A perennial candidate is a

political candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost to register as a candidate.

Definition

A number of modern articles related to electoral politics or elections have identified those who have run for elected office and lost two to three times, and then decide to mount a campaign again as perennial candidates. However, some articles have listed a number of notable exceptions. Some who have had their campaign applications rejected by their country's electoral authority multiple times have also been labelled as perennial candidates.

Reason for running

It has been noted that some perennial candidates take part in an election with the aim of winning, and some do have ideas to convey on the campaign trail, regardless of their chance for winning. Others have names similar to known candidates, and hope that the confusion will lead to success. Some perennial candidates may mount a run as a way to help strengthen their party's standing in a parliamentary body, in an effort to become

kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a monarchy or royal in their political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and military means to influence the ...

in the event of a political stalemate. Some perennial candidates have been accused of running for office continuously as a way to get public election funding. Some have also been accused of being backed by the government of their country, in an effort to make the government appear more rational in comparison. Novelty candidates are those who run for office as a form of satire or protest, with no serious policies.

Americas

Argentina

* Jorge Altamira, leader of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

, has run for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

five times (

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

). His best performance was in 2011, with 2.30% of the votes. * Nicolás del Caño, leader of the Socialist Workers' Party has run for political positions five times (2013,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

). His best performance was in 2019, with 2.16% of the votes.

Bolivia

* Samuel Doria Medina, leader of National Unity Front, has run for

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

elections with best performance in 2014, with 25.1% of votes.

Brazil

Due to the complex and intricate political system in Brazil concerning political parties, there are more than 30 political parties. In this scenario, it is very useful to have hopeless candidates who can make a good number of votes and increase the overall votes count of a party (or coalition). As a consequence, there are thousands of small perennial candidates for local elections around the country, whose sole purpose is helping others get elected, then ask for a job in the elected government cabinet. * José Maria Eymael, a fringe political figure, ran for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

six times (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

); he failed to reach 1% of the votes in any of those. He also unsuccessfully ran for mayor of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

in 1985 and 1992, though he won two terms in the lower house of the

National Congress of Brazil The National Congress () is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and Câmara Municipal, municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate (Brazil), Federal Sena ...

, from 1987 to 1995. * Rui Costa Pimenta, leader and founder of the

Workers' Cause Party Workers' Cause Party (, PCO) is a political party in Brazil. Its origins can be traced back to 1978, when several Trotskyist activists who were not satisfied with the socialist international united under the name ''Tendência Trotskista do Bras ...

(PCO), ran for the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

(his candidacy in

was blocked by the Superior Electoral Court). He was last in all his runs, with his best performance being 0.04% of the votes in 2002. * Vera Guasso, labor union leader and member of the Unified Socialist Workers Party (PSTU), ran for the Porto Alegre city assembly, mayor of Porto Alegre, the Brazilian Senate and other positions in a non-stop serial candidacy (every two years) from the early 90s on. In her best results, she had numbers of votes in local Porto Alegre elections similar to those of lesser-voted elected candidates but did not get a seat due to her party's overall voting being small. PSTU traditionally enters elections with no visible chance to, allegedly, "put a leftist set of points in discussion" and "build the party" but has lately achieved some expressive numbers. * Enéas Carneiro, a cardiologist and founder of the far-right Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (PRONA), ran for presidency three times, in 1989, 1994 and 1998. He was mostly known for his comical style of speech on political broadcasts (due in part to the reduced TV time his party had) and his distinct beard. He also ran for mayor in

at the 2000 elections, before finally being elected federal deputy in 2002 with record voting. He was re-elected in 2006 but died in 2007 from myeloid leukemia. * José Maria de Almeida, leader of the

United Socialist Workers' Party The United Socialist Workers' Party (, PSTU) is a Trotskyist party in Brazil. It is the largest section of the International Workers' League (Fourth International) (LIT), an international body of groups in the Morenoist tradition. History E ...

(PSTU), ran for the

on four occasions:

and

. His best performance was in 2002 when he got 0.47% of the votes. * Levy Fidelix, leader and founder of the conservative Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (PRTB), ran for all municipal and general elections held in Brazil from 1996 to 2020. He was twice candidate for the

(in

and

), twice candidate for the Governor of São Paulo (in 1998 and 2002) and five times candidate for the Mayor of São Paulo (in 1996, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020), never being elected for any position in his political career. He succumbed to COVID-19 on April 23, 2021.

Canada

John Turmel at Toronto-Danforth 2012 By-Election Meeting

Don Andrews Donald Clarke Andrews (born April 20, 1942, as Vilim Zlomislić) is a Canadian white supremacist. He is the leader of the Nationalist Party of Canada and a perennial candidate for mayor of Toronto, Ontario. Early years Zlomislić was born to C ...

, leader of the unregistered

Nationalist Party of Canada The Nationalist Party of Canada is a Canadian white supremacist organization founded in 1977 by Don Andrews. It was initially known as the National Citizens Alliance and was established after Andrews was legally barred from associating with h ...

has run for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...

several times,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, 1988,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and most recently in

, when he came in seventh place with 0.10% of the vote. * Michael Baldasaro (1949–2016), a leader of the pro-

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

Church of the Universe, ran for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario in 1988,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, and

and, among other federal and provincial campaigns, attempted to seek the leadership of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

in 1988. * Douglas Campbell has run as a fringe candidate for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in the 1960s, the leadership of both the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in the 1970s and 1980s, and Mayor of North York, Ontario. He ran for

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

. * Ross Dowson, leader of the Canadian

group the Revolutionary Workers Party (later the League for Socialist Action) ran for Mayor of Toronto nine times in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His best result was in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, when he won 20% of the vote in a two-man race. He also ran twice for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

. * Terry Duguid is a

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

politician who has run multiple times for city council, mayor and MP in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. He lost the 1995 Winnipeg Civic election and lost the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

federal elections in Kildonan—St. Paul, then ran and lost in Winnipeg South in

. He ran in Winnipeg South again in

, this time winning the seat with 58% of the vote. He was re-elected for Winnipeg South in

with 42% of the vote. * Jim Enos, a Hamilton, Ontario-based social conservative and Christian activist, has sought elected office nine times over three decades. Enos ran provincially in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and

, federally in the riding of Hamilton Mountain in

, and

, and for the public school board in the 2003 Hamilton Municipal Election. Enos has run with the

Family Coalition Party of Ontario The New Reform Party of Ontario (NRP; ) was a minor provincial political party in Ontario, Canada, that promoted a populist, fiscally conservative, socially conservative, libertarian, and localist ideology. It was formed in Hamilton in 1987 ...

