A glance at elections around the world

A look at recent and upcoming elections around the world:

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SPAIN: Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government won a second term Sunday despite concerns over a cooling economy, immigration and resurgent Basque separatists. The Socialists fell short of a parliamentary majority, forcing them to seek support from smaller parties.

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FRANCE: The opposition's slim lead in the first round of municipal elections Sunday sent a warning to the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Now conservatives are scrambling to cut deals for the second round next week, hoping to soften a defeat that could challenge Sarkozy's plans for reviving the economy.

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MALTA — The governing Nationalist Party won one of Malta's closest parliamentary elections since the Mediterranean island won independence from Britain in 1964, according to results from Saturday's election. The party has been in power for a decade, successfully steering the country of 400,000 people toward European Union membership.

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SRI LANKA: The turbulent eastern city of Batticaloa voted under heavy police guard Monday in an election the government hopes will be a first step toward restoring order in a region long dominated by Tamil Tiger rebels. One of the parties expected to do well was an armed group accused of killings and intimidation.

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MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office for a new five-year term Monday, rejecting calls to resign after the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. The vote Saturday was the coalition's worst electoral performance in the five decades it has ruled Malaysia, reflecting racial tensions and anger over rising living costs and corruption.

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IRAN: Hard-liners heading into parliamentary elections Friday are burdened by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unpopularity because of the faltering economy. However, the clerical leadership rejected the reformists' most promising candidates.

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SERBIA: The caretaker government called for early elections Monday after the Cabinet collapsed over Kosovo's declaration of independence and Serbia's ties with the EU. The vote, expected in May, will determine whether the Balkan country stays on a path toward EU membership or reverts to the isolation of the 1990s under the late Slobodan Milosevic.