2014 Elections Blog: Local Elections in the Americas
Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru will hold local-level votes this year. Find out which seats are up for grabs.
Along with the eight national-level elections taking place in the Western Hemisphere this year, a number of countries will also hold local elections. AS/COA Online outlines what seats are up for grabs throughout the Americas.
Explore by country:
Type: Municipal and Provincial
Dates: September 22, October 22, October 27, November 3, November 15, and December 8
Details: The province of New Brunswick will elect 49 members for four-year terms to the legislative assembly on September 22. Manitoba and Ontario hold municipal elections—including the vote for mayors and city councilors—on October 22 and October 27, respectively. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island hold municipal elections in November. Terms in British Columbia last for three years, while the other three provinces holding votes have four-year terms. Local-level elections in hamlets and rural municipalities take place in Saskatchewan on October 22 and in Northwest Territories and Nunavut on December 8.
Type: Municipal and Provincial
Date: February 23
Details: Ecuador elected 221 mayors and 46 provincial prefects, as well as local-level legislators for four-year terms. Learn more about the election from our election blog.
Type: Municipal
Date: February 23, June 1, and July 6
Details: On July 6, the state of Coahuila will elect 25 local legislators, and the state of Nayarit will elect 30 local legislators and 20 mayors—all for three-year terms. Mayoral elections are taking place in a handful of municipalities in Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz on different dates throughout the year. The government’s electoral calendar for this year is still being updated; for example, at the time of this report, voting dates for Puebla and Oaxaca had yet to be confirmed.
Type: Local
Date: March 2
Details: Nicaragua’s two autonomous regions, the North Atlantic Autonomous Region and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region on the country’s Caribbean coast will hold elections for regional councils, which act as local legislatures. Each council has 45 members with four-year terms.
Type: Municipal and Regional
Date: March 16 and October 5
Details: Peruvians will elect 25 mayors and 169 city councilors in 39 districts on March 16. These elections are taking place to fill seats for those recalled in 2013. Those who win will only serve briefly, until the nationwide municipal elections toward the end of the year.
On October 5, elections will be held for 25 regional presidents (similar to governors), 195 provincial mayors, and 1,647 district mayors—all for four-year terms.