Landslide victory explained
A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin.[1] The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried",[1] similar to the way in which a geological landslide buries whatever is in its path. A landslide victory is the opposite of an electoral wipeout; a party which wins in a landslide typically inflicts a wipeout on its opposition. What constitutes a landslide varies by the type of electoral system. Even within an electoral system, there is no consensus on what sized margin makes for a landslide.[1]
Notable examples
Australia
Local and mayoral elections:
State and territory elections:
- 2021 Western Australian state election – Mark McGowan led the Labor Party to win 53 out of the 59 seats in the lower house. The Labor Party had a primary vote of 59.92% and a two-party-preferred vote of 69.68%. The National Party won 4 seats and the Liberal Party won 2 seats, making the National Party the official opposition, the first time they had held this status since the 1940s. To date, the election is the most decisive result at any Australian state or federal election since Federation, in terms of both percentage of lower house seats controlled by the governing party (89.8%) and two-party preferred margin.[4] [5]
Barbados
In Barbadian general elections, a landslide victory involves a large swing from one party to another as well as one party winning a large majority in parliament. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.
Brazil
Canada
In a Canadian federal election, a landslide victory occurs when a political party gains a significant majority of the House of Commons of Canada.
Landslide victories may also occur during provincial elections, and territorial elections in Yukon. Landslide victories are not possible for territorial elections in the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, as its members are elected without reference to political parties, operating as a consensus government.
National landslide victories
The following Canadian federal elections resulted in landslide victories:[6]
- 1874 – The Liberals won 133 seats while the Conservatives won just 73 seats.
- 1878 – The Conservatives won 137 seats while the Liberals won just 69 seats.
- 1882 – The Conservatives won 139 seats while the Liberals won just 71 seats.
- 1900 – The Liberals won 132 seats while the Conservatives won just 81.
- 1904 – The Liberals won 139 seats while the Conservatives won just 75.
- 1908 – The Liberals won 133 seats while the Conservatives won just 85.
- 1911 – The Conservatives won 133 seats while the Liberals won just 86.
- 1917 – The Conservatives won 153 seats while the Liberals won just 82.
- 1930 – The Conservatives won 137 seats while the Liberals won just 91.
- 1935 – The Liberals won 171 seats while the Conservatives won just 39.
- 1940 – The Liberals won 178 seats while the Progressive Conservatives won just 39.
- 1949 – The Liberals won 190 seats while the Progressive Conservatives won just 41.
- 1953 – The Liberals won 171 seats while the Progressive Conservatives won just 51.
- 1958 – The Progressive Conservatives won 208 seats while the Liberals won just 48.
- 1968 – The Liberals won 155 seats while the Progressive Conservatives won just 72.
- 1984 – The Progressive Conservatives won 211 seats while the Liberals won just 40.
- 1993 – The Liberals won 177 seats while the Bloc Québecois, which ran only in Québec, won 54. The ruling Progressive Conservatives dropped from 154 to 2.
Provincial examples
Costa Rica
Croatia
Dominica
Fiji
- 1999 – the Fiji Labour Party, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, won a landslide victory,[7] winning 37 of the 71 seats in Parliament (gaining 30 seats). Chaudhry became the country's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister. The incumbent, Sitiveni Rabuka (leader of Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei), won just eight seats, losing 23. Five other parties also won a total of 26 seats and independents won eight seats.
- 2014 – FijiFirst, led by Frank Bainimarama, won a landslide victory[8] [9] in the country's first elections since the 2006 Fijian coup d'état, led by Bainimarama. Bainimarama went on to serve a total of 16 years as Prime Minister, until losing the 2022 Fijian general election to Sitiveni Rabuka due to a hung parliament and the formation of a coalition between the three opposition parties (the People's Alliance, the National Federation Party and the Social Democratic Liberal Party).
France
Only include those after 1958.
French Polynesia
Grenada
In Grenadian general elections, a landslide victory involves a large swing from one party to another as well as one party winning a large majority in parliament. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.
