Record Election Year Reveals Cracked Global Democracy

According to a comprehensive analysis by the University of East Anglia, the historical annual vote of 1.6 billion people have made the votes unsettling the quality of the votes’ elections.

The 2024 “super cycle” includes 74 national elections in 62 countries, but many established democracies fail to meet the basic standards of election integrity.

Iceland ranks globally in the quality of elections, while Syria scores the lowest score in the annual assessment of the election full project. But the most noticeable findings focus on democracy in countries such as the United States, Britain and Mexico sliding backwards, once seen as a beacon of election fairness.

Democracy of established powers declines

“2024 was a record year for global voting. But what we’re seeing is a decline in election quality in several famous democracies, including the UK and the US,” explained Professor Toby James of the UEA School of Politics, Philosophy and Regional Studies.

The United States has seen a “significant decline” in election integrity, especially in voter participation and deliberation. Although the voting counting process has a strong voting process, persistent problems persist, with media reports of bias and campaign finance issues continuing to undermine democracy.

The UK’s performance has increased what researchers call “serious concern”. New photo ID requirements blocked many referendums, and the first-time system gave Labor only 34% of the vote to win 63% of the parliamentary seats.

Global Pictures: Results Mixed

Among the 62 countries evaluated, the findings revealed a sharp contrast:

• Compared with previous competitions, 21 countries have improved the quality of elections
• Election standards in 33 countries decline
• Iceland, Uruguay, Lithuania and Finland lead with election quality
• Syria, Rwanda, Chad, Iran and Belarus rank at the bottom

What makes election work

Iceland’s success provides a blueprint for electoral excellence. The country adopts automatic voter registration, ensuring citizens can vote without bureaucratic barriers. Its proportional representation system provides fair representation for smaller parties, while balanced media coverage and minimal disinformation create an environment conducive to informed choice.

“Iceland has many laws and practices to conduct elections that have been widely proven to improve the quality of elections,” James noted. The simplified registration system “because voters do not refuse to vote from polls.”

Mexico provides a cautionary tale of democratic erosion. Although Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as the country’s first female president, the country’s election scored from 65 to 53.

Continuous weakness

The analysis determines that campaign financing and media access are the weakest links in the global election system. These areas are always kept at a minimum in all regional and political systems. Instead, vote counts and outcome rulings performed better, suggesting that while votes are usually counted accurately, a broader democratic environment often fails.

Dr. Holly Ann Garnett, an honorary researcher at the UEA, highlighted the multifaceted nature of the election threat: “This report emphasizes that many aspects can threaten many aspects of election integrity from pre-election rules and election day to election day and outcome rulings.”

expect

Researchers stress that addressing these challenges requires targeted reform rather than broad gestures. “The nature of the problem varies across the country. This shows that the election is only as strong as the weakest part,” James concluded.

As democratic institutions face increasing pressure on the global scale, this comprehensive assessment provides a roadmap for strengthening the electoral system. The question remains whether political leaders will act on these findings before the decline of democracy becomes irreversible.

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