President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The president of the Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党総裁, Jiyū-Minshutō Sōsai) is the highest position within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. The current holder of the position is Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, who was elected to the position on 27 September 2024, following his victory in the party's presidential election.[1][2] The previous leader, Fumio Kishida announced his resignation on 14 August 2024, thereby not seeking reelection.[3][4]

President of the Liberal Democratic Party
自由民主党総裁
(Jiyū-Minshutō Sōsai)
since 27 September 2024
Liberal Democratic Party
TypeParty leader
Term lengthThree years,
renewable twice consecutively
Inaugural holderIchirō Hatoyama
Formation5 April 1956
DeputyVice President
Secretary-General

Due to the dominance of the LDP in Japanese politics, all twenty-four presidents except two (Yohei Kono and Sadakazu Tanigaki) have also been the prime minister of Japan.

Elections

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To be a candidate for the president, one must be a LDP member of the National Diet and must receive at least 20 nominations from other LDP members of the National Diet.[5] The LDP selects its leader via a two-round election involving both LDP members of the Diet and dues-paying party members from across Japan.[6] In the first round, all LDP members of the Diet cast one vote while party member votes are translated proportionally into votes equaling the other half of the total ballots.[6] If any candidate wins a majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, that candidate is elected President.[6]

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a runoff is held immediately between the top two candidates.[6] In the runoff, all Diet members vote again while the 47 prefectural chapters of the LDP get one vote each, with the result of the latter votes determined using the first round results of party members in each prefecture.[6] The candidate who wins the most votes in the runoff is then elected President.[6]

The party's secretary-general can decide to organise the election with the rule of the second round only.[7]

Term limits

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According to Article 81 of the LDP Constitution, the president's term of office is three years, renewable twice consecutively.[8] Limits have fluctuated over the years since LDP's founding:

Period Term of office Term limits
1955–1972 2 years Unlimited
1972–1974 3 years
1974–1978 Renewable once
1978–2003 2 years
2003–2017 3 years
2017–present Renewable twice

Powers

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According to the LDP constitution, the president "shall assume supreme responsibility for the Party, and represent and oversee the Party".[9] The president appoints the secretary-general, members of Finance Committee, and the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit, all with the approval of the General Council. The president also appoints the chairpersons of the Party Organization Headquarters, the Public Relations Headquarters, the Policy Research Council the Election Strategy Council, and the Personnel Committee, as well as the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit,[10] all with the approval of the General Council. The president can optionally appoint a vice president with the approval of the Party Convention.[9]

The president convenes and presides over the work of the LDP Board, which includes other high-ranking members of the LDP.[9] With the consent of the General Council, the president annually convenes the Party Convention.[11] The president is ex officio the director-general of the Party's Election Strategy Headquarters, tasked with formulating the LDP's election strategies,[12] and the chancellor of the Central Institute of Politics.[13]

Presidents of the party

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No. President
(Lifespan)
Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Election results Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Preceding parties: Liberal Party (1950) and Democratic Party (1954)
Interim Leadership Committee (1955–1956)
Ichirō Hatoyama
鳩山 一郎
(1883–1959)
 
  Rep for Tokyo 1st 15 November 1955 5 April 1956 None LDP himself 1954–1956
Bukichi Miki
三木 武吉
(1884–1956)
  Rep for Kagawa 1st LDP Hatoyama I. 1954–1956
Banboku Ōno
大野 伴睦
(1890–1964)
  Rep for Gifu 1st
Taketora Ogata
緒方 竹虎
(1888–1956)
  Rep for Fukuoka 1st 28 January 1956
(Died in office)
Tsuruhei Matsuno
松野 鶴平
(1883–1962)
  Cou for Kumamoto 10 February 1956 5 April 1956
President (1956–present)
1 Ichirō Hatoyama
鳩山 一郎
(1883–1959)
 
  Rep for Tokyo 1st 5 April 1956 14 December 1956
Apr. 1956
Ichirō Hatoyama – 394
Nobusuke Kishi – 4
Others – 15
LDP himself 1954–1956
2 Tanzan Ishibashi
石橋 湛山
(1884–1973)
 
  Rep for Shizuoka 2nd 14 December 1956 21 March 1957
Dec. 1956 1st round
Nobusuke Kishi – 223
Tanzan Ishibashi – 151
Mitsujiro Ishii – 137
Dec. 1956 2nd round
Tanzan Ishibashi – 258
Nobusuke Kishi – 251
LDP himself 1956–1957
3 Nobusuke Kishi
岸 信介
(1896–1987)
 
