List of landslide victories

In politics, a landslide victory (or landslide) is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election.^[1] Just what margin is needed for a victory to be "in [or by] a landslide" has not been precisely defined, and has varied from time to time.

Australia

After the 2007 federal election some commentators referred to the Labor Party's win under Kevin Rudd as a ruddslide. By historical standards though, the victory was not unusually large. Some notable election results in Australia have been:

1917 - Nationalist Party won 53 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives
1925 - Nationalist-Country Coalition won 51 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives
1929 - Australian Labor Party won 46 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives
1943 - Australian Labor Party won 49 of the 74 seats in the House of Representatives
1949 - Liberal-Country Coalition won 74 of the 121 seats in the House of Representatives
1958 - Liberal-Country Coalition won 77 of the 121 seats in the House of Representatives
1966 - Liberal-Country Coalition won 82 of the 124 seats in the House of Representatives
1975 - Liberal-National Coalition won 91 of the 127 seats in the House of Representatives
1983 - Australian Labor Party won 75 of the 125 seats in the House of Representatives
1996 - Liberal-National Coalition won 94 of the 148 seats in the House of Representatives
The 1931 election stands as the greatest loss of seats for a government - 32 seats in a 74-seat parliament

Australian elections are characterised by few changes in government — since 1949 there have been only five elections where a new party has won government. When a new party is elected, however, it is generally by a landslide.

Some notable state election landslides include:

1911 Western Australian state election - The Labor party, previously in opposition, won 34 of the 50 seats in the state Legislative Assembly.
1933 Western Australian state election - The Labor party, previously in opposition, won 30 of the 50 seats in the state Legislative Assembly, reducing the previous party of government, the Nationalists, to minor party status.
1974 Queensland state election - Country-Liberal Coalition won 69 of the 82 seats in the state parliament (the Coalition's win, while overwhelming, was exaggerated by the Bjelkemander in operation in the state's electoral divisions at the time)
1981 New South Wales state election - Australian Labor Party won 69 of the 99 seats in the state Legislative Assembly.
1993 South Australian state election - Liberal Party, previously in opposition, won 37 of the 47 seats in the state House of Assembly.
2001 Queensland state election - Australian Labor Party won 66 of the 89 seats in the state Legislative Assembly.
2002 Victorian state election - Australian Labor Party won 62 of the 88 seats in the state Legislative Assembly.
2011 New South Wales state election- Liberal/National coalition won 69 of the 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly

Brazil

Considering that Brazil has a two-round system there was never a landslide victory in presidential elections since the redemocratization in the late 1980s. The closest to a landslide victory in presidential elections happened when Fernando Henrique Cardoso was both elected and re-elected in the first round with 53% of the valid votes against about 30% of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Considering the second round, Lula had a landslide victory both in 2002 and 2006, achieving more than 60% of the valid votes against 39% of his contestants.

Prior to the Estado Novo regime, there were some landslide victories, but it should be noted that electoral corruption was widespread and voting was restricted to literate men. Those landslide vistories were:

1894 - Prudente de Morais had 88.4% of the votes against 11.3% of Afonso Pena
1898 - Campos Sales had 98.5% of the votes against 8.5% of Lauro Sodré
1902 - Rodrigues Alves had 93.3% of the votes against 6.7% of Quintino Bocaiuva
1906 - Afonso Pena had 98% against 2% of Lauro Sodré
1910 - Hermes da Fonseca had 65% against 35% of Ruy Barbosa
1914 - Venceslau Brás had 91.7% of votes against 8.3% of Ruy Barbosa and other non-registered candidates
1918 - Rodrigues Alves had 99% of the votes against 1% of other 130 non-registered candidates
1919 - Epitácio Pessoa had 71.1% of the votes against 28.9% of Ruy Barbosa
1926 - Washington Luís had 99% of the votes against 1% of Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brasil.

Two of the three national referendums were marked with landslide victories. In 1963, Presidentialism was restored with 80% of the votes, while in 2005, almost 64% voted against the prohibition of firearms and ammunition commercialization.

Belgium

In federal elections in 2010, the New Flemish Alliance won 32% votes cast in the Senate election, almost double of the second party, Christian Democratic and Flemish party.

