# Ranking of one-party rule in democracies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803 "2002-09-27T02:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/1 "2002-09-27T02:05:56Z")
I’ve tried a variety of google searches to no avail. I’m after a ranking of the longest uninterrupted stretches of one-party rule in democracies. And also in US states. Any ideas on sources? Or answers? ---
**Author:** ![intrigante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b19c9b/32.png) [@intrigante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/intrigante)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/2 "2002-09-27T02:23:38Z")
I’d say Franklin Rooseveldt’s reign tops it in the US. ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/3 "2002-09-27T02:28:04Z")
I see I should clarify my question–a ranking of the longest **current** uninterrupted stretches of one-party rule… ---
**Author:** ![Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Short](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/4 "2002-09-27T02:35:13Z")
I’m not sure your question is answerable. Iraq, for example, is ostensibly a “democracy” in that they hold elections for some seats. There is, however, only one party which wins the elections (Ba’th). Democracy is not an easily defined idea. Few would call Iraq democratic, but drawing the line is not easy in many cases. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/5 "2002-09-27T03:53:55Z")
And in a checks-and-balances system like that of the U.S., is it one-party rule when one party holds the Executive branch while the other dominates Congress? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/6 "2002-09-27T07:13:52Z")
I believe Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has held a majority in the lower house of the parliament for 48 of the last 50 years. The only time they didn’t (but still had a plurality) was around 1994-95. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/7 "2002-09-27T07:52:01Z")
Yes, in Japan the Liberal Democratic Party (which is the conservative party despite its name) has had a majority in the Parliament since 1995. The prime minister is chosen by the Parliament so it has effectively been a one-party rule. The LDP lost the majority in 1993 and the other parties cooperated to name a non-LDP prime minister. He lasted less than half a year, and we’re now back to LDP rule. Whether that qualifies as a democracy is open to debate, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/8 "2002-09-27T11:11:08Z")
You can have fun in the [Politcal Graveyard](http://politicalgraveyard.com/index.html) Hawaii (my state) has had only 1 Republican Governor, the first one. **For the last 40 years we’ve had only Democratic Governors.** And the last couple have screwed things up badly that there’s a good chance that we may have our second Republican Govenor. I have doubts but we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/9 "2002-09-27T11:34:21Z")
If we’re allowing discussion of U.S. States, Georgia hasn’t had a Republican Governor, or a Republican majority in either house of the Legislature, since Reconstruction. We might well elect a Republican governor one of these year, but it’ll be a long while before we ever see the Democrats lose the Legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/10 "2002-09-27T12:08:49Z")
[The PRI ran Mexico for 71 years](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107779.html), right up to 2000 when they lost the Presidency. They still control the national legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/11 "2002-09-27T13:00:06Z")
I should add that up until the honest elections in July of 2000, you could argue that Mexico may not exectly have been an honest “democracy.” But that would come down to trying to objectively define “democracy,” as well as head us into GD over whether that definition applied to Mexico. I’m proud I went to the polls that day (I couldn’t vote though-I’m not Mexican) and partook of the festivities afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-one-party-rule-in-democracies/129803/12 "2002-09-27T13:16:13Z")
Taiwan too ran in the same vein as Mexico. Lot of changes for the good in the past few years. Good meaning more possibilities for the electorate.