Hong Kong
Legislative Council elections:
Local elections:
- 2019 – The pro-democracy camp seized control of 17 of the 18 District Councils, tripling their seats from about 124 to 389. The pro-Beijing parties and independents won only 61 seats, a loss of 242 seats, received their largest defeat in history.
Hungary
Ireland
The 1977 Irish general election, which elected members of the 21st Dáil Éireann on 16 June 1977, resulted in a landslide win for the main opposition party Fianna Fáil. The election saw the party win 84 seats in the 148 Dáil, receiving 50.6% of all first preference votes cast. The incumbent Fine Gael/Labour National Coalition government was defeated, with Fianna Fáil gaining a 20-seat majority in the lower house of the Oireachtas (Ireland's national parliament). This was the last time a single political party won an outright majority in an Irish general election.
Italy
- 2005 Italian regional elections – The Union centre-left coalition won the presidency in 12 out of 14 regions that were holding elections that year. After this election the centre-left controlled the presidency in 16 out of Italy's 20 regions.
- 2020 Venetian regional election – Incumbent president of Veneto Luca Zaia (Lega) won carrying 76.79% of the vote, five times as many as his main opponent Arturo Lorenzoni's (PD) 15.72%.
Jamaica
In Jamaican elections, a landslide victory involves a large swing from one party to another as well as one party winning a large majority in parliament. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.
Malaysia
Mexico
- 2018 – Left-wing Andrés Manuel López Obrador won with 54% of the votes, his closest rival is PAN's Ricardo Anaya with just short of 23%, the highest amount of the post-PRI era. Most elections before 2000 had PRI winning by a landslide victory however due to Mexico's de facto one party system at the time, these elections are generally considered to be undemocratic.
- 2024 – Sigamos Haciendo Historia candidate Claudia Sheinbaum won with 59% of the votes, with her closest rival Xóchitl Gálvez winning 27%. Sheinbaum received the highest vote count ever recorded in Mexican history at 35.9 million votes, breaking the previous record of Andrés Manuel López Obrador of 30.1 million votes.
Monaco
Monaco is traditionally dominated by conservative parties with only two cases in which left-of-centre parties won any seats (1963 and 1973).
- 1968 – The governing National and Democratic Union, led by August Médecin, won a landslide victory, winning 18 seats on the National Council.
- Between 1978 and 1988 - The governing National and Democratic Union hold all 18 seats on the National Council.
- 1998 – The governing National and Democratic Union, led by Jean-Louis Campora, won a landslide victory, winning all 18 seats on the National Council.
- 2023 – The governing Monegasque National Union, led by Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, won a landslide victory, winning all 24 seats on the National Council.
New Zealand
Until 1993, New Zealand used the traditional first-past-the-post system as in the U.K. to determine representation in its Parliament. Thus, landslide elections at that time were defined in an identical fashion, i.e. where one party got an overwhelming majority of the seats. Since 1996, New Zealand has used the mixed member proportional system as in Germany, making landslides much less likely.[12]
First past the post
- – The Liberals won 51 seats and 57.8% of the vote while the Conservatives won 13 seats and just 24.5% of the vote.[13]
- – The Liberals won 49 seats and 52.7% of the vote while the Conservatives won 19 seats and just 36.6% of the vote.
- – The Liberals won 58 seats and 53.1% of the vote while the Conservatives won 16 seats and just 29.7% of the vote.
- – The Reform Party won 55 seats while the Labour & Liberal parties won just 23 seats combined.
- – The Labour Party won 53 seats while the Coalition won just 19 seats.
- – The Labour Party won 53 seats while the National Party won just 25 seats.
- – The Labour Party won 55 seats while the National Party won just 32 seats.
- – The National Party won 55 seats while the Labour Party won just 32 seats.
- – The Labour Party won 56 seats while the National Party won just 37 seats.
- – The National Party won 67 seats while the Labour Party won just 29 seats.
