LETTER N° 51 / 52

From 16 to 31 December

16 Portugal		Municipal elections. Results : The main opposition Social Democratic Party ousted Socialists from traditional strongholds of Lisbon, the capital, and Oporto, the second-largest city, as well as most major towns. The center-right Social Democrats won 144 councils, compared with 98 for the center-left Socialists. The Communist Party and the conservative Popular Party also won majorities in some of the 308 local councils.
16 Chile		Parliamentary elections. Results : According to the official tally, in elections to the Chamber of Deputies, President Ricardo Lagos' Coalition for Democracy wins 47.9% of the votes against 44.3% for the Alliance for Chile coalition; in elections to renew half of the Senate the president's coalition wins 51.4% against 44% for the Alliance.
16 Madagascar		Presidential election. Results : That intial results from election, suggest a possible second round, after a poor showing for President Ratsiraka in urban areas. Consequently, the final result is only expected to be known in around a month's time. Admiral Ratsiraka has ruled virtually non-stop since 1975 with the exception of a three-year period in the early 1990s.
16 Altai Republic (Russian Federation)		Presidential election. Results : Agrarian party leader and State Duma deputy Mikhail Lapshin won 22.98 percent of the votes, while incumbent Altai head Semen Zubakin polled only 15.20 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. Neither candidate won the more than 50 percent of the votes necessary to avoid a second round, which will be held on 6 January.
16 Chavash Republic (Russian Federation)		Presidential election. Results : President Nikolai Fedorov was re-elected. Fedorov collected 40.37 percent of the vote compared with 37.37 percent for his closest rival, State Duma deputy (Communist) Valentin Shurchanov.
16 Komi Republic (Russian Federation)		Presidential election. Results : Vladimir Torlopov, who chairs the Komi Republic's legislature, won the presidential, according to preliminary results. Incumbent President Yurii Spiridonov, who ran the republic for the last 12 years, polled some 34.99 percent of the vote compared with Torlopov's 40.31 percent.
17 Portugal		Prime Minister António Guterres resigns. Political Experience : Assistant to Finance Minister in the VIth Provisional Government, Dr. Francisco Salgado Zenha. 1975. Assistant to a Minister without portfolio in the IVth Provisional Government, Dr. Mário Soares. 1974-1975. Head of the Cabinet of the State Secretary for Industry in the I, II and IIId Provisional Governments, Eng. José Torres Campos. 1976-79 Member of the Commission for European Integration (Entrusted with negociations. Commission pour Portugal admission into the EEC). 1977-1981 Member of the National Secretary of the Socialist party and coordinator for the study Department of the Socialist Party. 1977 - 1979 President of the Parliamentary Commission on Economy and Finance. 1979 - 1995 Chairman of the Municipal Assembly of Fundão. 1981 - 1983 Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, gathering every parliament of all democratic countries in Europe. 1983 Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Demography, Migrations and Refugees in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 1985 - 1995 MP elected from the Socialist party . 1986-1992 Member of the Socialist Party's National Secretariat. 1988-1991 Chairman of theSocialist party's Parliamentary Group. From 1991, Member of the State Council . Since October 1995 Re-elected MP, by the socialist party, with a term interruption, October 1995 - October 1999 Prime Minister in the XIIIth Constitutionnal Government. Since October 1999, Prime Minister in the XIVth Constitutionnal Government. Since November 1999, Chairman of the Socialist International.
20 Argentina		President Fernando de la Rúa resigns. Under Argentine law, the leadership would normally be filled by the vice-president. But that post has been vacant since Carlos Alvarez quit in October last year after a dispute with Fernando de la Rua over a bribery scandal. As head of the country's Senate, Mr Puerta was next in line to succeed after Mr de la Rua's departure.