Christian Heritage Party of Canada The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (), also known as CHP Canada, is a Canadian federal political party that is part of the Christian right. Founded in 1987, it was the brainchild of two couples in British Columbia, namely Bill and Heathe ...

, and as an independent. * Henri-Georges Grenier ran 13 times for the House of Commons of Canada between

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

on the tickets of a variety of political parties, for each of which he was the sole candidate. * Ben Kerr, a street musician, ran for Mayor of Toronto seven times between

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and his death in 2005. He was best known for his

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

performances and for advocating the medicinal benefits of drinking a concoction that has cayenne pepper as its main ingredient. * Patricia Métivier contested 24 Canadian federal, provincial or municipal elections from

to 2001. * David Popescu has run for federal, provincial, and municipal office multiple times since 1998 on an extreme

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

and anti-gay platform. While campaigning in the 2008 election, he advocated the execution of homosexual people, which precipitated charges under Canada's

hate crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

laws."Popescu charged for comments on gays"
''Sudbury Star'', March 6, 2009. * Naomi Rankin ran for the Communist Party of Canada in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, her eighth attempt at becoming an MP. She has also run six times for the Communist Party of Alberta, all of which were also unsuccessful. * Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec, has run 11 times between 2012 and 2022 for provincial general elections and by-elections. *

John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 112 el ...

is in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' for being the candidate who has the "most elections contested" and lost 103 as of October 2022 (he also ran in a by-election canceled due to a general election). * Harry Bradley ran for the Toronto Board of Control 24 times between 1930 and 1964. He also ran for mayor in 1960 and 1962, and for city council in 1969. * Kevin Clarke is a homeless person who has unsuccessfully contested municipal, provincial and federal offices in Toronto numerous times from the 1990s to the present, often as leader of

The People's Political Party The Peoples Political Party, abbreviated as The People, was a minor party, minor political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario founded in 2011 by perennial candidate Kevin Clarke (politician), Kevin Cl ...

. * Régent Millette is a teacher in Quebec who has run for public office at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels over 25 times since 2000. * Don Woodstock of

has contested several positions at all three levels of government. He unsuccessfully ran for provincial seats in

and

as a Liberal, and in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

as an independent. He ran federally in 2015 as a

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

candidate, and received national attention after being called a "son of a bitch" by NDP incumbent Pat Martin during a televised debate. Woodstock ran for

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

and ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2018 election. * Paul Fromm is an anti-immigration activist who has run in many municipal, provincial and federal office elections. In 1988 federal election ran in Mississauga East, 2010 municipal election and 2014 municipal election Ran for mayor of Mississauga,

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General of Canada, Governor Gene ...

for Calgary Southeast, 2018 municipal election ran for Mayor of Hamilton, and 2018 general election for Etobicoke Centre.

Chile

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

unsuccessfully ran for the national presidency in the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

elections before winning in the

1970 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1970. Salvador Allende of the Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity alliance won a narrow Plurality (voting), plurality in a race against independent Jorge Alessandri and Christian Democra ...

. * Marco Enríquez-Ominami has run as the Progressive Party's presidential candidate in every election since the 2009–10 Chilean presidential election.

Colombia

* Horacio Serpa Uribe, three-times Liberal Party's presidential candidate (

). *

Antanas Mockus Aurelijus Rūtenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (; born 25 March 1952) is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician. He has a master's degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia, and a Honoris Causa PhD from the Un ...

, two-times presidential candidate (2006,

), one-time vicepresidential candidate (1998). *

Noemí Sanín Marta Noemí del Espíritu Santo Sanín Posada (born 6 June 1949) is a Colombian-born politician and diplomat. She was the Conservative party candidate in the 2010 Colombian presidential election. A lawyer from Pontifical Xavierian Universit ...

, three-times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1998, 2002, 2010). * Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, three times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1974, 1986, 1990). *

Enrique Peñalosa Enrique Peñalosa Londoño (born 30 September 1954) is a Colombian politician. He was Mayor of Bogotá, mayor of Bogotá from 1998 until 2001 and elected again in 2015 for the 2016–2019 term. Early life and education Peñalosa was born in ...

, five-times Bogotá's mayor candidate (1994, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2015), one-time senatorial candidate (2006), one-time presidential candidate (2014). * Sergio Fajardo, two-times presidential candidate (2018, 2022), one-time vice presidential candidate (2010). * Regina 11, three-times presidential candidate (1986, 1990, 1994).

Costa Rica

* Otto Guevara, a five-time presidential candidate. * Walter Muñoz, a five-time presidential candidate. * Máximo Fernández Alvarado, a three-time presidential candidate.