Burma/Myanmar

There was a landslide victory in the Burmese general election, 2010.^[2]

Canada

Prince Edward Island general election, 1935, in which the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island under Walter Lea won every seat in the legislature, the first time in the history of the British Empire that that happened.
Canadian federal election, 1958, in which the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won 208 seats out of 265.
Canadian federal election, 1984, in which the Progressive Conservatives won 211 seats out of 282.
New Brunswick general election, 1987, in which the Liberal Party of New Brunswick won every seat in the legislature.
Prince Edward Island general election, 1993, in which the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island under Catherine Callbeck won 31 of 32 seats in the legislature.
Prince Edward Island general election, 2000 in which the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island under Pat Binns won 26 of 27 seats in the legislature.
British Columbia general election, 2001, in which 77 of 79 seats were won by the British Columbia Liberal Party.
Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2007, in which Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador won 44 of 48 seats.
Quebec general election, 1973, in which the Quebec Liberal Party under Robert Bourassa won 102 out of 110 seats in the Quebec National Assembly.
Saskatchewan general election, 2011, in which the Saskatchewan Party under Brad Wall won 49 out of 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

Colombia

Juan Manuel Santos won a landslide victory in the second round of the Colombian presidential election, 2010.^[3]

France

French legislative election, 1919, in which the "Bloc National", an alliance of Right and Centrist parties seeking to continue the "Sacred Union" of parties which saw France through the First World War, won 433 MPs seats out of a total of 613, a majority of 70%; because of its Nationalist convictions and of the colour of the French Army uniforms at the time, this legislature was nicknamed "Chambre bleu horizon".
French legislative election, 1968, in which an alliance of Right and Centrist parties united in their support of President Charles de Gaulle following the massive street demonstrations of May and June 1968, won 52% of the votes and 394 MPs seats out of a total of 485, a majority of 81%.
French legislative election, 1993, in which the "Union For France" (alliance of the Rally for the Republic and Union for French Democracy) won 485 of 577 seats in the National Assembly.
French presidential election, 2002, in which incumbent Jacques Chirac was reelected in a runoff election against far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen with more than 82% of all votes.
French regional elections, 2004, in which the Socialist Party won 20 of 22 regions in metropolitan France. This feat was repeated in the French regional elections, 2010, where the Socialist Party won with an even greater margin, winning in all but 1 of the regions.

Germany

German federal election, 1957, in which the conservative alliance between Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union of Bavaria won the absolute majority of the popular vote.

Hong Kong

The 1991 election: A coalition of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and the Meeting Point, together with other smaller parties, groups and independents in the pro-democracy camp, getting 17 of the 18 geographical constituency seats.
The 1995 election: The Democratic Party, together with other smaller parties, groups and independents in the pro-democracy camp, getting 17 of the 20 geographical constituency seats.

Hungary

Hungarian parliamentary election, 2010: The largest opposition party Fidesz won the election with 52,7% of the vote and 263 of 386 seats, gaining a two-thirds majority.

Indonesia

Indonesian presidential election, 2004: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party defeated incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri with 60.6% of votes in the second round.
Indonesian presidential election, 2009: Incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won 60.8%, defeating his closest rival Megawati Sukarnoputri who won only 26.8% of votes. Having won more than 50% on the first round, this took away the need for a runoff.

Ireland

Fianna Fáil won landslide victories in the 1938 and 1977 General Elections
- Irish general election, 1938: Won 76 of 137 seats in the Dáil Éireann on 51.6% of first preferences
- Irish general election, 1977: Won 84 of 147 seats in the Dáil Éireann on 50.6% of first preferences

These were the only times a party has won a majority of the vote in an Irish General Election.

Japan

The once-dominant Liberal Democratic Party has held large parliamentary majorities in the 1960s until the 1970s when it had to govern with coalitions to command workable majorities.

Japanese general election, 2005: The ruling Liberal Democratic Party under prime minister Junichiro Koizumi won 296 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan
Japanese general election, 2009: Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan defeated the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Taro Aso, winning 308 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan, ending over five decades of near-continuous LDP rule.

New Zealand

New Zealand formerly used solely first-past-the-post voting until 1993, when it switched to the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system in 1996 to elect members of the Parliament of New Zealand.

Therefore, landslides have not happened since then as no single party has won a majority of seats under proportional representation.

Instances of landslides under first-past-the-post voting:

1935: Labour won 53 of 80 seats
1951: National won 50 of 80 seats in the wake of the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute
1972: Labour Party won 55 of 87 seats
1975: National Party won 55 of 87 seats
1990: National Party led by Jim Bolger defeated the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand led by Mike Moore, winning 67 of 97 seats in the Parliament of New Zealand.

The 1990 election stands as the largest majority to be won by any party.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the positions of president and vice president are directly elected separately, without runoff election.

