'Super year for elections' turns tumultuous for those currently in power

2024 saw a string of elections globally, with incumbents struggling, historic shifts in Africa and Europe, and firsts for women in leadership, writes Archis Mohan

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) dubbed 2024 as a “super year for elections,” with an estimated 3.7 billion electors across 72 nations slated to elect heads of state, heads of government, or local representatives by year’s end. Many political analysts described this as a “global election super-cycle”, spotlighting a historic convergence of elections in Nato member states like the US, France, Finland, Hungary, and the UK, nearly the entire Indian subcontinent, and numerous African nations. 

Data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation, indicated that 62 countries have completed their elections