japanese nationals overseas to vote for candidates in the proportional representation part of Japan's mixed electoral system. However, overseas voting for constituency candidates was not permitted at that time, on the grounds that conveying information on candidates to citizens overseas would be too difficult. The 2006 amendments to the Electoral Law followed a decision by the Supreme Court in September 2005, which ruled such a restriction on the voting rights of citizens overseas to be unconstitutional. The revised law will first be applied to the elections to renew half of the membership of the House of Councillors, due to take place in 2007.

Kuwait
On 17 July 2006, the National Assembly adopted an electoral reform bill reducing the number of constituencies from 25 to 5. Ten members will be elected from each constituency, instead of two as was previously done. Disputes over the electoral reform had triggered early elections in June 2006.

Mauritania
A referendum held on 25 June 2006 approved amendments to the 1991 Constitution by 96 per cent of votes. Over 76 per cent of the nearly 1 million registered voters cast their ballots. The revised constitution limits the president to a maximum of two consecutive 5-year terms of office, and fixes the maximum age of candidates at 75. It also specifies that these provisions can not be changed in the future. Parliamentary elections will be held on 19 November 2006 for the National Assembly and on 21 January 2007 for the Senate. Presidential elections, scheduled for 11 March 2007, should end the country's transitional period following the bloodless coup of 3 August 2005, (see Issue N°19 November 2005).

Montenegro
On 19 July 2006, the Parliament of the newly independent Republic of Montenegro adopted new parliamentary standing orders. They provide for a post of Deputy Speaker, to be filled from an opposition party member. While the proposal to elect the Deputy Speaker from members of ethnic minorities was rejected, the new standing orders allow members of ethnic minorities to address parliament in their own language.

Parliamentary elections were held on 10 September 2006. Based on the stipulation that there should be one parliamentarian for every 6,000 voters, the statutory number of members of parliament increased from 75 to 81, five of whom are to be elected from the ethnic Albanian community

Nepal
On 25 August 2006, a draft interim constitution comprising 172 articles was published. Once it is promulgated, the House of Representatives which had been reinstated in April 2006 following widespread protests against the King, will be dissolved. It provides for a Constituent Assembly, composed of a total of 225 members: ten each from the nine autonomous republic states and 125 directly elected members (one for every 200,000 persons). The Constituent Assembly shall be tasked with drafting a new constitution within a year.

Nigeria
On 15 June 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo signed into law the Electoral Act 2006. The new electoral law limits election expenses. The maximum amount for a candidate for the House of Representative is set at 10 million Nigerian naira (approximately 60,000 euros); and at 20 million naira (120,000 euros) for a senatorial candidate. It also prohibits individuals or entities from donating more than 1 million naira (6 000 euros) to any single candidate.

The law reinforces the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is now empowered to appoint its secretary, fix election dates and introduce penalties for election-related offences. The new electoral law will be used for the first time in parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for April 2007.

United Kingdom
On 4 July 2006, Baroness Hayman became the first ever Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. The elections, contested by nine candidates, were held on 28 June 2006. Baroness Hayman, a former Labour minister of health, was elected for a period of five years with 263 of the 581 valid votes.