MMP
- – The Labour Party won 52 seats while the National Party won just 27 seats.[14]
- – The National Party won 59 seats while the Labour Party won just 34 seats.
- – The National Party won 60 seats while the Labour Party won just 32 seats.[15]
- – The Labour Party won 65 seats while the National Party won just 33 seats (the first time any party won an overall majority under MMP)[16]
Papua New Guinea
- 2007: The National Alliance Party, led by Sir Michael Somare, won 27 of the 109 seats in the National Parliament, gaining eight seats. In contrast, no other party won over seven seats.
- 2022: The Pangu Pati, led by James Marape, was re-elected following a landslide victory. The Pangu Pati won 39 of the 113 seats in the National Parliament, gaining 30 seats. In contrast, the People's National Congress, led by former Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, won 17 seats, losing 11 seats. However, no party won a majority of seats (57 seats needed for a majority).
Paraguay
Philippines
In 1941, the Nacionalista Party won the presidency, vice presidency, all seats in the Senate, and all but 3 seats in the House of Representatives. This was the biggest landslide in Philippine history. The legislators won't serve until 1945 though, due to World War II.
Starting in 1987, the Philippines evolved into a multi-party system, and coupled with the introduction of party-list elections in 1998, no party was able to win a landslide, much less a majority of seats, in the House of Representatives since then. This has also meant that no presidential and vice presidential election winner won a majority of votes, although, in 1998, the winners were described as having landslide victories, despite winning less than a majority of votes, due to large winning margins. Senatorial landslides are more possible though in midterm elections, as voters are usually presented with two distinct choices. The 2022 presidential election was the first landslide since 1987.
Presidential and vice presidential elections
In the Philippines, while there are presidential tickets, the positions of president and vice president are elected separately.
- 1897 – Emilio Aguinaldo won with 57% of the vote. with his other two contemporaries being Andres Bonifacio with 31% and Mariano Trias having 12% of the vote.
- 1935 – Manuel L. Quezon won with 68% of the vote. His running mate, Sergio Osmeña, won with 86% of the vote. Their second placers had 18% and 8% of the vote, respectively.
- 1941 – Manuel L. Quezon won with 80% of the vote. His running mate, Sergio Osmeña, won with 90% of the vote. The second placers had 18% and 8% of the vote, respectively. This was the biggest landslide in an election where major opposition parties participated.
- 1953 – Ramon Magsaysay won with 69% of the vote. His running mate, Carlos P. Garcia, won with 63% of the vote. Their opponents had 31% and 37% of the vote, respectively.
- 1981 – Ferdinand Marcos won with 89% of the vote, and won in every province, with the main opposition coalition boycotting the election. This is the largest landslide in history.
- 1998 – Joseph Estrada won with 40% of the vote. His main opponent, Jose de Venecia, received just 16%, or a margin of 24%. De Venecia's running mate, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, won with almost 50% of the vote. Her main opponent, Estrada's running mate Edgardo Angara, received just 22%, or a margin of about 28%.
- 2022 – Bongbong Marcos won with 59% of the vote. His main rival, Leni Robredo, got 28% of the vote. Marcos' running mate, Sara Duterte, won with 62% of the vote. Her main rival, Francis Pangilinan, got 18% of the vote.
Senate
House of Representatives
Portugal
Legislative Elections
- 1979 – The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), a coalition between the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic and Social Centre and the People's Monarchist Party, led by Francisco Sá Carneiro, won 128 out of the 250 seats and 45.3% of the popular vote. The second most voted party, the Socialist Party received 27.3% of the total voting, 18 percentage points behind the winners.
- 1980 – Following their win one year earlier, Democratic Alliance (AD), led by Francisco Sá Carneiro, won 134 out of the 250 seats and 47.6% of the popular vote. The Socialist Party, the second most voted party, received just 27.8% of the total voting, nearly 20 points behind the AD.