Ecuador

* Álvaro Noboa ran unsuccessfully for president in

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

; he attempted to run for president in

but his candidacy was suspended by the electoral authorities due to an alleged violation of registration requirements. His son, Daniel, was successfully elected as president in the

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

election and reelected in

Mexico

* Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda was a presidential candidate 10 times: 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1913,

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

and 1924 and also tried to run for a seat in the

Congress of Mexico A congress is a formal meeting of the Representative democracy, representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political party, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle Engl ...

at least twice. The eccentric Zúñiga never got more than a few votes, but always claimed to have been the victim of fraud and considered himself to be the legitimate

. *

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano (; born 1 May 1934) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician and civil engineer. A prominent Social democracy, social-democrat and the son of 51st president of Mexico Lázaro Cárdenas, he is a former List of heads of ...

was a presidential candidate three times: 1988, 1994 and 2000, also was elected the first Head of Government of Mexico City in 1997, was the leader of PRD, the left-wing mayor party and was Governor of the state of Michoacan. * *

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

ran unsuccessfully for president two times, in 2006 and 2012, before being elected president in 2018. He failed to acknowledge the results of his first presidential loss in 2006, protesting for months in the capital of the country during the aftermath.

Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

ran unsuccessfully for president in 1990, 1996 and 2001, before being elected president in 2006.

Paraguay

* Domingo Laíno ran unsuccessfully for president three times:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, and

. His best performance was in 1998, with 43.88% of the votes. * Efraín Alegre was a presidential candidate three times:

and

, and

. His best performance was in 2018, with 45.08% of the votes.

Peru

* Roger Cáceres, FRENATRACA presidential candidate in 1980 with 2% of the vote, 1985 with 2% of the vote and 1990 with 1.3% of the vote. * Ezequiel Ataucusi, FREPAP presidential candidate in 1990 with 1.1% of the vote, in 1995 with 0.8% of votes and in 2000 with 0.75% of votes. * Ricardo Noriega, presidential candidate for All for Victory in 2001 with 0.31% of the vote and for Desperate National in 2011 with 0.15% of the vote. He was also a candidate from Independent Civic Union for senator in 1990. * Andrés Alcántara, presidential candidate of Direct Democracy in 2021 with 0.29% of the vote. He also was not elected as a congressman in the 2000 elections, 2016 and 2020, and as Mayor of Santiago de Chuco. * Ciro Gálvez ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2001, 2006 and the most recent in 2021 and ran unsuccessfully for Governor twice in 2002 and 2006. *

Keiko Fujimori Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi (, , Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; born 25 May 1975) is a Peruvian politician and business administrator. Fujimori is the eldest daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. From ...

, the daughter of former president

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2011, 2016 and 2021, each time losing in the run-off. * Jaime Salinas, candidate for mayor of Lima in 2002 and 2018 and presidential in 2006, without being elected and with low percentages such as 0.53% in the 2006 presidential elections and 3.5% in the 2018 municipal elections. * Fernando Olivera ran unsuccessfully for president four times in 2001, 2006, 2016 and 2021 in which in 2006, he withdrew from the race and in 2021, his candidacy was rejected. * Máximo San Román ran for the vice presidency four times between 1990, 1995, 2006 and 2011 in which, in 1990, he was successful and ran for the presidency on in 2000.

Uruguay

Luis Alberto de Herrera Luis Alberto de Herrera (Montevideo, 22 July 1873 – 8 April 1959) was a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. Political and diplomatic roles A national leader of great importance during the first half of the 20th century, he ...

ran for

as the National Party candidate six times (

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

)

United States

Africa

Benin

* Bruno Amoussou, leader of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, ran for

four times (

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and

) before reaching the presidential age limit. * Adrien Houngbédji, leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, ran for

five times (

and

) before reaching the presidential age limit.

Central African Republic

* Martin Ziguélé has run for

as the MLPC candidate four times (

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Gambia

Ousainou Darboe A.N.M Ousainou Darboe (born 8 August 1948) is a Gambian politician and leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (The Gambia), United Democratic Party (UDP). He previously served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's ...

, leader of the United Democratic Party, has run for

five times (

and

). * Sheriff Mustapha Dibba, leader of the National Convention Party, ran for

four times (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

Ghana

* Edward Mahama, leader of the People's National Convention, has run for

five times (

and

Kenya

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (Kenya), Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has ...

, leader of

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement that was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augus ...

, has run for

five times (

and

), losing every single time. Prior to that and under the old Kenyan Constitution, Raila was a member of parliament for the Lang'ata Constituency Raila who is referred to as 'Baba' by his followers.

Mauritania

Ahmed Ould Daddah Ahmed Ould Daddah (, born 7 August 1942Marwane ben Yahmed"Les vérités d’Ahmed Ould Daddah", '' Jeuneafrique.com'', February 18, 2007 .) is a Mauritanian economist and a politician. He is a half-brother of Moktar Ould Daddah, the first Pres ...

has run for

four times (

and

Mozambique

Afonso Dhlakama Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama (1 January 1953 – 3 May 2018) was a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla movement that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace agr ...

, leader of RENAMO, contested the presidency five times (

and

Namibia

* McHenry Venaani, leader of

Popular Democratic Movement The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance), previously ran for presidency on

, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

elections.

Nigeria

Atiku Abubakar Atiku Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...

ran for president in

and

. He was also a presidential primary candidate in 1993, 2011 and 2015.

Senegal

Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade (, ; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded ...

ran for presidency seven times, and lost to incumbent president in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, 1988,

. He won in

and

, and lost again most recently in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Seychelles

* Philippe Boullé has unsuccessfully run for

five times (

and

). *

Wavel Ramkalawan Wavel Ramkalawan (born 15 March 1961) is a Seychellois politician and Anglican priest who has been serving as the President of Seychelles since 26 October 2020. Ramkalawan was an opposition MP from 1993 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. He also served as ...

, leader of the Seychelles National Party, has run for

six times. He lost in

and

, ranking second place every election with huge minority, and won in

Tanzania

* Ibrahim Lipumba, leader of the

Civic United Front The Civic United Front (CUF; , ) is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International. History The Civic United ...

, has run for

five times (

and

Zambia

* Hakainde Hichilema, leader of UPND contested in the

and

elections, the last of which he won. * Godfrey Miyanda, leader of the Heritage Party, has run for

four times (

and

Zimbabwe

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

, leader of

Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party and was the main opposition party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections. After the split of the origin ...

, ran for

in the

, and

elections.