  Rep for Yamaguchi 1st 21 March 1957 14 July 1960
1957
Nobusuke Kishi – 471
Kenzō Matsumura – 2
Tokutaro Kitamura – 1
Mitsujirō Ishii – 1
1959
Nobusuke Kishi – 320
Kenzō Matsumura – 166
Others – 5
LDP himself 1957–1960
4 Hayato Ikeda
池田 勇人
(1899–1965)
 
  Rep for Hiroshima 2nd 14 July 1960 1 December 1964
1960 1st Round
Hayato Ikeda – 246
Mitsujirō Ishii – 194
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 49
Others – 7
1960 2nd Round
Hayato Ikeda – 302
Mitsujirō Ishii – 194
1962
Hayato Ikeda – 391
Eisaku Satō – 17
Others – 20
Jul. 1964
Hayato Ikeda – 242
Eisaku Satō – 160
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 72
Hirokichi Nadao – 1
LDP himself 1960–1964
5 Eisaku Satō
佐藤 栄作
(1901–1975)
 
  Rep for Yamaguchi 2nd 1 December 1964 5 July 1972
Nov. 1964
Eisaku Satō –  Y
Aiichirō Fujiyama –  N
Ichirō Kōno –  N
1966
Eisaku Satō – 289
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 89
Shigesaburō Maeo – 47
Hirokichi Nadao – 11
Uichi Noda – 9
Others – 5
1968
Eisaku Satō – 249
Takeo Miki – 107
Shigesaburō Maeo – 95
Others – 25
1970
Eisaku Satō – 353
Takeo Miki – 111
Others – 3
LDP himself 1964–1972
6 Kakuei Tanaka
田中 角榮
(1918–1993)
 
  Rep for Niigata 3rd 5 July 1972 4 December 1974
1972
Tanaka Kakuei – 282
Takeo Fukuda – 180
LDP himself 1972–1974
7 Takeo Miki
三木 武夫
(1907–1988)
 
  Rep for Tokushima at-large 4 December 1974 23 December 1976
1974
Takeo Miki –  Y
Takeo Fukuda –  N
Masayoshi Ōhira –  N
Yasuhiro Nakasone –  N
LDP himself 1974–1976
8 Takeo Fukuda
福田 赳夫
(1905–1995)
 
  Rep for Gunma 3rd 23 December 1976 1 December 1978
1976
Takeo Fukuda –  Y
Masayoshi Ōhira –  N
LDP himself 1976–1978
9 Masayoshi Ōhira
大平 正芳
(1910–1980)
 
  Rep for Kagawa 2nd 1 December 1978 12 June 1980
(Died in office)
1978 1st round
Masayoshi Ōhira – 748
Fukuda Takeo – 638
Yasuhiro Nakasone – 93
Toshio Kōmoto – 46
1978 2nd round
Unopposed
LDP himself 1978–1980
Eiichi Nishimura
西村 英一
(1897–1987)
Acting President
  Rep for Ōita 2nd 12 June 1980 15 July 1980 Acting LDP (Ito M.) 1980; Acting
10 Zenkō Suzuki
鈴木 善幸
(1911–2004)
 
  Rep for Iwate 1st 15 July 1980 25 November 1982
Jul. 1980
Zenko Suzuki –  Y
Kiichi Miyazawa –  N
Yasuhiro Nakasone –  N
Toshio Kōmoto –  N
Nov. 1980
Unopposed
LDP himself 1980–1982
11 Yasuhiro Nakasone
中曽根 康弘
(1918–2019)
 
  Rep for Gunma 3rd 25 November 1982 31 October 1987
1982 1st Round
Yasuhiro Nakasone – 57.6% (559,673)
Toshio Kōmoto – 27.2% (265,078)
Shintarō Abe – 8.2% (80,443)
Ichirō Nakagawa – 6.8% (66,041)
1982 2nd Round
Unopposed
1984
Unopposed walkover
1986
1-year extension
LDP himself 1982–1987
12 Noboru Takeshita
竹下 登
(1924–2000)
 
  Rep for Shimane at-large 31 October 1987 2 June 1989
1987
Noboru Takeshita –  Y
Shintarō Abe –  N
Kiichi Miyazawa –  N
LDP himself 1987–1989
13 Sōsuke Uno
宇野 宗佑
(1922–1998)
 
  Rep for Shiga at-large 2 June 1989 8 August 1989
Jun. 1989
Sōsuke Uno –  Y
Masayoshi Itō –  N
LDP himself Jun–Aug 1989
14 Toshiki Kaifu
海部 俊樹
(1931–2022)
 