20 Senegal		Former president (1960-80) Léopold Sédar Senghor dies. Profile : Léopold Sédar Senghor was born in Joal-la-Portugaise, a small fishing vilage about seventy miles south of Dakar. His father was of noble descent and wealthy merchant. His mother was a Peul, one of a pastoral and nomadic people. The first seven years of his life Senghor spent in Djilor with his mother and maternal uncles and aunts. At the age of twelve, he attended the Catholic mission school of Ngazobil. He continued his studied at the Libermann Seminary and Lycée Van Vollenhoven, finishing secondary-school education in 1928. After winning a state scholarship, Senghor then moved to Paris and graduated from the Lycée Louis-le-grand in 1931. In 1932 Senghor was granted French citizenship. He served in a regiment of colonial infantry and in 1935 he obtained the agrégation degree in grammar. From 1935 he worked as a teacher, notably at Lycée Descartes in Tours, then in Paris at Lycée Marcelin Berthelot. At the outbreak of World War II, he joined the French army, but was captured by the Germans and spent eighteen months in a camp as a prisoner of war. In 1944 he was appointed professor of African languages at the École Nationale de la France d'Outre-Mer. In 1945 and 1946 Senghor was elected to represent Senegal in the French Constituent Assemblies. In 1948 Senghor became professor at Ecole Nat. de la France d'Outre-Mer. From 1946 to 1958 he was continuously reelected to the French National Assembly. After breaking with Lamine Guèye, who was allied with the French socialist (SFIO), Senghor created a new political party, BDS (Bloc Démocratique Sénégalais). When Senegal joined with the Sudanese Republic to form the Federation of Mali, Senghor became president of the federal assembly. In August 1960 Senegal separated from the federation and Senghor was elected the first president of Senegal. Since leaving the presidency in 1980 Senghor has shared his time between Paris, Normandy, and Dakar. In 1983 Senghor was elected to the Académie française. He married in 1948 Ginette Eboué, the daughter of a prominent Guyanese colonial administrator. They had two children ; the marriage ended in divorce. Senghor's second wife, who was French, had her family roots in Normandy.
21 Argentina		Ramón Puerta, becomes acting president. Puerta profile : Mr Puerta was twice governor of Argentina's poor northern Misiones Province between 1991 and 1999. He served in the Chamber of Deputies for two years before winning a seat in the Senate, where he was subsequently elected chairman. A self-made millionaire, Mr Puerta is unmarried with two teenage children.
21 Romania		Prime Minister Adrian Nastase survives a no-confidence vote (283-178). Political career : 28 June 1990 - 16 October 1992 Minister of Foreign Affairs. October 1992 - November 1996 President of the Chamber of Deputies within the Parliament of Romania, Bucharest. October 1992 - Member of the International Assembly of the Francophone Members of Parliament - the European Section (at the present moment : The Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophones). 1993 - 1997 Executive President of the Executive Board of the Social Democracy Party of Romania. December 1996 Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies. December 2000 First Vice-President of PDSR ensuring the interim of the Party Presidency. 28 December 2000 Appointed and validated as Prime Minister of Romania. 19 January 2001 Elected President of the PDSR
21 Georgia		Avtandil Djorbenadze is approved as minister of state by a unanimous vote of 183 deputies. President Eduard Shevardnadze proposed him for that post four days earlier. Profile : Date of Birth : February 23, 1951. Merital status : Married, two sons. Education and Qualifications : 1968-1974 Tbilisi State Medical University (Tbilisi, Georgia), Master of Science in Internal Medicine. In 1991 Moscow Physicians Postgraduate Institute (Moscow, Russia), Postgraduate study, Doctor of Philosophy in Social Hygiene and Health Managing. Languages : Georgian, Russian, English. Experience : 1975-1976 Tbilisi 29 Polyclinics, Doctor in internal medicine. 1976-1978 Military Service, Military doctor in army division. 1978-1985 Tbilisi 1Hospital, Doctor ar the Division of Cardiology. 1985-1992 Tbilisi Health Department, Deputy Head. 1992-1993 Georgian Ministry of Health, Deputy Minister. 1993-1993 Office of the Head of the State Consultant. Since 2000 Georgian Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Minister.
23 Sakha Republic (Russian Federation)		Presidential election. Results : According to the results of the elections, former ALROSA's President Vyasheslav Shtyrov received 45.5 % of total votes that made him to be a leading candidate to become the next President of the Republic of Sakha. Shtyrov's main opponent Fedot Tumusov gained 17 % of votes and Shipkov came a little behind, he received 15.8 %. The second round is to be held in January 13, 2002.
23 Gabon		Parliamentary election - 2nd round. Results : President Omar Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party won 84 of the legislature's 120 seats, the radio said, citing results released by Gabon's Constitutional Court. The opposition took 12 seats, pro-government parties took three seats and independent candidates won eight, Gabon state radio said. The results are from first and second round elections held Dec. 9 and Dec. 23. The remaining 13 seats will be decided in another vote in January. Voting in those areas was postponed because of election violence, a lack of voting materials and an outbreak of the Ebola virus - which has killed 21 people in Gabon and neighboring Republic of Congo. Three major opposition parties boycotted the ballot altogether, accusing the government of trying to falsely inflate voter registration lists.
