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LAST year saw the worst decline in credible elections and parliamentary oversight in almost half a century, driven by government intimidation, foreign interference, disinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence in campaigns, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea) says in a report published today.
The credibility of elections is threatened by falling turnout and increasingly contested results, according to the institute, which said that one in three elections are being disputed in some way.
The organisation says the average percentage of the voting-age population that cast ballots declined from 65.2 per cent in 2008 to 55.5 per cent last year.
“Elections remain the single best opportunity to end democratic backsliding and turn the tide in democracy’s favour,” said International Idea secretary-general Kevin Casas-Zamora.
“The success of democracy depends on many things, but it becomes utterly impossible if elections fail.”
The Stockholm-based organisation says its Global Report on the State of the Democracy, which measures democratic performance in 158 countries from 1975 until today, found that 47 per cent of countries have experienced a decline in key democratic indicators over the past five years.
Worldwide, nearly 20 per cent of elections held between 2020 and this year saw one of the losing candidates or parties reject the result and elections were decided by court appeals at the same rate.
The report says that 2023 was the worst year when it came to free and fair elections and parliamentary oversight.
In Africa, democratic performance has generally remained stable over the past five years, although the Sahel region was singled out, where there is a growing list of west African countries where the military has taken power.
The report says there has been widespread decline in Europe in aspects like the rule of law and civil liberties.
There were also significant declines during Taliban rule in Afghanistan and in Myanmar, where opposition to the military’s seizure of power in 2021 has turned into a civil war.