Asia

Hong Kong

* Avery Ng * Bull Tsang * Frederick Fung, initially gained success in almost every election, including District Council,

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

and

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

election since 1983. However, since 2015, Fung faced consecutive failures in every election he participated, including 2015 (District Council), 2016 (Legislative Council), March 2018 (Democratic Primary), November 2018 (Legislative Council By-election) and 2019 (District Council). He lost popularity because of his unwillingness to retire, as the Pro-democracy supporters having negative feelings on gerontocracy. * Christine Fong, has run for Legislative elections five times since 2008, but failed every time.

India

* Hotte Paksha Rangaswamy was a political leader from the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, who had a penchant for contesting elections. He is a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

holder for having contested the highest number of elections—he unsuccessfully did so 86 times. * Kaka Joginder Singh (alias Dharti Pakad meaning "one who clings to the ground", earned after several unsuccessful runs for

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

) was a textile owner who contested and lost over 300 elections in India. Although his nomination papers were usually disregarded by the election commission, he reached his high-water mark during the 1992 presidential election, in which he earned fourth place in the polling with 1,135 votes, eventually losing to Shankar Dayal Sharma. * Dr. K Padmarajan, a doctor turned politician from the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, had contested 199 elections, and lost all of them. '' Limca Book of Records'' named him as "India's most unsuccessful candidate".

Indonesia

* Alzier Dianis Thabranie, politician and businessman previously ran for governor of

Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...

in 2003, 2008, and

where 2 of his early victories were annulled *

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

, former

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, ran unsuccessfully as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

three times: in

, as the running mate for

Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 200 ...

, and in

and

as a presidential candidate. In August 2022, Prabowo announced that he accepted Gerindra Party's nomination to contest the 2024 presidential election, marking his fourth consecutive bid for national leadership and the third for the presidency in which he won.

Iran

Mohsen Rezaee Mohsen Rezaee Mirgha'ed (, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed (); born 1 September 1954) is an Iranian conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran and senior military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ...

ran for

four times, in

and

. He was defeated thrice and withdrew once (in 2005). Rezaee had previously ran for an Iranian Parliament seat in 2000, but had not succeeded. *

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (, born 23 August 1961) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician, former military officer, and current List of Speakers of the Parliament of Iran, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Parli ...

(see Electoral history of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf) has run for

four times, in 2005, 2013, 2017 and 2024. He was defeated thrice and withdrew once.

Israel

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

ran as head of the Revisionist

Herut Herut () was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

and

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

parties eight times from 1949 to 1977 before finally winning the

1977 Israeli legislative election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 May 1977 to elect the ninth Knesset. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right wing, led by Likud, won a plurality of seats, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignm ...

and becoming

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. * Vladimir Herczberg, a nuclear physicist. Ran for Mayor of

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

and for a

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

seat twice, and ran for the leadership of the

party in its 2012 leadership election. Also ran for the leadership of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

, and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

Japan

* Bin Akao ran in numerous elections for his Greater Japan Patriotic Party until 1989, one year prior to his death. * Mac Akasaka, real name Makoto Tonami, was a candidate for many political offices, especially the governor of Tokyo 2012, 2016Osaki, Tomohir
Lesser-known candidates in the Tokyo gubernatorial race make their case July 29, 2016
''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' Retrieved July 31, 2016, and mayor of Osaka in 2014. * Yūtokutaishi Akiyama, an engraver artist, photographer, was a candidate for Governor of Tokyo 1975 and 1979, bringing pop art into the process. * Teruki Gotō was a candidate for Mayor of Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo (2013), City Assembly of Chiyoda (2015), and the Governor of Tokyo (2016). * Hideyoshi Seizo Hashiba ran in numerous elections from 1976 to 2011. * Mitsuo Matayoshi (alias Jesus Matayoshi), leader of the World Economic Community Party and self-proclaimed

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, has run in at least nine local and national elections since 1997. *

Yoshiro Nakamatsu , also known as , is a Japanese inventor. He regularly appears on Japanese talk shows demonstrating his inventions. Creative process In some interviews, Nakamatsu has described his "creativity process", which includes listening to music and con ...

(alias Dr. NakaMats), inventor and perennial candidate in Tokyo, has unsuccessfully campaigned to be elected Governor of Tokyo numerous times since 1995, most recently in 2014.

Philippines

* Pascual Racuyal unsuccessfully ran for

11 times (

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, 1969,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and 1986), although he was disqualified on all but two (

and 1969). * Elly Pamatong was disqualified in running for president at least twice (

and

). After his death in 2021, people asked if he will run in the 2022 presidential election, as his death was not announced to the public.

Singapore

Ooi Boon Ewe Stephen Ooi Boon Ewe (; born 14 November 1941) is a Singaporean perennial candidate, perennial political candidate. He is most notable for attempting to contest various elections, general and presidential, without a record of success. He attempt ...

has applied four times (

and

) to run for

, all unsuccessfully. He had also tried to contest both the

and 2011 general elections, both times of which he failed to be nominated. *

Steve Chia Steve Chia Kiah Hong ( zh, s=谢镜丰, p=Xiè Jìngfēng; born 3 November 1970) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Singapore People's Party (SPP), he has been the party's secretary-general since 2019. He was previously a ...

* Yee Jenn Jong * Kenneth Foo * Zeng Guo Yuan *

Chee Soon Juan Chee Soon Juan (born 20 July 1962) is a Singaporean politician, activist, and former lecturer who was appointed Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993. Prior to entering politics in 1992, Chee was a lecturer at th ...

* Goh Meng Seng * James Gomez *

Paul Tambyah Paul Anantharajah Tambyah (born 5 February 1965) is a Singaporean doctor and professor of infectious diseases, a politician, and a writer. He is President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection and also the immediate ...

Spencer Ng Spencer Ng Chung Hon ( zh, s=黄俊宏, p=Huáng Jùnhóng; born 16 September 1979) is a Singaporean politician. Since 2017, he has been the secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party (Singapore), National Solidarity Party (NSP). A f ...