  Rep for Aichi 3rd 8 August 1989 30 October 1991
Aug. 1989 1st round
Toshiki Kaifu – 279
Yoshirō Hayashi – 120
Shintarō Ishihara – 48
Aug. 1989 2nd round
Unopposed
LDP himself 1989–1991
15 Kiichi Miyazawa
宮澤 喜一
(1919–2007)
 
  Rep for Hiroshima 3rd 31 October 1991 29 July 1993
1991
Kiichi Miyazawa – 285
Michio Wantanabe – 120
Hiroshi Mitsuzuka – 87
LDP himself 1991–1993
16 Yōhei Kōno
河野 洋平
(born 1937)
  Rep for Kanagawa 5th 29 July 1993 1 October 1995
1993 1st round
Yōhei Kōno – 208
Michio Wantanabe – 159
1993 2nd round
Unopposed
JNP Hosokawa 1993–1994
JRP Hata Apr–Jun 1994
JSP Murayama
(coalition)
1994–1996
17 Ryutaro Hashimoto
橋本 龍太郎
(1937–2006)
 
  Rep for Okayama 4th 1 October 1995 24 July 1998
1995
Ryutaro Hashimoto – 304
Junichiro Koizumi – 87
1997
Unopposed walkover
LDP himself 1996–1998
18 Keizō Obuchi
小渕 恵三
(1937–2000)
 
  Rep for Gunma 5th 24 July 1998 5 April 2000
1998
Keizō Obuchi – 225
Seiroku Kajiyama – 102
Junichiro Koizumi – 84
1999
Keizō Obuchi – 350
Koichi Kato – 113
Taku Yamasaki – 51
LDP himself 1998–2000
19 Yoshirō Mori
森 喜朗
(born 1937)
 
  Rep for Ishikawa 2nd 5 April 2000 24 April 2001
2000
Yoshirō Mori –  Y
Mikio Aoki –  N
Masakuni Murakami –  N
Hiromu Nonaka –  N
Shizuka Kamei –  N
LDP himself 2000–2001
20 Junichiro Koizumi
小泉 純一郎
(born 1942)
 
  Rep for Kanagawa 11th 24 April 2001 20 September 2006
2001 1st Round
Junichiro Koizumi – 298
Ryutaro Hashimoto – 155
Tarō Asō – 31
2001 2nd Round
Unopposed
2003
Junichiro Koizumi – 339
Shizuka Kamei – 139
Takao Fujii – 65
Masahiko Kōmura – 54
LDP himself 2001–2006
21 Shinzo Abe
安倍 晋三
(1954–2022)
 
  Rep for Yamaguchi 4th 20 September 2006 23 September 2007
Shinzo Abe – 464
Tarō Asō – 136
Sadakazu Tanigaki – 102
LDP himself 2006–2007
22 Yasuo Fukuda
福田 康夫
(born 1936)
 
  Rep for Gunma 4th 23 September 2007 22 September 2008
Yasuo Fukuda – 330
Tarō Asō – 197
LDP himself 2007–2008
23 Tarō Asō
麻生 太郎
(born 1940)
 
  Rep for Fukuoka 8th 22 September 2008 28 September 2009
Tarō Asō – 351
Kaoru Yosano – 66
Yuriko Koike – 46
Nobuteru Ishihara – 37
Shigeru Ishiba – 25
LDP himself 2008–2009
24 Sadakazu Tanigaki
谷垣 禎一
(born 1945)
  Rep for Kyoto 5th 28 September 2009 26 September 2012
Sadakazu Tanigaki – 300
Taro Kono – 144
Yasutoshi Nishimura – 54
DPJ Hatoyama Y. 2009–2010
DPJ Kan 2010–2011
DPJ Noda 2011–2012
25
(21)
Shinzo Abe
安倍 晋三
(1954–2022)
 
  Rep for Yamaguchi 4th 26 September 2012 14 September 2020
Shinzo Abe – 141
Shigeru Ishiba – 199
Nobuteru Ishihara – 96
Nobutaka Machimura 34
Yoshimasa Hayashi – 27
Shinzo Abe – 108
Shigeru Ishiba – 89
Unopposed walkover
Shinzo Abe – 553
Shigeru Ishiba – 254
LDP himself 2012–2020
26 Yoshihide Suga
菅 義偉
(born 1948)
 
  Rep for Kanagawa 2nd 14 September 2020 29 September 2021
Yoshihide Suga – 377
Fumio Kishida – 89
Shigeru Ishiba – 68
LDP himself 2020–2021
27 Fumio Kishida
岸田 文雄
(born 1957)
 
  Rep for Hiroshima 1st 29 September 2021 27 September 2024
Fumio Kishida – 256
Taro Kono – 255
Sanae Takaichi – 188
Seiko Noda – 63
Fumio Kishida – 257
Taro Kono – 170
LDP himself 2021–2024
28 Shigeru Ishiba
石破 茂
(born 1957)
 
  Rep for Tottori 1st 27 September 2024 Incumbent
Shigeru Ishiba – 215
Sanae Takaichi – 194
LDP himself 2024–present

Presidential elections

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Bold indicates the winners.

Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Spoilt
vote
[14]
5 April 1956 Ichirō Hatoyama Nobusuke Kishi Jōji Hayashi Tanzan Ishibashi
Mitsujirō Ishii
Shūji Masutani
Banboku Ōno
Ichirō Kōno
Mamoru Shigemitsu
Tsuruhei Matsuno
Hayato Ikeda
5
394 4 3 2 1
14 December 1956 First round Nobusuke Kishi Tanzan Ishibashi Mitsujirō Ishii 0
223 151 137
Runoff Tanzan Ishibashi Nobusuke Kishi 0
258 251
21 March 1957 Nobusuke Kishi Kenzō Matsumura Mitsujirō Ishii
Tokutarō Kitamura
0
471 2 1
14 January 1959 Nobusuke Kishi Kenzō Matsumura Banboku Ōno
Shigeru Yoshida
Mitsujirō Ishii
Shūji Masutani
Eisaku Satō
0
320 166 1
14 July 1960 First round Hayato Ikeda Mitsujirō Ishii Aiichirō Fujiyama Kenzō Matsumura Banboku Ōno 0
246 196 49 5 1
Runoff Hayato Ikeda Mitsujirō Ishii 0
302 194
14 July 1962 Hayato Ikeda Eisaku Satō Hisato Ichimada Nobusuke Kishi Aiichirō Fujiyama Shigeru Yoshida
Takeo Fukuda
Hitoshi Takahashi
Matsutarō Shōriki
0
391 17 6 5 3 2 1
10 July 1964 Hayato Ikeda Eisaku Satō Aiichirō Fujiyama Hirokichi Nadao 0
242 160 72 1
1 December 1964 Eisaku Satō One candidate (elected by Ikeda)
1 December 1966 Eisaku Satō Aiichirō Fujiyama Shigesaburō Maeo Hirokichi Nadao Uichi Noda Zentarō Kosaka Nobusuke Kishi
Kenzō Matsumura
Isamu Murakami
0
289 89 47 11 9 2 1
27 November 1968 Eisaku Satō Takeo Miki Shigesaburō Maeo Aiichirō Fujiyama 0
249 107 95 1
29 October 1970 Eisaku Satō Takeo Miki Saburō Chiba
Aiichirō Fujiyama
Tokuma Utsunomiya
0
353 111 1
5 July 1972 First round Kakuei Tanaka Takeo Fukuda Masayoshi Ōhira Takeo Miki 7
156 150 101 69
Runoff Kakuei Tanaka Takeo Fukuda 0
282 190
4 December 1974 Takeo Miki One candidate (elected by Vice-President Etsusaburō Shiina)
23 December 1976 Takeo Fukuda One candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)
26 November 1978 Primaries

[15]

Masayoshi Ōhira Takeo Fukuda Yasuhiro Nakasone Toshio Kōmoto 0
748 pts 638 pts 93 pts 46 pts
Runoff Masayoshi Ōhira 2nd candidate withdrew
15 July 1980 Zenkō Suzuki One candidate (elected by Vice-President Eiichi Nishimura)
27 November 1980 Zenkō Suzuki One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Suzuki)

24 November 1982 Primaries

[16]

Yasuhiro Nakasone Toshio Kōmoto Shintaro Abe Ichiro Nakagawa 0
559673 265078 80443 66041
Runoff Yasuhiro Nakasone 2nd and below candidates withdrew
30 October 1984 Yasuhiro Nakasone One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Nakasone)

11 September 1986 Yasuhiro Nakasone Extension of term of office by one year

(Unanimously re-elected Nakasone's term of office at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)

31 October 1987 Noboru Takeshita One candidate (elected by Nakasone)
2 June 1989 Sōsuke Uno One candidate (elected by Takeshita)
8 August 1989 Toshiki Kaifu Yoshiro Hayashi Shintaro Ishihara 0
279 120 48
31 October 1989 Toshiki Kaifu One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kaifu)

27 October 1991 Kiichi Miyazawa Michio Watanabe Hiroshi Mitsuzuka 0
285 120 87
30 July 1993 Yōhei Kōno Michio Watanabe 0
208 159
30 September 1993 Yōhei Kōno One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kōno)