From 1935 to 1946, the Philippines was under de facto one-party rule by the Nacionalista Party; as such all presidential elections were landslides; Manuel L. Quezon won with 68% of the vote in 1935 and an even bigger margin of 82% on 1941. Sergio Osmeña won even larger margins in the vice presidential elections: 80% in 1935 and 85% in 1942.

From 1946 to 1972, the Philippines was under a two-party system, but landslides were rarer except for these instances:

Philippine presidential election, 1953: Ramon Magsaysay won with 68% of the vote.
- Vice presidential election: Magsaysay's running mate Carlos P. Garcia won 62% of the vote.
Philippine presidential election, 1969: Ferdinand Marcos won with 61% of the vote to be reelected as president.

In 1972, martial law was declared and political opposition was suppressed. It was lifted in 1981, but other major parties boycotted that year's election.

Philippine presidential election, 1981: Ferdinand Marcos won with 88% of the vote with token opposition. This is the largest margin to date.

Since 1987, the country is under a multi-party system; with the winner always winning via a plurality leading to smaller margins of victory. However, two landslides are recognized:

Philippine presidential election, 1998: Joseph Estrada won with 40% of the vote, with a margin of victory of 6,453,812 votes (24%) against Jose de Venecia who got 16% of the vote.
- Vice presidential election: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won with almost 50% of the vote, against Estrada's running mate Edgardo Angara's 22%.
Philippine presidential election, 2010: Benigno Aquino III won with 42% of the vote, with a margin of victory of 5,720,841 votes (16%) against Joseph Estrada who got 26% of the vote.

Poland

In the runoff of the Polish presidential election, 1990 Lech Wałęsa won 74.25% of votes against 25.75% of Stan Tymiński. This remains, to date, the biggest victory;
During Polish presidential election, 2000 incumbent Aleksander Kwaśniewski won 53.90%, avoiding (the only time in history), a second round. His closest rival, Andrzej Olechowski, won just 17.30%. In Polish politics this election, because of quick victory and large margin, is also considered a landslide;
During Polish parliamentary election, 2001 Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union won 47.2% (216 Sejm seats) against closest opposition party, Civic Platform (14.1% and 65 seats). This is, to date, the biggest victory margin and is also considered a landslide (In Senate, DLA-LU won 75 of 100 seats).

Russia

The 2004 presidential election was won by incumbent president Vladimir Putin with 71.3% of the vote, with closest runner-up Nikolay Kharitonov only receiving 13.7%. This is the largest margin in a Russian presidential election.
The United Russia party collected 64% of votes during the 2007 Duma elections. The next highest vote total was achieved by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which received 11% of votes cast.^[4] The elections have been criticized for being unfair.^[5]

Scotland

Scottish Parliament general election, 2011: The Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond won 69 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, leading to the first majority government in Scottish history since the Restoration of the Scottish Parliament. The electoral system in Scotland is specifically designed to prevent majority government. In second place was the Scottish Labour Party, with only 37 seats.

Singapore

Singaporean general election, 1959: The People's Action Party led by Lee Kuan Yew won 43 of 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly on 54.1% of valid votes under the first past the post system.
Singaporean general election, 2001: The People's Action Party won 75.3% of the popular vote and 82 of 84 seats in the Parliament of Singapore.

South Korea

In the 2007 Presidential election, Lee Myung-bak beat his nearest rival Chung Dong-young by 22.6 percentage points, garnering 48.7% of the vote against Chung's 26.1% of the vote, while independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang came in third with 15.1% of the vote. Since the beginning of direct Presidential elections in South Korea, this election was won by the widest margin in South Korea history. However, the turnout was the lowest ever for a South Korean presidential election.

Spain

In the Spanish general election, 1982, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, led by Felipe González, got 48.11% of the popular vote and 202 out of the 350 seats in the Congress, nearly doubling the second party, the conservative People's Alliance led by Manuel Fraga (26.46% of vote and 107 seats). This is the most overwhelming majority in Spanish democratic era. The party in the government until 1982, centrist Union of the Democratic Centre, only got eleven seats.
In the Spanish general election, 2011, the People's Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, got 44.62% of the popular vote and 186 out of the 350 seats in the Congress, a 76 seat-lead over the second party, the until then-governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party under Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, which suffered a seat net-loss of 59 seats over those won in the previous election and winning less than 30% of the popular vote (28.73% of vote and 110 seats). In terms of seats won by the opposition party and seats lost by the governing party, this is the second most overwhelming victory in Spanish democratic era in a general election.

Taiwan (Republic of China)

Republic of China presidential election, 1996: Incumbent Lee Teng-hui of the Kuomintang won 54.0% of votes, while his closest rival won 21.0%.
Republic of China presidential election, 2008: Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang won 58.5% of votes, while his rival Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party won 41.3%.