Kenneth Jeyaretnam Kenneth Andrew Jeyaretnam (born 7 March 1959) is a Singaporean politician and hedge fund manager who has been appointed as the Secretary-General of the opposition Reform Party (Singapore), Reform Party since 2009. He is the elder son of J. B. ...

* Lim Tean * Han Hui Hui

South Korea

* Lee Hoi-chang, a former prime minister who unsuccesfully ran for presidency of South Korea in

and 2007 election. He loses twice on second round (

and

), except in 2007 election.

Taiwan

* Soong Chu-yu, Chairman of People First Party, Governor of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

(1993–1998), ran for president four times (

, and

) and for vice president once (

). * , leader of Trees Party and former leader of

Green Party Taiwan Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwanese nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campai ...

, a five-time candidate of the member of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

Turkey

* Fatma Ragibe Kanıkuru Loğoğlu, unsuccessfully ran for every election in Istanbul since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. * Doğu Perinçek, chairman of the Patriotic Party, unsuccessfully ran for parliament nine times (

, June 2015, November 2015 and

). He also unsuccessfully ran for presidency in

and failed to be nominated in

Europe

Cyprus

* Kostas Kyriacou, otherwise known as "Outopos", has been a candidate for every presidential and

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

since 1998 but has never gained more than 1% of the vote.

Czech Republic

* Jana Bobošíková is known for a series of unsuccessful candidatures in various elections. She unsuccessfully ran two times for

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

(

and

), the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

(

and

), the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(

and

), Mayor of Prague (2010) and general manager of Czech Television (2009). * Petr Hannig is the leader of Party of Common Sense. Since 2002, he has repeatedly run for the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. He also ran for Czech presidency in 2018 election., but failed as well, ending last but one with 0.57% of votes. He also wanted to run in 2023 presidential election but failed to get nomination. * Miroslav Sládek ran for the Czechoslovak presidency in 1992. After dissolution of Czechoslovakia he sought the Czech presidency in 1993, 1998 and 2018. He withdrawn from 2018 election due to failure of his party in the 2017 legislative election. * Jan Švejnar unsuccessfully ran for the Czech presidency in 2008. He also ran for the position in 2013 but withdrew. He planned to run for the office in 2018 but he did not receive political support. Some politicians noted that Švejnar lives in the United States and "shows up in the Czech Republic only when there is a presidential election." * Jiří Paroubek, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic has repeatedly tried to restart his political career under various political parties since 2010. He ran for Chamber of Deputies in 2013, Senate in 2018 and European Parliament in 2014 and 2024 but was never elected.

Finland

Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen (; born 2 September 1946) is a Finland, Finnish Politics of Finland, politician who has served, among other things, as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982, and again from 198 ...

ran for

four times ( 1988,

and

), first three times as the candidate of Centre Party and then fourth time as an independent candidate. He also intended to run as an independent in the 2024 election, but did not get enough signatures to be put on the ballot.

France

* Arlette Laguiller, leader of the Workers' Struggle, a

party, has been a candidate for

six times (

, 1988,

and

). *

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

, former leader of the National Front, has been a candidate for

five times (

, 1988,

and

). *

Nathalie Arthaud Nathalie Yvonne Thérèse Arthaud (; born 23 February 1970) is a French secondary school ( lycée) economics teacher and politician. Since 2008, she has served as the spokesperson for the Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle), a communist party, ...

, leader of the Workers' Struggle, a

party, has been a candidate for

three times (

and

Germany

* Helmut Palmer (1930–2004) stood without any success for about 250 elections as mayor in villages and cities in southwestern Germany and various times as independent candidate for the Bundestag. His son

Boris Palmer Boris Erasmus Palmer (born 28 May 1972) is a German politician and former member of the Alliance '90/The Greens, Green Party. He has been mayor of Tübingen since January 2007. From March 2001 to May 2007, he was a member of the Landtag of Bade ...

became mayor of

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Iceland

* Ástþór Magnússon is an Icelandic businessman and politician who unsuccessfully campaigned for the post of President of Iceland six times; in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2016, and 2024.

Ireland

Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus (1 November 1927 – 10 July 2010) was an Irish environmentalist, barrister and politician who drew attention to his campaign issues by changing his name. He was often known as "Dublin Bay Loftus". He was a member ...

, a longtime member of

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

(1974–1999), stood in 14 elections for

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, the lower house of the Irish parliament, between 1961 and 1997. He was only elected once, in 1981, and served as a TD for just eight months. He also stood unsuccessfully in two elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. * Charlie Keddy has stood in 19 elections without ever being elected; 12 for Dáil Éireann and 7 for Wicklow County Council, including standing in all four

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

s held in November 2019. He first stood as a Labour candidate in 1991, which was his most successful showing with 5.87% of the vote. He contested all of his subsequent elections as an independent candidate. He has contested every election in the Wicklow constituency since the 1995 by-election, with the exception of 2007 when he missed the filing deadline. In the 2014 Wicklow County Council election, Keddy stood in all five electoral areas, placing last in all of them. * Jim Tallon, who described himself as the president of the "Independent Republic of Glasnost", contested at least 17 elections, including elections to the Dáil, European Parliament and Wicklow County Council. Contesting all of his elections as an independent candidate, he ran several times in his home constituency of Wicklow and other times in constituencies such as

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in 1987 and Meath in 1997. He was never elected, and his best performance came in the 2014 European Parliament elections, his final election before his death in 2015, where he received 0.64% of the vote (2,244 votes) in the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

constituency.