- 1987 – The centre-right Social Democratic Party led by Cavaco Silva won 148 out of the 250 seats and 50.2% of the popular vote. The second most voted party, the Socialist Party would receive just 22.2% of the total voting, falling 28 percentage points behind the winners.
- 1991 – Following the success attained in the previous legislative elections, the Social Democratic Party led by Cavaco Silva won 135 out of the 230 seats and 50.6% of the popular vote. The Socialist Party would also rise in voting, receiving 29.1% of the votes, but would still be far short of the Social Democrats.
- 2005 – The centre-left Socialist Party led by José Sócrates won 121 out of the 230 seats and 45% of the popular vote. The second most voted party, the Social Democratic Party received just 28.8% of the total voting and 75 seats, thus polling 16 percentage points behind the Socialists.
- 2022 – The Socialist Party led by António Costa gathered 120 out of the 230 seats and 41.4% of the popular vote. The second most voted party, the Social Democratic Party polled at 29.1% of the total voting, 12.3 percentage points behind the Socialists, and only won two electoral districts out of twenty two.
Presidential Elections
- 1976 – António Ramalho Eanes, supported by the center-right and center-left political parties secured 61.6% of the total vote, while the second most voted candidate, FP-25 leader Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, got 16.5% of the vote.
- 1991 – Incumbent president Mário Soares, supported by both the socialists and the social democrats achieved 70.3% of the total votes, while the second most voted candidate, Basilio Horta secured only 14.2% of the votes.
- 2006 – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, supported by the center-right parties, secured 50.5% of the votes in the first turn. Second most voted candidate, socialist Manuel Alegre would only secure 20.7%.
- 2011 – Incumbent president, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, supported by the center-right parties achieved 53% of the total voting, the second most voted candidate, socialist Manuel Alegre would only score 19.7%.
- 2016 — Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, supported by the center-right parties and benefiting from bigger media exposure than the rest of the candidates secured 52% of the votes in the first turn. Second most voted candidate António Sampaio da Nóvoa would only score 23% of voting.
- 2021 – Incumbent president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, would renew his term receiving 60.6% of the total voting, whilst the second most voted candidate, socialist MEP Ana Gomes received only 13% of the votes. Rebelo de Sousa became the first presidential candidate to win in all the municipalities.
Azorean Regional Elections
Madeiran Regional Elections
Alberto João Jardim, member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) was the president of the Madeira region from 1978 to 2015. During this period of time, landslide victories for the Social Democrats were the norm. In 2015, the party, now led by Miguel Albuquerque, also achieved a landslide victory.
Landslide victories for the Social Democratic Party in Madeira| Year | % of votes for the PSD | 2nd most voted party | % of votes for the 2nd most voted party | Margin |
|---|
| 59.6% | | 22.3% | 37.3 |
| 65.3% | | 15.0% | 50.3 |
| 67.8% | | 15.3% | 52.5 |
| 62.3% | | 16.8% | 45.5 |
| 56.9% | | 22.6% | 34.3 |
| 56.9% | | 24.8% | 32.1 |
| 56.0% | | 21.0% | 35.0 |
| 53.7% | | 27.4% | 26.3 |
| 64.2% | | 15.4% | 48.8 |
| 48.6% | | 17.6% | 31.0 |
| 44.4% | | 13.7% | 30.7 | |
Samoa
- 2006 – The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won a landslide victory, winning 33 seats, an increase of ten. The main opposition party, the new Samoa Democratic United Party, won 10 seats.[17]
- 2016 – The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won by a landslide victory, winning 35 of the 49 seats in the Legislative Assembly, gaining six seats. The main opposition party, the Tautua Samoa Party (led by Palusalue Faʻapo II) only won two seats, losing 11 seats. Independents won 13 seats.[18]
Slovakia
Spain
Basque Country
- 2001 – Juan Jose Ibarretxe's Basque National Party-Basque Solidarity (PNV-EA) alliance won 33 seats and 42.2% of the share, 20 percentage points ahead of PP. The result is the best performance for the top voted list in a Basque regional election. With a record turnout of 79%, PNV-EA obtained more than 600,000 votes. PNV-EA also won more seats than PP (19) and PSE-EE (13) together, and was able to secure a working majority in parliament.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
A landslide victory in the elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines involves a large swing from one party to another as well as one party winning a large majority in parliament. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.
