A Civic Circus: The Global Elections of 2024

By Lulu Kohler / Columnist 

Does it feel like you have been hearing more about elections this year than you are used to? Maybe it is because we are in the United States and are in the midst of two highly divided campaigns, but 2024 is also the year with the most democratic elections in history. So, welcome one and all to democracy in 2024! 

This year, in 64 countries and the European Union, over 49% of the global population has been called to vote on who they believe should represent them as leaders in our world. Let’s take a deeper look at some of these elections to see who is really demonstrating the spirit of democracy and who may just be using the title for brownie points.

One of the most notable elections of 2024 was held in the largest democracy in the world: India. 632 million voters came out to vote, making it the largest election held to date. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ruled India without much opposition for the past decade and has instituted many controversial laws in his time as Prime Minister. Modi’s strategy of self-important and assertive politics finally failed him for the first time this year. 

After barely winning the lower house by gaining assistance from other parties under the larger National Democratic Alliance, Modi has effectively been forced to consider how to rule under a coalition government in which his power relies on maintaining good relations with other parties. While it is uncertain how this turn of events will play out, this election is a prime example of democracy working in real time for the greater good of the people. 

Voters gathering in France to vote in this past year’s snap election. Photo Credit: AP News

Another interesting election to examine is the snap election held in France earlier this year under President Emmanuel Macron. Following the European Union’s parliamentary elections where Macron drastically lost to his opposition Marine Le Pen, he felt the need to call a snap election in the legislative branch. Marine Le Pen is the leader of the National Rally (RN), an extremist right-wing group focused on anti-immigration laws and prioritizing French power above all else. The RN’s policies oppose Macron’s Ensemble coalition party, which focuses more on strength in the EU as a whole and working to support European sovereignty in any way possible, including accepting immigrants. 

Macron’s goal with the snap election was to test the loyalties of the French people with an election at home that would directly affect their day to day lives. Although the RN was expected to sweep and dominate the votes, the election actually resulted in a hung government, with the power relatively divided between the left, centrists and the right. Now, Macron has appointed the conservative party head Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister, who has composed the most right-wing cabinet in a long time. Macron has one more year as president, and although he will still hold power over French foreign affairs, France has turned a new leaf for domestic relations for the next few years.

While there have been plenty of fascinating and fair elections this year, Venezuela’s presidential election fell short of the international standard of democracy. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president since 2013, ran again for another term against Edmundo Gonzalez. On July 28th, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced Maduro’s win, having received 51% of the nation’s vote. 

The issue lies when on July 29th, the Carter Center, which verifies the authenticity of international elections, called for the Venezuelan government to release the voter data, and they refused. The government instead released statements that there had been cyber attacks that limited their ability to access the votes, which are tallied through digital ballots. The stories of these cyber attacks, however, didn’t line up, as some officials claimed it was an attack on a data center in Europe while Maduro himself said it had been schemed by Elon Musk. Regardless, these discrepancies lead to distrust in Maduro’s administration, but he cannot be removed due to the fact that most authorities in Venezuela are loyal to him and his party. After lying about his election results and utilizing a corrupt government to establish himself, Maduro is the perfect example of false democracy in 2024. 

The world is filled with dozens of different governments, and even within the same system, there are still differences in how each country rules their people. Of course, we could spend hours discussing the ins and outs of every election held this year, but alas there is only so much time to spend discussing the marketing strategies of Kamala HQ and yet another rigged election in Russia. I hope you have learned something about somewhere, and stay tuned for some more global news sometime soon.