The people of Japan have decided to punish the ruling party Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the funding scandal and skyrocketing inflation during the parliamentary elections 2024.
According to Al Jazeera, the LDP's decade-long dominance and majority in the parliament will most probably come to an end after the polls on Sunday, October 27, 2024. Polls would be closed at 8 pm (11:00 GMT), while the early results are expected within an hour.
1,344 candidates, including record 314, are running for the office in Japan.
Prime Minister Ishiba called for the snap election after taking office on October 1, 2024, replacing his predecessor Fumio Kishida, who resigned after a protest against the slush practices of LDP legislators.
He apologized to the people for mishandling funds and vowed “to restart as an equal, fair, humble, and honest party” during his last day of the campaign.
Meanwhile, the voters of the fourth-largest economy in the world are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Yoshihiro Uchida, 48, told AFP on Sunday, “I made my decision first and foremost by looking at their economic policies and measures to ease inflation. I voted for people who are likely to make our lives better.”
Furthermore, Ishiba is aiming to win 233 seats in coalition with the Buddhist-backed junior partner Komeito to win a majority in the 465-member lower house, but the opinion polls suggested that the LDP will potentially face the worst defeat since 2009.
To note, the biggest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), is expected to make some significant gains in the parliamentary elections.
