The year 2024 has been a ‘Super Year’ for elections. 3.7 billion voters in 72 countries have strengthened democracy and good governance. Many have voted for the first time. This is the biggest election year in human history.
The UNDP (UN Development Program) has been working with countries to strengthen democratic processes. It provides electoral assistance, advances women’s participation in politics and challenges misinformation and disinformation. Marcus Neto, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the UNDP Bureau for Policy and Program Support says, “Resilient democracies require good governance, which cannot be created overnight, but is built on accountable social and political institutions, with norms, values and a culture based on respect for human rights.”
‘Super Year’ of elections was ‘super bad’ for incumbents. A Pew poll of 24 countries finds that the appeal of democracy is slipping as voters report increasing economic distress. One of the challenges this year was the situation caused by the Pandemic hit in 2020. The Covid effect caused the fall of many governments.
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The victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election was just the latest in a long line of losses for incumbent parties. The people in some 70 countries accounted for half the world’s population. The other issues in the elections this year were stubbornly high prices, cash-strapped governments, and a surge in migration. Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at the Pew Research Center noted, “There’s an overall sense of frustration with political elites, viewing them as out of touch.”
According to Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University, it reveals “a huge incumbent disadvantage.” Since the Pandemic hit in 2020, incumbents have been removed from office in 40 of 54 elections in western democracies. In the U.K., the conservatives suffered their worst result since 1832. In India, however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi managed to form the third consecutive government with the support of like-minded parties, as his party could not get an absolute majority.
Many incumbents lost power in 2024, while in some countries the incumbent governments survived with the help of like-minded parties. The UNDP feels that democracy is strengthened, but the general impression is that the people have lost faith in democracy to some extent due to several factors. It’s a mixed bag for supporters and opponents of democratic change.