Taiwan
Presidential and Legislative Election held on the same day
Trinidad and Tobago
In Trinidad and Tobago's elections, a landslide victory involves a large swing from one party to another as well as one party winning a large majority in parliament. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood. Party politics and the political structure in Trinidad and Tobago has generally run along ethnic lines with most Afro-Trinidadians supporting the People's National Movement (PNM) and most Indo-Trinidadians supporting various Indian-majority parties, such as the current United National Congress (UNC) or its predecessors.
Tobago
Ukraine
United Kingdom
In UK General Elections, a landslide victory involves winning a large majority in parliament and often goes with a large swing from one party to another as well. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood. In the past a majority of over 100 was regarded as the technical hurdle to be defined as a landslide, as that allows the government freedom to easily enact its policies in parliament. In more recent times, the label 'landslide' has been applied in numerous press articles to victories which would not previously have been regarded as such, for example the Conservative Party majority of 80 in 2019. Its current usage is more as political commentary rather than technical definition and is a reflection of the strength of the party's ability to put its programme through parliament.[19] [20] [21] [22]
The largest landslide by any single party in the UK parliament, since universal suffrage was introduced, was the majority of 179 won by Tony Blair's Labour Party in 1997.
Notable landslide election results
- 1906 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman led his Liberal Party to victory over Arthur Balfour's Conservative Party who lost more than half their seats, including his own seat in Manchester East, as a result of the large national swing to the Liberal Party (The 5.4% swing from the Conservatives to Liberals was at the time the highest ever achieved). The Liberal Party won 397 seats (an increase of 214) while the Conservative Party were left with 156 seats (a decrease of 246).[23] [24]
- 1945 – Clement Attlee led his Labour Party to victory over Winston Churchill's Conservative Party, a 12.0% swing from the Conservatives to Labour. Labour won 393 seats (an increase of 239) while the Conservative Party were left with 197 (a decrease of 190).[25]
- 1966 – Harold Wilson led the Labour Party to win 364 seats (an increase of 47) and gained an overall majority of 98 while the Conservative Party won 253 seats (a decrease of 51).
- 1983 – Margaret Thatcher won her second term in office with a landslide victory for the Conservatives gaining an overall majority of 144 by winning 397 seats (an increase of 38 seats) on 42.4% of the national vote and forcing her main opponent Michael Foot to resign after Labour won 209 seats.
- 1987 – Margaret Thatcher won her third term in office with a second landslide victory for the Conservatives gaining an overall majority of 102 by winning 376 seats (a decrease of 21 seats).
- 1997 – Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win 418 seats (an increase of 145) and gained an overall majority of 179 while the Conservative Party won 165 seats (a decrease of 178). The swing from the Conservatives to Labour was 10.2% and was the second biggest general election victory of the 20th Century after 1931.[26]
- 2001 – Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win 412 seats (a decrease of 6) and gained an overall majority of 167 while the Conservative Party won 166 seats (an increase of 1). Making Tony Blair the first Labour Prime Minister to serve two consecutive full terms in office.[27]
- 2019 – Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to win a total of 365 seats (an increase of 48) and a majority of 80 seats, the party's largest majority since 1987. It left the Labour Party, who were led by Jeremy Corbyn, with 202 seats (a decrease of 60, their worst result since 1935). The election led to 54 Labour seats changing to Conservative predominantly in the Midlands and Northern England - some of which had been held by Labour since the first half of the 20th century.[28]
- 2024 – Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to win 411 seats (an increase of 209, the party's highest seat count since 2001) and a majority of 172 seats, while the Conservative Party led by Rishi Sunak won 121 seats (a decrease of 244), the party's worst ever result, exceeding the previous worst defeat of 1906.[29]
Scotland
United States
A landslide victory in U.S. Presidential elections occurs when a candidate has an overwhelming majority in the Electoral College.
