“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fell short on his gambit of capturing a parliamentary majority in national elections and now faces demands from a left-wing rival party to shore up healthcare spending and raise taxes on the wealthy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The preliminary results from Monday’s election indicate Canadians have reservations about the prime minister that include a record of ethical breaches and his decision to hold a snap vote during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the results also suggest voters weren’t enamored with Mr. Trudeau’s rivals, as opposition parties made no discernible gains relative to the 2019 election.”

“President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party maintained its tight grip on the nation’s parliament in three-day elections criticized by opposition parties and independent observers for ballot stuffing and tampering,” the Washington Post reports.

Financial Times: Russia’s election apathy bodes ill for the country’s future.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has been reelected in the national election, the CBC reports.

“In the end, the final seat tally may not look very different from the composition of the House of Commons when it was dissolved in early August.”

“The three major party leaders spent their last hours on the campaign trail Sunday stumping in key battlegrounds, making their final pitches to voters in a short and divisive campaign in which no party has managed to swing momentum its way,” the Globe and Mail reports.

“Heading into election day, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives are in a dead heat nationally, according to Nanos Research polling released on Sunday.”

Polls open today at 8:30 am in each of the country’s time zones and close 12 hours later.

Philippine boxing icon and senator Manny Pacquiao says he will run for president in the 2022 elections, the AP reports.

“Fewer than 5,000 Hong Kong people from mostly pro-establishment circles began voting on Sunday for candidates to an election committee, vetted as loyal to Beijing, who will pick the city’s next China-backed leader and some of its legislature,” Reuters reports.

“Pro-democracy candidates are nearly absent from Hong Kong’s first election since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to ensure that ‘only patriots’ rule China’s freest city.”

CNN: “A voting app created by allies of prominent Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny was removed from Google and Apple’s online stores in Russia just as polls opened for parliamentary elections, according to a series of tweets from Navalny’s team on Friday.”

Times of London: “Opposition campaigners in Russia accused Google and Apple of caving in to ‘Kremlin blackmail’ yesterday after the US tech giants deleted a technical voting app from their online stores.”

Boris Johnson will “go long” and wait until 2024 before holding an election amid concerns that moving earlier will repeat the mistake of Theresa May, the Times of London reports.

“This is Germany’s first general election without Angela Merkel running for chancellor since 2002. For her conservative bloc, it is shaping up as a debacle,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“A gaffe-prone new candidate, the popular chancellor’s almost complete absence from the campaign, and voter fatigue after 16 years of conservative rule could converge to deliver the bloc’s worst national electoral result ever, according to pollsters and analysts.”

“Less than two weeks before election day, opinion polls show Ms. Merkel’s group, an alliance of conservative parties known collectively as the Union, with 20% of the vote, down 15 points since January and some five points behind its center-left Social Democratic rival.”

“The French far-right journalist and commentator Éric Zemmour has stepped down from his nightly TV show, heightening speculation that he could make an outsider bid to run in next year’s French presidential election,” The Guardian reports.

“The 63-year-old, who was a political journalist for Le Figaro, holds convictions for inciting hatred and is best known for his TV diatribes against immigration and Islam.”

Related from the Times of London: Socialists struggle to persuade French voters their voice should be heard again.

Norway’s center-left opposition is on course to regain power after an unprecedented eight years of rightwing rule in an election dominated by climate change and the future of the country’s oil industry, Deutsche Welle reports.

John Ellis notes the result brings to power Labour leader Jonas Gahr Store and means for the first time in 62 years all five Nordic countries have a leftwing prime minister at the same time.

“Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was convinced of two things: his successful vaccination strategy had made Canadian voters grateful, and his main opponent, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, was somewhere between unpopular and unknown,” Bloomberg reports.

“So Trudeau called a snap election for Sept. 20, hoping to earn his Liberal Party a ruling majority. Instead, his numbers dropped instantly, confounding many. With 12 days to go, he’s likely to end with a weakened minority government or even a humiliating defeat.”

“More than 100,000 Brazilians took to the streets in nationwide rallies Tuesday in support of President Jair Bolsonaro, a show of force for the right-wing leader ahead of elections next year in which he will face a surging leftist challenger,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Draped in Brazilian flags, supporters of the former army captain filled São Paulo’s main avenue and the streets of more than 100 other cities to disparage people Mr. Bolsonaro considers enemies and political opponents. They demanded the jailing of communists and the closure of Congress.”

“Many had particularly critical remarks for the Supreme Court, which has launched investigations into the right-wing leader and his allies.”

“When Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election last month, the question most observers asked was would his Liberal party win enough seats to become a majority in parliament, or simply increase the size of his minority,” the Financial Times reports.

“His government was lauded for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, injecting billions of dollars into the economy and acquiring enough vaccine doses to inoculate the entire population a few times over. Canada’s per capita vaccination rate is now one of the highest in the world.”

“But two weeks into the campaign, his Conservative rivals are ahead in the polls, buoyed by a detailed policy platform that eschews fiscal frugality for billions of dollars in new stimulus spending. Trudeau faces a likeable opponent in Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, competition from the left, and dismay among voters over what many see as an unnecessary election during a fourth wave of the pandemic, just as their children head back to school.”

“Germany has accused Russia of launching a spate of cyber attacks on politicians amid suspicions that Moscow is interfering in this month’s election to decide who succeeds Angela Merkel as chancellor,” the Financial Times reports.

“Germany’s foreign ministry said it held Russia responsible for illegally targeting a number of national and regional politicians with “phishing” emails to gain access to personal details.”

“Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, is to step down from his party’s leadership this month amid mounting discontent at his government’s handling of the pandemic,” The Guardian reports.

“Suga took office less than a year ago, stepping up after serving as chief cabinet secretary and government spokesperson. The ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) is due to hold its leadership election on 29 September and Suga had been widely expected to seek reelection.”

“Ever since the Pirate movement burst on to Europe’s political scene as a rebellious force 15 years ago, its anti-establishment parties have remained on the fringes of mainstream politics,” the Financial Times reports.

“But when Czech voters head to the polls for a parliamentary election in early October, there is a chance that the party will win enough votes to become the EU’s first Pirates to enter national government.”