23 Comoros		Referendum on a new constitution. Results : The turnout, according to first estimates, was around 70 percent, he said. ``According to general indications covering the three islands, the trend is around 75 percent of votes cast in favor of 'yes', 25 percent for 'no'.'' The new constitution grants the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli greater autonomy within a new federation, to end a political crisis which began when Anjouan and Moheli unilaterally seceded in 1997.
23 Argentina		Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, governor of San Luis, takes over as interim president. Profile : Born on 25 of July, 1947 in the city of San Luis, capital of the province, Argentina.Son of Carlos Juan Rodríguez Saa and Lilia Ester Paez Montero. Married with María Alicia Mazzarino. father of 5. BL L degree from the National University of Cuyo,"Juan Pascual Pringles" school , completed in 1966. A lawyer, graduated in December 1971, National University of Buenos Aires. 1971-1983 joined the Partido Justicialista - District of San Luis. 1973-1976 Provincial MP and Chairman of the Justicialista Block.1976-1985 Provincial Congressman. 1983-1991 National Congressman for the Partido Justicialista. 1987-1994 National Adviser. 1985-1995 Chairman of the Partido Justicialista - District of San Luis. 1996-2000 Vice-president of the National Partido Justicialista. 1999-2003 Secretary for Institutional Relationship of the Partido Justicialista. Since 11/12/1980 Governor of San Luis Province.
23 Zambia		General elections. Results : Results from 63 of the 150 elected parliamentary seats showed 28 had gone to the MMD, 19 to the UPND, eight to the United National Independence Party, five to the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), two to the Heritage Party and one to the Zambia Republican Party. To the presidential latest results from the Electoral Commission for 82 of the 150 constituencies gave Mazoka, of the United Party for National Development (UPND), 310,471 votes against 295,055 for the MMD's Levy Mwanawasa, President Frederick Chiluba's chosen heir.
28 Republic of Congo		A court convicted former President Pascal Lissouba on treason and corruption charges, sentencing him ini absentia to 30 years hard labor. The charges of treason and misappropriation of funds relate to Lissouba's role in a $150 million oil agreement his government signed in 1993 with the American company Occidental Petroleum. Lissouba is accused of selling off the oil at extremely low prices, in part for personal gain. He has denied the charges, saying the money was used to pay civil servants. Lissouba profile : Born : November 1931, in Tsinguidi, Congo Education : Baccalaureat, Lycee Feliy Faure, Nice France (1948-52) ; Ecole Superieur d'Agriculture, Tunis, Tunisia (1953-56) ; Ph.D., University of Paris, France (1958-61) Occupation : Politician. Family : Married, six children Early Years : Civil Servant, Department of Agriculture (1961-63). Professor, Genetics (1966-68) ; Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Brazzaville (1970). Professor, Genetics, University of Paris (1979-83). Director, Office for Scientific and Technological Development, UNESCO Paris (1983-87). Director, Office for Scientific and Technological Development, UNESCO Nairobi (1988-90). Political Career: Minister of Agriculture, Trade and Industry (1963-66). Prime Minister (1963-66). Minister of Planning (1968). Minister of Agriculture, Waterways and Forests (1969); Suspended from political activity (1969-71). Member, Congolese Workers' Party CC (1973-74). Arrested and acquitted of involvement in a failed coup (1973). Arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for involvement in assassination of prime minister (1977). Released (1979). Lived in exile in France (1979-90). President, UPADS (1990-present). President ( 31 Aug 1992-15 Oct 1997). Leader, Union panafricaine pour la democracie sociale.
28 Ingushetia Republic (Russian Federation)		Prime Minister Akhmed Malsagov becomes interim president following the resignation of President Ruslan Aushev.
30 Argentina		President Rodríguez Saá resigns. Ramón Puerta immediately resigns as Senate leader to avoid being forced to reassume the presidency, leaving the president of the lower house, Eduardo Camaño, next in line to become acting president. Argentina's Congress will hold a legislative assembly on Tuesday to choose a new interim president . Camaño profile : Camaño was born in the surroundings of San Juan y Boedo harbour. But his polícal beginnings were in Quilmes, a city he managed as an supervisor between 1987 and 1991. He chaired the Partido Justicialista in Quilmes, served as a Municipal Advisor (1983-1985) &endash; Chairman of the Bloque. Provincial MP (1995-1997). Municipal Supervisor in Quilmes (1987-1991). National MP 1991-1995 and 1995-1999. Vice-chairman of 1° Bloque Justicialista