Nearly half the world’s population will vote in major elections this year, casting ballots in at least 70 countries for every level of government, from localities to national parliaments and presidential offices.
But not all elections are created equal, or fair.
“There are global phenomena—including the impact of digital technology and social media, economic stresses, environmental stresses, divisions and polarization along many different lines, whether cultural or religious or political—that are affecting democracies everywhere,” said Laurent Dubois, academic director of UVA's Karsh Institute of Democracy.
“I think 2024 is a critical year for seeing how many of these forces influence democratic practice across different contexts,” he said.
To better understand some of the obstacles that democracy is facing this year, we spoke with Karsh Institute–affiliated faculty about some key elections in other countries.
Senegal
Emily Burrill, associate professor of history, said Macky Sall, the current president, has served two terms and is scheduled to step down on April 2. While Sall is not running for re-election, there was a period when it seemed he would make an unconstitutional bid for a third mandate. Sall has created roadblocks for opposition candidates to stand for election, and he delayed the election—which has been set for March 24 because of pressure by civil society groups, popular protest, and the intervention of the courts.
Although Sall has repeatedly said he will not stand for election again, opposition candidates have been imprisoned, and in February he ordered the presidential election be delayed. Then protests erupted, the nation’s Constitutional Court decreed the move unconstitutional, elections were scheduled for March 24, and key opposition candidates were released from prison.
Among the 20 candidates on the ballot are Sall’s prime minister (and his preferred successor) Amadou Ba; Bassirou Diomaye Faye, recently released from prison and head of his party after the most popular opposition candidate, Ousmane Sonko, was disqualified due to rape and defamation charges; and Anta Babacar Ngom, a CEO of a poultry company, the first woman cleared to appear on the Senegalese presidential election ballot.
The power of Senegal’s electorate and the constitution is rare among many African democracies
The power of Senegal’s electorate and the constitution is rare among many African democracies. Senegal enjoys one of the most stable democracies on the continent, a robust press culture and a respected higher education system. The outcome of this election is anyone’s guess.
Brazil
David Nemer, faculty co-lead of the Karsh Institute’s Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, said Brazilians will head to the polls in October in municipal elections, determining mayors, vice mayors, and city councilors.
In the aftermath of the 2022 national elections, where former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was defeated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the spotlight appears to be shifting to São Paulo. There, the Bolsonarist incumbent mayor, Ricardo Nunes, will confront the left-wing candidate Guilherme Boulos, backed by Lula.
The election may be a gauge of the enduring strength of the far-right Bolsonarism movement in Brazil and could indicate whether the movement retains its influence
The election may be a gauge of the enduring strength of the far-right Bolsonarism movement in Brazil. It could indicate whether the movement retains its influence or recedes to the periphery.
The country has put into place various mechanisms to safeguard the integrity of the voting process and uphold democratic principles. Accordingly, Brazil has earned global recognition for its adherence to procedures and processes that underpin free and fair elections.
India
Indrani Chatterjee, John L. Nau III Distinguished Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy in the Karsh Institute’s Nau Lab, said elections will be held this spring for all 543 seats of the Lok Sabha, the popular assembly in India.
In 1950, Indian politicians devised the Electoral Commission to manage elections and persuade political parties to follow a code of conduct that it issues for each election. It also has adopted technological advances such as electoral voting machines.
But since 2004, a general technological boom has been compounded by changes in electoral financing that were implemented from 2014 to 2019. “Electoral bonds” were introduced by the government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which favors a religious majority ideology and currently holds the largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. These bonds allowed people and corporations to anonymously donate unlimited funds to favored political parties. Together these changes have undermined the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
'Electoral bonds' allowed people and corporations to anonymously donate unlimited funds to favored political parties, which undermined the transparency and fairness of the electoral process
The bonds also gave a hefty advantage to the BJP’s messages that affected public attitudes and eroded the bipartisanship of police and civic institutions. The Indian Supreme Court recently held the electoral bonds unconstitutional, but the money already in the ruling party’s coffers is greater than that of all other parties. Imprisonment of critics and independent journalists has left nearly all public space and airwaves filled with pro-government voices.