31.   In a major step, provincial governors are being elected instead of being appointed by Moscow, making local officials accountable to voters.

32.   Russian voters cast ballots Sunday in provincial elections in the Kirov, Vologda and Kaliningrad regions to elect new governors who will also serve in parliament.

33.   Slovaks were electing new governors in the runoffs of regional elections Saturday as part of a process that aims to decentralize power in this former communist country.

34.   The key provision says all the governors must be elected.

35.   The Republican Party has grown dramatically in Georgia but still has fallen short of controlling either legislative chamber and has not elected a governor since Reconstruction.

36.   Those states did not elect governors on Sunday.

37.   Governors are elected every two or four years depending on state laws.

38.   Bangkok voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect a governor who faces the daunting task of administering a city plagued by unmanageable traffic and unhealthy pollution.

39.   Thirty-six states also elected governors.

40.   Tokyo government officials said the local assembly would make a final decision after a new governor is elected in April.