Italy

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the 1974 Italian divorce referendum, ...

is described by many as a perennial candidate, even though he was actually elected multiple times as a member of the Italian Parliament, the European Parliament, and the municipal councils of a handful of cities. * Guglielmo De Santis, a police officer, has been a candidate for the Regional Council of Apulia in the 2015 regional election within the Us with Salvini list. Before and after that, he unsuccessfully attempted several runs in local elections for municipal councils of respectively his birth and home towns

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

and

Casarano Casarano (Salentino: ) is a town and sixth most populous ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of South-East Italy. The town's economy is mostly agriculture-based, with olive oil being the main product. The Church of S ...

. However, he became noticed as a perennial candidate when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor in several small towns in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, namely Cermignano in 2019, Pietracamela in 2021, Castelguidone in 2022, Pietranico in 2023 and

Rocca Santa Maria Rocca Santa Maria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo, eastern Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. The municipal seat is in the ''frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of ...

in 2024, although never leaving Apulia in his entire life.

Malta

* Nazzareno Bonniċi, known more in Malta by the affectionate nickname Żaren tal-Ajkla''', part of his

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

unregistered ''Partit tal-Ajkla'' (en. Eagle Party), has been a perennial candidate in the

and

Maltese general elections, and the

and

European Parliament elections in Malta. In a surprise move that later had the Maltese media speculate and overestimate his probable success, thousands showed up for Nazzareno's mass meeting in preparation for the 2013 general election held front of the

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Żabbar Żabbar ( ), also known as Città Hompesch, is a city in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. It is the seventh largest city in the country, with an estimated population of 15,648 as of January 2021. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar ...

, the town where he resides. He only received 47 votes, amounting to 0.02% of the Maltese electorate, in the 2013 election. He would receive 71 votes in the 2022 general election, amounting to 0.00019% of the Maltese electorate.

Netherlands

* Johan Vlemmix was a candidate for the Tweede Kamer in

and for the local council of

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. He was unsuccessful in every election. * Florens van der Spek leader of the evangelical party Jesus Lives participated in the 2014 Dutch municipal elections, 2014 European Parliament election in the Netherlands, 2015 Dutch provincial elections,

2017 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 15 March 2017 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives. The incumbent government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the first to s ...

and

. However his party's primary purpose is making Jesus known to the people.

Poland

Janusz Korwin-Mikke Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke (; born 27 October 1942), also known by his initials JKM or simply as Korwin, is a Polish far-right politician, paleolibertarian and author. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2018. He was the ...

unsuccessfully ran for

five times (

and

). He also unsuccessfully ran for Polish parliament nine times (1993, 1997, 2001, 2004 (two times, by-elections for Senate), 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2015), for European Parliament (2004, 2019), four times for regional assemblies (2002, 2006, 2007, 2010) and four times for President of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(2006, 2010, 2018, 2024). However, in 2014 he was elected for member of European Parliament and, in 2019, after a 26-year break, for member of Sejm, starting from Confederation Liberty and Independence list. * Kornel Morawiecki unsuccessfully ran for

three times in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

and

, achieving necessary 100,000 signatures to be registered as candidate only in 2010. He also unsuccessfully ran for

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, and for

. Eventually, he succeeded for the first time when he became an MP in

Romania

* Corneliu Vadim Tudor, former president and founder of PRM, unsuccessfully ran for

five times in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014. His biggest score was in 2000 when he gained 33.2% in the second round against

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as the second president of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, ...

. * Hunor Kelemen, current president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania unsuccessfully ran for

four times in 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024. His scores amounted from 3.82% to 4.12% of the total votes.

Russia

Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as Member of the State Duma since 1993. He is also the Chair of the Union ...

ran for

and

. His biggest score was in 1996, when he gained 40.7% in the second round against

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

. *

Vladimir Zhirinovsky Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (, , né Eidelstein, ; 25 April 1946 – 6 April 2022) was a Russian right-wing populist politician and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from its creation in 1992 until his death in 20 ...

unsuccessfully ran for

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

six times: in

and

. In addition unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Belgorod Oblast in 1999. Also, he twice participated in the election of the

Chairman of the State Duma The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (), also informally called ''Speaker'' (), is the presiding officer of the State Duma, lower house of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Russian parlia ...

, in 2003 and 2011, but was unsuccessful both times. * Lev Ubozhko unsuccessfully participated in elections of different levels. He ran for the special election to the

Supreme Soviet of Russia The Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, later the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, was the supreme government institution of the Russian SFSR from 1938 to 1990; between 1990 and 1993, it was ...

in 1992 and 1993. He also ran for the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

and 1998 (special election in single-mandate constituency). In 1994, at a special election, he unsuccessfully ran for the

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

from the

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast; , is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chel ...

. In 1996, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of the

. He ran for

and

, but both times he was denied registration. * Grigory Yavlinsky ran for

(denied) and

. * Oleg Bulayev about 40 times participated as a candidate in the elections in various regions of the country. For several years he tried to become an MP in

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Udmurtia Udmurtia, officially the Udmurt Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russi ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Saratov. As of the 2021 Russian cens ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

Ulyanovsk Oblast Ulyanovsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ulyanovsk. It has a populat ...

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast (, ), also known as Kuzbass (, ), after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Kemerovo is the administrative center and largest city of the oblast. Kemerovo Oblast is one of Rus ...

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The UNESCO World Heritage L ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Mari El Mari El,; ; officially the Mari El Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia, European region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga River, and administratively part of the Volga Federal ...

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

and other regions. In 2013 he was elected as member of the

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

City Duma. In 2014 he ran for Governor of

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...

, lost the election gaining 2.21%. In

he ran for president, but withdrew.

Slovakia

* František Mikloško ran for presidency of Slovakia in

and 2019 election and always failed to advance to second round.

