A sign reading 'polling station' in bold black letters, backed by trees and cloudy sky representing 2024 election.

Angel Sun

It has been over six weeks, but the influence of the US 2024 election is lingering on peoples minds, social media and global politics.

The world is discussing how it will impact international relations across the globe, but it was not only Americans who voted in 2024.

This year, around 1.5 billion people – accounting for almost half of the world’s population – have or will cast their ballots to decide on the future of their nations. This historic election year would be a critical junction for over 50 countries and international politics.

Freeing the US of some airtime, here is a list of countries that have had a 2024 election worth our attention:

ROMANIA 

The Romanian presidential election, taking place on 24 November, is an important plot in the far-right resurgence in Europe.

Currently, Romania is ruled by the coalition of the leftist Social Democrats Party and the centre-right National Liberal Party.

Although they lead the opinion poll with 30 per cent and 21 per cent of support, they have been losing public support due to financial failure. Industrial actions surged last year to demand higher salaries, but the government struggled to afford the public spending.

It paved the way for the far right, including the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), to gain ground in Romania.

AUR usually ranks third and sometimes surpasses the Liberals in opinion polls. It was little known before 2020, but its anti-corruption rhetoric has attracted many voters. It is also anti-Ukrianian, opposes same-sex marriage, and calls for the Republic of Moldova’s unification with Romania. 

“Will AUR and Romania rise to be another far-right force in Europe?”

It is uncertain whether AUR’s candidate will win the election, but the public trust in the ruling coalition continues to weaken. On the 6thOctober, the Constitutional Court barred a politician from another far-right party from running the election.

Since the court is appointed by the president, politicians across the political spectrum and civil rights groups have condemned the ruling as a “serious turn towards illiberalism.”

The ruling parties are growingly criticised and the opinion polls are always fragmented. Will AUR and Romania rise to be another far-right force in Europe?

GHANA 

Let’s move from Europe to Africa.

Ghana is often applauded as a beacon of democracy in West Africa, a region that has been criticised as politically unstable beset with coups.

However, its general election on the 7th of December 2024 may result in violence as the second largest party – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – refused to sign a peace pact.

It is a longstanding tradition in Ghana for political parties to sign an agreement to commit to peace electoral processes under the National Peace Council’s supervision. Eight people were shot and killed by security officers in the Techiman South constituency during the 2020 national elections.

NDC accused the ruling party of not prosecuting the killers, so they rejected the peace pact. It is unknown whether the rejection will lead to another tragedy. 

“The coming election will be a crucial test of its democracy”

The Ghanese voters did not trust the government either. Citizens’ confidence in Election Commission, the election management body, has plummeted to the lowest level in two decades.

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is believed to manipulate the commission after it appointed a new chair and commissioners with NPP leanings in 2018.

Public mistrust further intensified followed by an alleged theft of biometric voter registration kits from the commission and its decision to limit first-time voters’ registration. The turnout and public reaction to the December election will be strong proof of their trust in the country’s voting system. 

Ghana is grappling with limited freedom of expression, poor gender equality and high inflation. The coming election will be a crucial test of its democracy.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka just witnessed a historic election on the 4th of November when the left-leaning coalition secured a landslide victory in the parliament.

Two months ago, the new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected. It is the first time a left-wing third-party candidate won a presidential election.

“Despite the uncertainty ahead, the election has reignited hope for changes”

National People’s Power (NPP), which Dissanayake heads, started to gain public support during the country’s biggest-ever economic crisis in 2022. Promising to reduce taxes, expand the welfare programme and tackle corruption, the party’s pro-poor campaign was their key to success.

In the parliamentary election, the leftist coalition got nearly 62 per cent of the vote and scored a two-thirds majority, proving they are no longer an “unelectable radical fringe group”.

While it will help Dissanayake implement radical political and economic reforms on an administrative level, the business sector is worried that leftist economic policies may disrupt Sri Lanka’s road to recovery. It is also difficult for the new government to live up to supporters’ expectations under such a precarious economic situation.

Despite the uncertainty ahead, the 2024 election has reignited hope for changes. 

JAPAN 

Japan, one of the strongest countries in East Asia, also recently had its parliamentary 2024 election. Unlike Sri Lanka, the new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling party suffered from a shocking loss.

His Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has ruled Japan for most of the post-war era, but this time it lost its sole majority in the lower house. It shows the public outrage over the financial scandal of the previous party leader not reporting over $3m in campaign funds and storing them in illegal slush funds.

 “Each election [shows] gaps in existing systems and the immense power of people”

It also indicates the party’s ultra-conservative stance as Ishiba retreated from previous support for a dual surname option for married couples and for legalising same-sex marriage.

How does the change in government composition affect the world?

As one of the strongest economies and the US’s major military partner in Asia, any changes in Japanese politics can significantly influence international relations. No political party won a majority in the parliament or was willing to form a coalition, so the new government is more polarised.

If Ishiba chooses to focus on national reform and soothe voters’ dissatisfaction, he may allocate more money to social welfare rather than national defence. If he cannot keep the promise made by his predecessors to increase defence spending, US-Japan relations may become unstable.

It may weaken Japan’s international profile and more importantly, add uncertainty to the already heightened Asia-Pacific hostility.  

The election of a country does not just affect national politics. Each election is an important lesson to the globe, showing gaps in existing systems and the immense power of people.

After this turbulent election year, what will 2025 look like?  

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Featured image courtesy of Phil Hearing on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license can be found here.

Second-year studying BA History at the University of Warwick. Come from Hong Kong, curious to learn about everything interesting :)

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