International Elections 2024: What You Need to Know
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Billions of people — roughly half the world’s population — will cast ballots in local, regional, legislative and presidential elections in the coming year.
Some of the races offer a chance for nascent democracies to take hold, while others will merely strengthen entrenched regimes. But in an era of political upheaval, any one of them could add to heightened geopolitical tensions.
From Mexico to India, Russia to South Africa, Venezuela to Sudan, more than 80 countries are gearing up for elections or have already begun holding them.
Already it is clear that threats to democracy abound, and not just in countries with checkered election histories.
This year, even robust democracies are on the ropes, grappling with voter apathy, efforts to suppress opposition groups, and the spread of sophisticated disinformation campaigns.
Below are some of the most important races to keep an eye on.
Upcoming Elections
June 30
Iran will hold a special election to replace former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
June 30
President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise call for new elections in France’s lower house of Parliament has ushered in a period of deep political uncertainty in France.
July 4
Polls suggest that the Conservative Party, which has held power for 14 years, may be on course for a significant loss against the left-wing Labour Party.
July 15
President Paul Kagame led Rwanda out of the genocide, but has since dominated the country like a colossus. He is running for a fourth term after winning three elections with more than 90 percent of the vote.
July 28
The elections follow negotiations with the United States to put the country back on a democratic path, but with the top opposition candidate banned from running, it is doubtful the race will be free and fair.
Date TBD
Austria
These elections for the lower house of Parliament will be closely watched as a test of the strength of the far-right Freedom Party.
October
Lithuania
The dominant party in the current coalition government, the Lithuanian Christian Democrats, a center-right group, has been faring poorly in opinion polls and could lose out to the social democrats.
Nov. 5
A rematch between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump adds another layer of uncertainty to the global political landscape.
Likely November
Sri Lanka
The country is holding its first presidential election since a popular uprising toppled the government in 2022.
Past Elections
June 9
Voters handed a victory to a conservative Flemish nationalist party, disproving polls that had predicted a sweep to first place by Flemish secessionists.
June 6-9
Voters wreaked havoc on French and German politics and rewarded hard-line nationalist parties in a number of countries. Still, the radical right-wing wave did not fully materialize; the center of E.U. politics held.
April 19-June 4
Narendra Modi will take up a third term as prime minister, but the Parliament election was closer than expected, forcing him to rely on coalition partners that don’t share his Hindu nationalist agenda.
June 2
Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, won her nation’s elections in a landslide victory that brought a double milestone: She became the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to be elected president of Mexico.
May 29
The African National Congress received less than 50 percent of the national vote for the first time since gaining power three decades ago, setting the nation on an uncharted course.
May 6
President Mahamat Idriss Déby was declared the winner in a result many analysts saw as being masterminded by a supposedly transitional government that never had any intention of relinquishing power.
May 5
Panamanians elected a former public security minister as their next president in the culmination of an election cycle that was embroiled in political turmoil.
April 17
A far-right party emerged as a potential kingmaker in Croatia after the governing conservatives fell short of winning enough seats to form a new government.
April 10
South Korea’s president was pushed to the verge of being a lame duck, giving the opposition one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in recent decades.
March 23-April 6
The victory for an ally of Slovakia’s populist prime minister strengthens Central Europe’s ties to Moscow.
March 24
A young political outsider backed by a powerful opposition figure won Senegal’s presidential election in a surprise victory only 10 days after being released from jail.
March 17
There was little doubt that Vladimir V. Putin would be declared the winner. But the presidential election carried added significance as the first since the invasion of Ukraine. And when the stage-managed vote was over, Mr. Putin had secured his fifth term.
March 1
Iranian officials urged people to turn out for the first general vote since an uprising swept across the country in 2022. It didn’t happen. In what was viewed as an act of protest, many stayed away from the polls, with the turnout in Tehran estimated to be as low as 11 percent.