22 September 1995 Ryutaro Hashimoto Junichiro Koizumi 0
304 87
11 September 1997 Ryutaro Hashimoto One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Hashimoto)

24 July 1998 Keizō Obuchi Seiroku Kajiyama Junichiro Koizumi 0
225 102 84
21 September 1999 Keizō Obuchi Koichi Kato Taku Yamasaki 0
350 113 51
5 April 2000 Yoshirō Mori One candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)
24 April 2001 Junichiro Koizumi Ryutaro Hashimoto Tarō Asō (Shizuka Kamei withdrew after the ballot counting) 3
298 155 31
10 August 2001 Junichiro Koizumi One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Koizumi)

20 September 2003 Junichiro Koizumi Shizuka Kamei Takao Fujii Masahiko Kōmura 0
399 139 65 54
20 September 2006 (Detail) Shinzo Abe Tarō Asō Sadakazu Tanigaki 1
464 136 102
23 September 2007 (Detail) Yasuo Fukuda Tarō Asō 1
330 197
22 September 2008 (Detail) Tarō Asō Kaoru Yosano Yuriko Koike Nobuteru Ishihara Shigeru Ishiba 2
351 66 46 37 25
28 September 2009 (Detail) Sadakazu Tanigaki Taro Kono Yasutoshi Nishimura 1
300 144 54
26 September 2012 (Detail) First round Shigeru Ishiba Shinzo Abe Nobuteru Ishihara Nobutaka Machimura Yoshimasa Hayashi 1
199 141 96 34 27
Runoff Shinzo Abe Shigeru Ishiba 1
108 89
8 September 2015 (Detail) Shinzo Abe One candidate

(re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Abe)

20 September 2018 (Detail) Shinzo Abe Shigeru Ishiba 3
553 254
14 September 2020 (Detail) Yoshihide Suga Fumio Kishida Shigeru Ishiba 0
377 89 68
29 September 2021 (Detail) First round Fumio Kishida Taro Kono Sanae Takaichi Seiko Noda 1
256 255 188 63
Runoff Fumio Kishida Taro Kono 1
257 170
27 September 2024 (Detail) First round Sanae Takaichi Shigeru Ishiba Shinjirō Koizumi Yoshimasa Hayashi Takayuki Kobayashi Toshimitsu Motegi Yōko Kamikawa Taro Kono Katsunobu Katō 1
181 154 136 65 60 47 40 30 22
Runoff Shigeru Ishiba Sanae Takaichi
215 194

Timeline

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Shigeru IshibaFumio KishidaYoshihide SugaSadakazu TanigakiTarō AsōYasuo FukudaShinzo AbeJunichiro KoizumiYoshirō MoriKeizō ObuchiRyutaro HashimotoYōhei KōnoKiichi MiyazawaToshiki KaifuSōsuke UnoNoboru TakeshitaYasuhiro NakasoneZenkō SuzukiEiichi NishimuraMasayoshi ŌhiraTakeo FukudaTakeo MikiKakuei TanakaEisaku SatōHayato IkedaNobusuke KishiTanzan IshibashiIchiro Hatoyama

References

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  1. ^ "Fumio Kishida elected as new leader of Japan's ruling LDP". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  2. ^ "The President | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  3. ^ "Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will not run for party reelection". CNBC. 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  4. ^ Lee, Michelle Ye Hee; Inuma, Julia Mio (2024-08-14). "Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will step down next month". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  5. ^ "Rules for election of President | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harris, Tobias (24 September 2021). "Japanese Prime Minister Suga Has No Clear Successor". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ^ Ryotaro Nakamaru (29 August 2020). "Race to succeed Abe kicks off with no clear favorite". The Japan Times. thejapantimes. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. ^ "LDP Constitution: Chapter XI Terms of Office". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "LDP Constitution: Chapter II Executive Bodies". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. ^ "LDP Constitution: Chapter IV Policy Research Council". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  11. ^ "LDP Constitution: Chapter III Decision-Making Bodies". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  12. ^ "LDP Constitution: Chapter V Election Strategy Headquarters". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  13. ^ "LDP Constitution: Chapter IX The Central Institute of Politics". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  14. ^ Since the leadership election before 1972 is not a candidacy system, votes for members who did not campaign are also calculated as valid votes.
  15. ^ Primary election by general party members. With a point system in which 1000 votes are calculated as 1 point and distributed proportionally to the top two candidates, the two candidates in the primary election will advance to runoff by members of the National Diet.
  16. ^ Primary election by general party members. With a total vote system, the top three candidates will advance to runoff.