These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2008:
Events
January
January 14 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro. January 15 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of the European Union as the first of new member states. January 17 - The Venezuelan bolívar, as a result of a government decree issued on March 7, 2007, is revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 and renamed the Bolívar fuerte (ISO 4217 code: VEF). January 21 - The first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa. January 21 - The 30th Dakar Rally is canceled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007. January 22 - An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker. January 22 - The Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes. January 22 - The South Korean Presidential Transition Team announces a plan to merge the Ministry of Unification, which works toward unification with North Korea, with the Foreign Ministry, but does not follow through on the idea. January 23 - Presidential election in Serbia. January 23 - Legislative elections in Cuba. January 24 - A peace deal ends the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo January 24 - Peter Hain resigns as British Wales Secretary and British Work and Pensions Secretary after the Electoral Commission refers the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police Service. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a quick cabinet shuffle.
January 24 - Iraqi Parliament adopts a new national flag, removing three stars associated with the Baath Party; a permanent design is expected within the next year. January 24 - Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi resigns his post after losing the vote of confidence in the Senate. January 30 - King Bhumibol Adulyadej swears in Samak Sundaravej as the new Prime Minister of Thailand.
February
February 2 - Rebels attack the capital of Chad, N'Djamena. February 3 - Boris Tadić is reelected in the second round of the Serbian presidential elections. February 3 - Parliamentary elections in Monaco. February 4 - A Palestinian suicide bomber kills one and wounds thirteen in a Dimona, Israel shopping center.
February 5 - Super Tuesday, massive multi-state primary in U.S. presidential election, with primaries and caucuses in 24 states, is held. January 5 - Mikheil Saakashvili is reelected following early presidential elections in Georgia. February 7 - General election called for Belize's 31 House seats; a referendum to be held simultaneously to determine whether the upper house should be elected. February 11 - President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta is seriously wounded in an attack on his home by rebel soldiers. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed by Ramos-Horta's security guards during the attack. February 13 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations. February 13 - Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dissolves the Malaysian parliament. February 16 - Václav Klaus is reelected as the President of the Czech Republic.
February 17 - Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, Romania, and other nations. However Albania, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and United States express support after an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. February 17 - Presidential election in Cyprus. February 18 - General election is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while President Pervez Musharraf's party suffers a huge defeat. February 19 - Presidential election in Armenia. February 19 - After 49 years in office, Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba. February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of Serbs take to the streets in Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence and the partial international recognition of it. February 22 – The Australian Parliament descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended, and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the Prime Minister is brought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.