Thailand

Thai general election, 2005: Then incumbent prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thai Rak Thai won 374 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives while opposition Democrat Party led by Banyat Bantadtan won only 96 seats
Thai general election, 2011: Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's youngest sister and front-runner of Pheu Thai Party, won 265 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives for first time in contest while ruling Democrat Party led by incumbent prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva won 159 seats^[6]

Both were under parallel voting system.

United Kingdom

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

In general, any British general election which results in a majority of over 100 seats tends to be described as a landslide. Landslide victories since the Reform Act 1884 (the first time a majority of adult males could vote) are:

The 1886 election: Unionist (Conservative Party and Liberal Unionist Party) overall majority of 116
The 1895 election: Unionist overall majority of 152
The 1900 election: Unionist overall majority of 134
The 1906 election: Liberal Party overall majority of 128 (356 when assuming Labour and Irish Nationalist support)
The 1918 election: Coalition overall majority of 239
The 1924 election: Conservative overall majority of 209
The 1931 election: National government overall majority of 493 (including Conservative majority of 324)
The 1935 election: National government overall majority of 247
The 1945 election: Labour Party overall majority of 146
The 1959 election: Conservative overall majority of 100
The 1966 election: Labour overall majority of 98
The 1983 election: Conservative overall majority of 144
The 1987 election: Conservative overall majority of 102
The 1997 election: Labour overall majority of 179
The 2001 election: Labour overall majority of 167

Labour's general election victory in 2001 with an overall majority of 167 was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. Though the Government did score a very high majority, public interest in the election was not excited and, unlike most of the landslide results listed above, there was little change from the previous election and no change of governing party.

Landslides are relatively common in British electoral history, and this is partly as a result of the first-past-the-post electoral system. Relatively small differences in numbers of popular votes cast be amplified by the eventual result. For instance, Labour achieved a 66-seat majority in the 2005 election despite securing only 35% of the vote. Conversely, parties can poll very highly and achieve disproportionately low numbers of MPs.

United States

Presidential

Presidential elections in the United States are indirect; they are not determined by the "popular vote", but by the Electoral College. Each state is allocated as many "electors" as it has Senators and Representatives in the United States Congress, and, at present, all states but Nebraska and Maine hold a "winner take all" vote, in which the winner of the popular vote in a state wins all electoral votes the state is eligible to cast (Nebraska and Maine give two electoral votes to the winner of the state and one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district within the state.).

For this reason, many presidential victories appear to be huge landslide victories when examining the electoral vote, but much less so when examining the popular vote; for example, in the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan won 90.9% of the electoral vote but 50.7% of the popular vote to Jimmy Carter's 41.0%.

Popular votes

Lyndon Johnson's 61.1% to Barry Goldwater's 38.5% in the 1964 presidential election
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 60.8% to Alf Landon's 36.5% in the 1936 presidential election
Richard Nixon's 60.7% to George McGovern's 37.5% in the 1972 presidential election
Warren Harding's 60.3% to James M. Cox's 34.1% in the 1920 presidential election
Ronald Reagan's 58.8% to Walter Mondale's 40.6% in the 1984 presidential election
Theodore Roosevelt's 56.4% to Alton B. Parker's 37.6% in the 1904 presidential election

Electoral votes

James Monroe's 231 electoral votes to John Quincy Adams's 1 electoral vote in 1820. (99.1% margin)
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 523 electoral votes to Alf Landon's 8 electoral votes in 1936. (97% margin)
Ronald Reagan's 525 electoral votes to Walter Mondale's 13 electoral votes in 1984. (95.2% margin)
Richard Nixon's 520 electoral votes to George McGovern's 17 electoral votes and John Hospers's 1 in 1972. (93.3% margin)

The greatest modern landslides in the United States Presidential elections

1920 - the greatest percentage point margin in the popular vote (Harding 60.3% to Cox 34.1%).
1936 - the greatest electoral votes difference between winner and opponent (Roosevelt 523 to Landon 8).
1964 - the highest percentage for winner (Lyndon Johnson 61.1%).
1984 - the highest number of electoral votes (Reagan 525).

Notes

^ Military-backed party wins Burma election in landslide: 10 November 2010.
^ Landslide win for Santos in Colombian election: 22 June 2010.
^ Putin party secures huge victory
^ Fraud, intimidation and bribery as Putin prepares for victory
^ "Official balloting outcome". The Nation (Thailand) (Bangkok). 5 July 2011. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/07/05/national/Official-balloting-outcome-30159554.html.