The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance noted that its sub-index for free and fair elections recorded the largest decline ever in 2023.
The Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance warned that “low voter turnout worldwide and increasing disputes over results ‘threaten the credibility’ of elections.”
The foundation said in a report: “2023 was the eighth consecutive year of net decline in overall democratic performance, representing the longest streak of declines since records began in 1975.”
The foundation pointed out that it “bases its indicators of the global state of democracy on more than 100 factors, and uses 4 main categories to classify performance: representation, rights, rule of law, and participation,” adding: “The democracy category related to free and fair elections and parliamentary oversight, which is a subcategory of representation, witnessed its worst year ever in 2023.”
“This report is a call to action to protect democratic elections,” said Kevin Casas Zamora, the foundation’s secretary general, in the report. “The success of democracy depends on many things, but that becomes absolutely impossible if elections fail.”
“Practices such as intimidation and irregularities in the electoral process, such as manipulation of voter registration and vote counting, are on the rise,” the foundation said, adding that “the potential for foreign interference, disinformation and the use of artificial intelligence in election campaigns is ‘exacerbating the challenges.’”
“Global voter participation fell to 55.5 percent among eligible voters in 2023, from 65.2 percent in 2008, and globally, in nearly 20 percent of elections held between 2020 and 2024, one of the losing candidates or parties rejected the results,” Reuters reported.
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2024-09-20 08:43:31