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Landslide Victory: Definition in Elections . Tom . Murse . 8 October 2020 . ThoughtCo . 18 October 2020.
- News: Newman wins Brisbane election landslide . ABC News . 15 March 2008 .
- Web site: The Mayor that was re-elected in a landslide, collecting 85 per cent of the votes . 20 October 2021 .
- Web site: 2021-03-12. Biggest State Election Landslides. live. 2021-04-07. Armarium Interreta. en-AU. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312132526/https://armariuminterreta.site/2021/03/12/biggest-state-election-landslides . 12 March 2021 .
- Web site: Mark McGowan claims WA election victory as Liberals all but wiped out. 14 March 2021. The New Daily.
- Web site: Party Standings in the House of Commons (1867-date) . Library of Parliament . PARLINFO . 24 March 2016 . 5 April 2016.
- Web site: Fiji's military strongman voted out in landslide to the Labour Party . 19 May 1999 .
- https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/bainimarama-sworn-in-as-fijis-pm/news-story/7b83d9e020310ae309ffe2a230b11c88 Fiji coup leader sworn in as PM
- Web site: Fiji's Military Ruler Wins Landslide Election Victory (2014) . .
- News: 30 December 2011. Dominating victory in Jamaica elections even surprises winning opposition side. Washington Post. 31 December 2011.
- Web site: Political Tsunami turns Jamaica green with massive JLP victory. 2020-11-20. en-US.
- Mixed Member Proportional Representation in New Zealand . 17 July 2014 . Electoral Commission . Video . Wellington.
- Web site: 1890–1993 general elections . Electoral Commission New Zealand . 9 July 2023 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408001916/https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/historical-events/18901993-general-elections . 8 April 2023.
- Web site: Official Count Results -- Overall Status . Electoral Commission . 2002 General Election – Official Results . 8 October 2002 . 5 April 2016.
- Web site: Official Count Results -- Overall Status . Electoral Commission . 10 October 2014 . 5 April 2016 . 2014 General Election – Official Results.
- News: 17 October 2020. New Zealand election: Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party scores landslide win. en-GB. BBC News. live. 17 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016230837/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54519628. 16 October 2020.
- Web site: Elections in 2006 . Inter-Parliamentary Union. 26 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220317052152/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2351_06.htm . 17 March 2022 . live.
- Web site: Legislative Assembly (Fono) . Inter-Parliamentary Union . 26 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220901054546/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2351_E.htm . 1 September 2022 . live.
- Web site: Bush . Stephen . 2021-06-08 . Despite all reports, the election wasn't a landslide – and Johnson may be about to discover that reality . 2022-12-19 . New Statesman . en-US.
- News: 2019-12-12 . Election results 2019: Boris Johnson returns to power with big majority . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-12-19.
- News: Holder . Josh . Voce . Antonio . Barr . Caelainn . Holder . Josh . Voce . Antonio . Barr . Caelainn . How did Boris Johnson achieve his landslide victory? A visual guide . en-GB . The Guardian . 2022-12-19 . 0261-3077.
- Web site: 2013-10-10 . Inside the landslide: Thatcher's personal papers for 1983 opened to the public . 2022-12-19 . University of Cambridge . en.
- News: 1906: The Liberal landslide. 9 February 2006. bbc.co.uk.
- Book: Liberal Landslide: The General Election of 1906.
- Book: Labour Landslide, July 5-19, 1945.
- Book: Labour's Landslide: The British General Election 1997.
- News: 2010-08-03. The rise and fall of New Labour. en-GB. BBC News. 2021-12-30.
- Web site: Boris Johnson must fulfil his One Nation pledge . Financial Times . 13 December 2019 . 2019-12-14.
- Web site: UK election results 2024 . BBC . 6 July 2024 . 2024-07-06.
