Election result wherein a party or candidate wins by a large margin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning candidate or party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyond the typical competitive outcome.[1][2][3][4] 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 for one party is often accompanied by an electoral wipeout for the opposition, as the overwhelming support for the winning side inflicts a decisive loss on its rivals. What qualifies as a landslide victory can vary depending on the type of electoral system, as the term does not entail a precise, technical, or universally agreed-upon measurement. Instead, it is used informally in everyday language, making it subject to interpretation. Even within a single electoral system, there is no consensus on the exact margin that constitutes a landslide victory.[1] For example, Ronald Reagan's win in the 1984 United States presidential election, where he won 49 states out of 50 and 525 out of 538 electoral votes, is considered a landslide victory.[5]
The conditions necessary for a landslide victory typically stem from a public sentiment for either change or continuity, combined with factors such as charismatic leadership appeal, economic conditions, crisis management, media portrayal, and strategically effective electoral campaigning. For an incumbent, a landslide often reflects high public approval, effective governance, and limited opposition, prompting voters to favor stability. In contrast, an opposition landslide typically arises from dissatisfaction with the incumbent and the status quo, strong alternative leadership, and a unified campaign that resonates with voter frustrations and calls for reform.
A landslide victory implies a powerful expression of popular will and a ringing endorsement by the electorate for the winner’s political platform. Such a decisive outcome can lead the winner to interpret it as a mandate or a tacit authorization from the public to implement their proposed policies and pursue their agenda with confidence. Emboldened by the result, the winner may undertake ambitious reforms or significant policy shifts to reflect the electorate’s desire for meaningful change.[6] Conversely, a landslide victory may raise suspicions of electoral fraud when the result is vastly inconsistent with pre-election opinion polls. In countries with histories of alleged or proven electoral manipulation, such an overwhelming outcome may lack legitimacy, particularly if the ruling party controls the electoral infrastructure. A landslide perceived as tainted by vote rigging can lead to political unrest, protests, or calls for re-elections.[7]
A landslide victory may profoundly reshape the political order of a country. In this imbalanced landscape, the winning party could implement policies more easily, facing little resistance, while the severely weakened opposition may struggle to perform essential checks and balances. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s landslide 1932 win in the U.S.[8] and Clement Attlee’s 1945 victory in the UK both heralded transformative reforms. Roosevelt’s New Deal, with its interventionist social welfare policies, marked a shift toward social democracy, while Attlee’s Labour government established the National Health Service and expanded the welfare state in Britain. Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 U.S. presidential win enabled landmark civil rights legislation, transforming American society. Indira Gandhi’s 1971 landslide in India resulted in a strong central government that implemented major economic reforms, such as the nationalization of banks and the promotion of agricultural self-sufficiency. Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 victory and Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide similarly catalyzed a rightward shift in the UK and U.S., with both leaders implementing neoliberal reforms that reshaped their economies. Nelson Mandela’s 1994 victory in South Africa ended apartheid and established a democratic government. Alternatively, landslide victories can create high public expectations for rapid change and reform, placing pressure on the winning party to fulfill its promises. Failure to meet these expectations can lead to disappointment and long-term damage to credibility and support for the winning party.[9]
2021 Mandurah City Council election – Rhys Williams was re-elected Mayor of Mandurah with 85% of the vote.[11]
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.[12][13]
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.
A map of the vote by province in 1940 shows the scale of the Liberals' landslide victory.A map of the vote by province in 1984 shows the scale of the Progressive Conservatives' landslide victory.
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:[14]
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. This is considered as the last landslide Canadian federal election.
1953 – First election after the Civil War, war caudillo José Figueres Ferrer wins 67% of the votes over Democratic candidate Fernando Castro Cervantes, after this Costa Rica enters a pretty stable two-party system.
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.
1995 – The pro-democracy camp swept 16 of the 20 directly elected geographical constituency seats in which the Democratic Party alone took 12 directly elected seats.
2021 – The pro-Beijing camp took 89 out of 90 seats in the Legislative Council. Many democratic candidates had been barred from running, and turnout was extremely low.
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
2010 – Fidesz–KDNP won 262 of the 386 seats thus being the first party to win a super-majority since 1990.
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/LabourNational 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.
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.[20]
1972 election – The Labour Party won 55 seats while the National Party won just 32 seats.[21]
1975 election – The National Party won 55 seats while the Labour Party won just 32 seats.[21]
1984 election – The Labour Party won 56 seats while the National Party won just 37 seats.[21]
1990 election – The National Party won 67 seats while the Labour Party won just 29 seats.[21]
MMP
2002 election – The Labour Party won 52 seats while the National Party won just 27 seats.[22]
2011 election – The National Party won 59 seats while the Labour Party won just 34 seats.