United Kingdom

* Bill Boaks contested general elections and by-elections for a period of 30 years under various descriptions, most famously under the "Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident" banner. Boaks' main concern was public safety on the roads and believed that pedestrians should have the right of way at all times. In the 1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election he received only five votes, one of the lowest recorded in a modern British

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

election. He died in 1986 from injuries sustained in a traffic collision two years earlier. * Arthur Hunnable's name never appeared on a ballot paper, but he campaigned and announced that he would stand in almost every by-election from 1907 to 1909, and also in Jarrow at the 1918 general election. * Winston McKenzie, who now stands as an English Democrats candidate, has previously stood since 2002 as an independent candidate in the Brent East by-election and in the 2008 Mayoral election, and for

Veritas In Roman mythology, Veritas (), meaning Truth, is the Goddess of Truth, a daughter of Saturn (mythology), Saturn (called Cronus by the Greeks, the Titan (mythology), Titan of Time, perhaps first by Plutarch) and the mother of Virtus (deity), Vi ...

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

, and founded his own Unity Party. * David Sutch ran in 39 general elections and by-elections under the name Screaming Lord Sutch for the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, and one

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

for the

, only ever winning more than 1,000 votes on a single occasion. He first ran in 1963 on the ''National Teenage Party'' ticket for the seat left vacant by the resignation of

John Profumo John Dennis Profumo ( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affai ...

. He founded the

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow, or simply Lord Sutch. It is notable for its de ...

in 1983 and led it until his suicide in 1999. * Sutch's successor as Monster Raving Loony Party leader, Alan "Howling Laud" Hope contested 13 by-elections and five general elections between 2001 and 2016. His highest vote total was 553, achieved at both

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in the 2005 general election and the 2011 Leicester South by-election. The latter was also his highest vote share of 1.6%. Hope's highest placing in a parliamentary election has been fourth (of eight candidates) in

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

in 2016. Hope has been elected (unopposed) to seats on parish councils in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and was mayor of Ashburton. * John Peck ran in the constituency of Nottingham North from 1955 to 1987 and came last every time, bar 1979, in which he came second last. However, in 1987 he won the Nottingham Council seat of Bulwell East. * Lindi St Clair ran in numerous elections for her "Corrective Party", on some occasions standing as "Miss Whiplash". * Richard Huggett contested various elections under banners designed to imitate better-known parties, including as a "Literal Democrat" candidate. This eventually resulted in the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 being passed to stop this practice. *

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

stood for election to the

seven times, in five

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

and two

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, and was unsuccessful each time, however he was successful in being elected as a member of the

five times. In the 2024 general election he was finally elected as an MP after running for office eight times. * Ankit Love, founder of the One Love Party, stood for election to the British parliament six times in the seven years between 2016 and 2023. He was also a candidate in the

2016 London Mayoral Election The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the 2016 London Assembly election, London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 ...

. * Count Binface, a character created by comedian Jonathan David Harvey, stood in the parliamentary general election in 2019, a by-election in 2023 and in 2024. He was also a candidate in the London Mayoral elections in

and

. * Lord Buckethead, a character created by Mike Lee, stood in the 1987 and 1992 general election. The character was revived by Jonathan Harvey for the 2017 general election, and again by David Hughes for the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

and the 2019 general election. * In the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser ran in every election since 1999 for North Tayside and then Perthshire North, and always against the SNP incumbent

John Swinney John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland since 2024. Swinney has served as Leader of the Scottish National Party, leader of the Scottish National ...

. Although he never won a constituency, he still remains as a regional MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

Oceania

Australia

* Charles Bellchambers contested the Division of Barton six times between 1966 and 1987, usually polling a negligible proportion of the vote. * Alex Bhathal, a social worker, has unsuccessfully stood for the Greens in the

Division of Batman The Division of Batman was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in the States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It took its name from John Batman, one of the ...

six times between 2001 and 2018, increasing the Greens' percentage of the vote from 4.60% in 1998 to 39.49% in 2018 (she did not stand in 2007). * Ben Buckley, a farmer, has unsuccessfully contested Gippsland in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

on 11 occasions. He first contested the seat in

, and has contested every election since

. An

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

on six occasions, Buckley ran as a One Nation candidate in

, and has run as a Liberal Democrat in the past four elections (

, and

). His best result came in 2010 when he polled 5.52% of the vote. * Anthony Fels has, , contested eight state elections in Western Australia and six federal elections. He was successful on one occasion, winning a seat in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

in 2005. He first ran for parliament in 1996 and was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

until 2008. His later bids for office have included candidacies and with Family First (2008), Katter's Australian Party (2013), the Mutual Party (2014), the Non-Custodial Parents Party (2017), the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

(2019), and the Western Australia Party (2022), in addition to several runs as an independent (2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). * Craig Garland, a Tasmanian fisherman, contested the seat of Braddon, on both the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and federal level, as an Independent a combined total of four times from 2018 to 2022, including the seat's 2018 federal by-election, as well as having run for the

where he polled just over 1% of the vote. He was successfully elected to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

during the state's 2024 snap election with just over 5% of the vote, which represented his sixth attempt at candidacy. * Shirley de la Hunty (née Strickland), a multiple Olympic gold medallist in athletics, unsuccessfully contested six state elections in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and seven federal elections. Her candidacies spanned from 1971 to 1996 and included runs for the lower and upper houses at both state and federal levels. She stood a number of times for the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

, while the rest of her runs were made as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

. * Pauline Hanson, founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party had unsuccessfully contested state and federal elections before being elected in the 2016 federal election. Ran in the

, 2007 Australian federal election, 2007 for the federal Senate Queensland, Ran in the 2003 New South Wales state election, 2003 and 2011 New South Wales state election, 2011 for the NSW state Legislative Council, and 2009 Queensland state election, 2009 and 2015 Queensland state election, 2015 for QLD State election. * Teresa van Lieshout, a resident of Perth, has unsuccessfully contested seven state and federal elections standing for various constituencies in

