May 2026

1

Antigua and Barbuda: Gaston Browne is again sworn in as prime minister. His cabinet is sworn in on May 5, with E.P. Chet Greene remaining foreign minister and Browne finance minister.
Solomon Islands: The Appeal Court orders Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele to call parliament by May 7 to face a no-confidence motion. On that date the vote is held and the government is defeated (26-22).
Switzerland: Christophe Darbellay becomes president of the Council of State of Valais and Carmen Walker Späh president of the government of Zürich.

2

Niue: In parliamentary elections, 20 nonpartisan members are elected (including 4 already elected unopposed). Finance Minister Crossley Tatui loses his seat.
San Marino: Former captain-regent (1981-82, 1985-86) Ubaldo Biordi dies.

3

Switzerland: Markus Heer becomes Landammann of Glarus.

4

France: Gilles Giovannangeli is elected president of the Executive Council of Corse (34 of 62 votes).
India: The chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, resigns.
Mali: Transitional President Assimi Goita appoints himself as defense minister and Gen. Oumar Diarra as minister-delegate for defense.
Russia: President Vladimir Putin appoints Fyodor Shchukin acting head of the republic of Dagestan. On May 6 Shchukin appoints Magomed Ramazanov as acting prime minister.
Spain: Carlos Garaikoetxea Urriza, former president of the General Council (1979-80) and president of the government (1980-85) of País Vasco/Euskadi, dies.

5

Canada: Louise Arbour is announced as the next governor general.
Costa Rica: President-elect Laura Fernández (taking office May 8) announces her cabinet including Manuel Tovar Rivera as foreign minister, Gerald Campos Valverde as public security minister, and outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves as finance minister.
India: The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, resigns. On May 9 Governor Rajendra Arlekar appoints C. Joseph Vijay as chief minister (sworn in May 10).
India: The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, refuses to resign after the defeat of her party in the April elections, alleging irregularities; regardless, Suvendu Adhikari is chosen as chief minister-designate on May 8 and sworn in on May 9.
South Korea: Former prime minister (1994-95) Lee Hong Koo dies.
Romania: Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's government loses a no-confidence vote (passed 281-4).

6

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Former prime minister of the Republika Srpska (1995-96) Rajko Kasagic dies.
India: The chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, resigns. On May 10 he is again chosen as chief minister-designate.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: Former president of the General Council (1984-94, 2000-05) Marc Plantegenest dies.
South Sudan: In a cabinet reshuffle, Kuol Daniel Ayulo is appointed finance minister.

7

Bulgaria: President Iliyana Yotova asks Rumen Radev to form a government. Radev names a cabinet including Velislava Petrova-Chamova as foreign minister, Dimitur Stoyanov as defense minister, Ivan Demerdzhiev as interior minister, and Gulub Donev as finance minister. On May 8 parliament elects Radev (124-70 with 36 abstentions) and approves his government (122-70 with 36 abstentions) which then takes office.
India: The chief minister of Puducherry, N. Rangasamy, resigns. On May 9 he is again appointed as chief minister.
United Kingdom: In parliamentary elections in Scotland, the Scottish National Party wins 38.2% of the constituency vote (58 of 129 seats), Labour 19.2% (17), Reform UK 15.8% (17), the Conservatives 11.8% (12), the Liberal Democrats 11.4% (10), and the Greens 2.3% (15); turnout is 53.2%. In Wales, Plaid Cymru wins 35.4% of the vote (43 of 96 seats), Reform UK 29.3% (34), Labour 11.1% (9), the Conservatives 10.7% (7), the Greens 6.7% (2), and the Liberal Democrats 4.5% (1); turnout is 51.6%.

8

Botswana: Former president (1998-2008) Festus Mogae dies.
Denmark: Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's bid to form a new government fails. King Frederik X asks Troels Lund Poulsen to explore formation of a government.
South Africa: The Constitutional Court rules that parliament acted unconstitutionally on Dec. 13, 2022, by rejecting a motion to start impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa. On May 11 Ramaphosa announces a legal challenge against the independent panel report which recommended impeachment.

9

Hungary: Péter Magyar is elected by parliament (140-54) and sworn in as prime minister.

10

Bosnia and Herzegovina: The international high representative, Christian Schmidt, resigns.
Latvia: Defense Minister Andris Spruds resigns. Prime Minister Evika Silina names Col. Raivis Melnis as defense minister.

11

Haiti: Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé declares that the elections scheduled for August 30 cannot take place before December.
Philippines: The House of Representatives votes (255-26) to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.