2014 election – The National Party won 60 seats while the Labour Party won just 32 seats.[23]
2020 election – 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)[24]
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 MinisterPeter O'Neill, won 17 seats, losing 11 seats. However, no party won a majority of seats (57 seats needed for a majority).
Ramon Magsaysay (light green)'s 1953 landslide victory.
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 didn'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.
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%.
2019 – The ruling party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago won 9 of the 12 seats contested. Their main opponents, Otso Diretso won no seats. The other 3 seats went to other parties.
House of Representatives
1907 – The Nacionalista Party won 59 of 80 seats. The Progresista Party won 16. From 1907 to 1919, the Nacionalistas won every election in large margins, as they advocated Philippine independence from the United States, over their opponents' more conservative approach to the issue. From 1922 to 1935, the Nacionalistas were split into factions, until they were reunited in time for the 1938 election.
1938 – The Nacionalista Party won all 98 seats. This was the only time that the House of Representatives had no members from the opposition.
District map that shows the scale of the 1991 Social Democrats' landslide victory.District map that shows the scale of the 2022 Socialists' landslide victory.
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, socialistManuel 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, socialistManuel 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, socialistMEPAna Gomes received only 13% of the votes. Rebelo de Sousa became the first presidential candidate to win in all the municipalities.
1984 Azorean regional election[pt] – Social Democratic Party led by incumbent Azorean regional government president Mota Amaral took 28 of the 43 seats and 56.4% of the votes, the Socialist Party would only score 24.2%
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.
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.[26]
1982 and 1986 – Felipe González's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won two consecutive blowouts, with advantages of 22 and 18 percentage points over the second party, Manuel Fraga's right-wing People's Alliance, which scored just over one hundred seats and won only one region, Galicia. In 1982, PSOE won over 200 seats, the only time this has been achieved by a sole party.
2011 – local, regional and national elections were all landslide wins for the then-in opposition Mariano Rajoy's PP, winning the national election by a 16 percentage point margin to then-ruling PSOE.
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.
2020 – Tsai Ing-wen won a record 8.17 million votes for her second term, representing 57.1% of the popular vote, while Han Kuo-yu of Kuomintang took 38.6%. In the legislative election, the ruling party Democratic Progressive Party won 61 seats while Kuomintang won 38 seats.
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.
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.[27][28][29][30]
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 Partyin 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).[31][32]
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).[33]
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.[34]
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.[35]
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.[36]
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.[37]
United States
The map of the Electoral College in 1936 shows the scale of Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory.The map of the Electoral College in 1964 shows the scale of Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory.The map of the Electoral College in 1972 shows the scale of Richard Nixon's landslide victory.The map of the Electoral College in 1984 shows the scale of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory.
A landslide victory in U.S. Presidential elections occurs when a candidate has an overwhelming majority in the Electoral College.
1804 – Thomas Jefferson (D-R) received 162 (92%) of the electoral votes while Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Federalist) received only 14 (8%). Jefferson won 72.8% of the popular vote, the highest margin of victory in any presidential election with multiple major candidates, although several states did not record the popular vote.
1872 – Ulysses S. Grant (R) received 286 (81.9%) of the electoral votes while four candidates split the remaining 66 due to the death of Horace Greeley (D).
1912 – Woodrow Wilson (D) received 435 (81.9%) of the electoral votes while Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive) received 88 (16.6%) and William Howard Taft (R) received only 8 (1.5%)—the worst showing ever by an incumbent president. Wilson won just 41.8% of the popular vote in the three-way race, compared to 27.4% for Roosevelt and 23.2% for Taft.
1936 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) received 523 (98.5%) of the electoral votes—the largest share since 1820 and the largest in a non-unanimous election—while Alf Landon (R) received only 8 (1.5%). Additionally, Roosevelt received 60.8% of the popular vote.
1964 – Lyndon B. Johnson (D) received 486 (90.3%) of the electoral votes while Barry Goldwater (R) received only 52 (9.7%). Additionally, Johnson received 61.1% of the popular vote.
1988 – George H. W. Bush (R) received 426 (79.2%) of the electoral votes while Michael Dukakis (D) received only 111 (20.8%). This is considered as the most recent landslide U.S. presidential election.
Jason D. Mycoff; Joseph August Pika (2008), Confrontation and Compromise: Presidential and Congressional Leadership, 2001-2006, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p.11
.svg)
