Year Ender 2024: Winners and losers in the 'super year' for elections
2024 was the year of the elections. At least 64 countries around the globe and more than half of the world's population went to the polling booths in 2024 to cast their votes, in the unprecedented year of elections.
2024: Year of elections
Many of these elections have long-standing ramifications, not just for the electorate but also for reshaping global geopolitics for years, if not decades, to come.
US Presidential election
The most significant election the world saw in 2024 was undoubtedly the US presidential election in November. Republican candidate Donald Trump made a triumphant return to the White House, in the single-most globally consequential election of 2024.
UK General election
Another major election that grabbed global headlines in 2024 was the UK general election. In the general elections held in July 2024, the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, were dealt a crushing defeat. The Conservatives, who had been in power for 14 years, experienced one of their worst electoral performances ever as the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, stormed into power.
2024 Lok Sabha election
2024 also saw the largest election in human history so far, as India went to the polling booths in seven phases, starting on April 19. Over 96.88 crore eligible voters made the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the largest electorate in the world. The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, retained power for a historic third term, though with a much lower majority than the party had hoped for.
Pakistan general election?
Pakistan also went to the polling booths in 2024, in February, to elect members of the 16th National Assembly. But the election was anything but fair. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, was not allowed to contest the elections, due to which its leaders appeared as independent candidates on the ballot.?
Despite this and alleged rigging by the military, PTI-backed independents defied the odds and emerged as the largest bloc. However, they were not allowed to form the government, and a last-minute coalition of PML-N, PPP, MQM and others was given the green light.
Election in Bangladesh
Pakistan was not the only South Asian country that had a troubled election in 2024. Bangladesh, which was until 1971 a part of Pakistan, also had its elections in 2024. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to vote in 2024 in a largely one-sided election on January 7. The Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, won the election for the fourth consecutive time with less than 10% of the eligible voters voting.
The main opposition, BNP, had boycotted the vote. Despite winning the vote, Hasina could not hold on to power for long, and she was forced to flee the country in August in the face of public protests.
Presidential and Parliament elections in Sri Lanka
Another Southeast Asian nation that voted in 2024 was Sri Lanka, first to choose the country's new president and then the Parliament.?
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential elections in September, and his National People's Power (NPP) or Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) won a landslide victory in the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections held on 14 November.
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