. She stood for the Parliament of Western Australia as a One Nation candidate at the 2005 Western Australian state election, 2005 election, and as an independent at the 2006 Victoria Park state by-election, 2006 Victoria Park by-election, 2013 Western Australian state election, 2013 state election, and 2014 Vasse state by-election, 2014 Vasse by-election. For Parliament of Australia, Federal Parliament, she ran as an independent at the 2004 Australian federal election, 2004 election and Australian Senate special election in Western Australia, 2014, 2014 special senate election, and as a Australian Protectionist Party, Protectionist candidate at the 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 election. In August 2015, she announced she would be contested the eighth election, the 2015 Canning by-election. Van Lieshout stood for the Senate in NSW in the 2016 federal election, and as an independent in the 2018 Batman by-election. * Jim Saleam, Veteran anti-immigration activist and president of the Australia First Party has contested seven times in state and federal elections. * Riccardo Bosi, leader of the unregistered Australia One party, ran in

, 2020 Eden-Monaro by-election and 2022 Australian federal election, 2022 federal elections, and for 2020 Queensland state election and 2023 New South Wales state election. * William McCristal was one of the most prolific unsuccessful candidates for political office in Australian history. He contested the 1917 Australian federal election, 1917, 1919 Australian federal election, 1919, 1943 Australian federal election, 1943, 1949 Australian federal election, 1949, 1951 Australian federal election, 1951, 1954 Australian federal election, 1954, 1955 Australian federal election, 1955 and 1958 Australian federal election, 1958 federal elections, and the 1907 New South Wales state election, 1907, 1910 New South Wales state election, 1910, 1922 New South Wales state election, 1922, 1925 New South Wales state election, 1925, 1944 New South Wales state election, 1944, 1947 New South Wales state election, 1947, 1950 New South Wales state election, 1950, 1953 New South Wales state election, 1953, 1956 New South Wales state election, 1956 and 1962 New South Wales state election, 1962 state elections, as well as a 1954 by-election.

New Zealand

* Stephen Berry (politician), Stephen Berry has unsuccessfully run in 10 elections on libertarian or right-wing positions (Mount Roskill (New Zealand electorate)#2002 election, 2002, 2004 Auckland City mayoral election, 2004, Tāmaki (New Zealand electorate)#2011 election, 2011, 2013 Auckland mayoral election, 2013 mayoral, 2013 Auckland local elections#Waitemata and Gulf (1), 2013 local council, Upper Harbour (New Zealand electorate)#2014 election, 2014, 2016 Auckland mayoral election, 2016, Stephen Berry (politician)#2017 East Coast Bays general election, 2017, Stephen Berry (politician)#2018 Northcote by-election, 2018, Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election by electorate#Pakuranga, 2020). In 2020, Berry was Party lists in the 2020 New Zealand general election#ACT Party, 9th on the party list for ACT New Zealand and ACT got Party lists in the 2020 New Zealand general election#ACT Party, 10 seats, which means if he had not resigned from running and ACT got the same result, Berry would have been elected as a Member of Parliament (New Zealand), Member of Parliament. * Colin Craig, the founder and long-time leader of the right-wing New Conservative Party (New Zealand), Conservative Party of New Zealand (now known as the New Conservative Party (New Zealand), New Conservative Party) is a perennial candidate. Craig is a real estate millionaire who entered politics in 2011 with his new party, which ran on a Christian Christian conservative Anti-abortion movements, anti-abortion, pro-Freedom of speech, free speech, pro-Right to keep and bear arms, gun rights, anti-Māori electorates, Māori seats, Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007, pro-child abuse and Penal labour, pro-prison labour platform. He 2010 Auckland mayoral election, ran unsuccessfully for the Mayor of Auckland before founding the party, and then lead the party for four years before being suspended over multiple sexual harassment scandals. * Bill Maung, a Burmese immigrant and political advisor to Black Power (New Zealand gang), Black Power, stood for election multiple times in both local and parliamentary elections as an independent candidate. * Frank Moncur stood for Parliament nine times, five times for Mayor of Wellington and nine times for the Wellington City Council, usually as a "private enterprise" candidate, between 1971 and 1996. * Naida Glavish contested in 2002 New Zealand general election, 2002, 2008 New Zealand general election, 2008, 2014 New Zealand general election, 2014, and 2020 New Zealand general election, 2020 general elections. * Saul Goldsmith contested ten city council and four mayoral elections, plus one council by-election, in Wellington over a 30-year period. He also stood in two general elections for the New Zealand National Party, National Party as well as a by-election as an independent National candidate. * Vince Terreni (1931-2004) founded the frivolous Cheer Up Party and later joined the McGillicuddy Serious Party (another joke party). He stood in six general elections between 1978 and 1996, one parliamentary by-election in 1980 and two local by-elections for both the Auckland (in 1979) and Wellington ( in 2000) city council. * Peter Wakeman has unsuccessfully run for Christchurch mayor in 1998 Christchurch mayoral election, 1998, 2007 Christchurch mayoral election, 2007, 2010 Christchurch mayoral election, 2010, 2013 Christchurch mayoral election, 2013, 2019 Christchurch mayoral election, 2019, and 2022 Christchurch mayoral election, 2022. He also ran for mayor of Waimakariri in 2010. He has run for parliament in five by-elections, Tauranga (New Zealand electorate), Tauranga in 1993 Tauranga by-election, 1993 and 2022 Tauranga by-election, 2022, Te Tai Hauāuru in 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election, 2004, Mount Albert (New Zealand electorate), Mount Albert in 2017 Mount Albert by-election, 2017, and Hamilton West (New Zealand electorate), Hamilton West in 2022 Hamilton West by-election, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perennial Candidate Elections terminology Political metaphors referring to people Political terminology

Definition

Reason for running

Americas

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

Mexico

Nicaragua

Paraguay

Peru

Uruguay

United States

Africa

Benin

Central African Republic

Gambia

Ghana

Kenya

Mauritania

Mozambique

Namibia

Nigeria

Senegal

Seychelles

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Asia

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

Iran

Israel

Japan

Philippines

Singapore

South Korea

Taiwan

Turkey

Europe

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Finland

France

Germany

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

United Kingdom

Oceania

Australia

New Zealand

See also

References