STOCKHOLM, Sept 17 (Askume) – Low voter turnout and increasingly disputed results around the world are threatening the credibility of elections, an intergovernmental monitoring agency warned on Tuesday, with its free and fair elections sub-index recording its biggest ever drop.
2023 will mark the eighth consecutive year of net decline in overall democratic performance, the longest continuous decline since records began in 1975, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said in the report.
The watchdog’s Global State of Democracy Index is based on more than 100 variables and uses four main categories – representation, rights, rule of law and participation – to score performance.
The democracy category, a representative subcategory relating to free and fair elections and parliamentary oversight, had its worst year ever in 2023.
“This report is a call to action to protect democratic elections,” IDEA Secretary General Kevin Casas-Zamora said in the report. “The success of democracy depends on many factors, but it is not possible if elections fail.”
The think tank said government intimidation and irregularities in the electoral process, such as fraudulent voter registration and vote counting, are on the rise. The report also said the threat of foreign interference in campaigns, misinformation and the use of artificial intelligence add to the challenges.
The report also said global voter participation would decline from 65.2% in 2008 to 55.5% in 2023. Globally, in about 20% of elections between 2020 and 2024, the losing candidate or one of the parties rejected the results.
IDEA said democratic performance in the United States, where there is a presidential election this year, has improved over the past two years, but the assassination attempt on former President Trump in July highlighted ongoing risks.
“Less than half (47%) of Americans say the 2020 election was ‘free and fair,’ and the country remains deeply polarized,” IDEA said.
