Happy election day!August 30th, 2009 by Adamu |
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Update: Follow my Twitter stream for random thoughts on the election.
Today the polls are open for Japan’s 45th general election. It’s all but certain that the opposition DPJ is going to make significant gains, and might even win a two-thirds supermajority.
So while the results aren’t exactly in doubt, my colleagues and I will still try and keep things interesting. I’ll be following the election all day, and tonight I’ll be on live with Transpacific Radio.The coverage starts at 8pm Japan time and you can access the video feed here. See this link for more info on the live video.
For now, I’ll leave you with a couple photos I took of my local polling station:
August 30th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I wonder what the turnout will be?
August 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Pundits were talking about the highest turnout in decades, but as of 11am the turnout was less than a percentage point higher than the same time during the last election. It will probably be on par with, or slightly higher than, the 2005 election.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
The early voting total was 1.6 times higher than before, with 10 percent of the total electorate choosing to vote in advance of today. But the total today is likely to be below the previous election. Two factors: (1) typhoon (it’s raining like crazy in Tokyo now) and (2) people who believe the polls and figure their vote won’t mean much. The latter could include a lot of LDP supporters who have given up. One group that will be sure to turn out is Komeito, with their well-lubed machine.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Too many viewers! Alternate TV link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/seijigiri-live/