In 2024, people voted in countries that were home to almost half the world’s population. The votes took place at a time of global unrest, with conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, and cost-of-living crises in many countries after the COVID-19 pandemic rippled out into supply chain shortages and high inflation.
From India to Ireland, the UK to Uruguay and Senegal to South Africa, voters went out to do their civic duty. People lined up in rain or scorching sunshine, some draping themselves in national flags or wearing shirts or even masks bearing the face of their preferred candidate.
Many of the elections were disputed and some sparked angry protests from those who felt their voice had not been recognised. Observers said the elections in Mozambique, for example, were not free and fair. The Opposition in Venezuela produced a vote tally that differed from the official one. In Algeria, the incumbent won 95% of the vote and in Indonesia, protesters clashed with police over proposed changes to election law.
Also Read | Yearender 2024: Climate on brink
Nationalistic ideologies gained ground in elections in France, Romania, and Georgia, where the president called for protests after parliamentary elections that were marred by allegations of vote rigging.
In Russia – where opponents of President Vladimir Putin have been censored and imprisoned – Putin won a landslide vote, further cementing his power.
Elsewhere, incumbents fell as voters punished them for painful price rises. Britain’s Conservatives and Japan’s Liberal Democrats received a drubbing. In the United States, Republican Donald Trump beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the helm of the world’s biggest economy. Over the border, Mexicans voted in Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman ever to run the country. In India, a multi-stage election featured over 1 million polling stations, from remote corners of the Himalayas to far-flung forests deep in Nagaland. Narendra Modi won a third term as Prime Minister but saw his majority shrink. It was the largest election in history.
Women’s participation
It was deemed a “make or break year”, as around 1.5 billion people went to the polls in more than 50 countries, which held significant elections. Based on statistics from UN Women alongside current election updates, Women’s Agenda has calculated there are 30 countries where 31 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government. Just 20 countries have a woman Head of State, and 17 countries have a woman Head of Government. At the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. As authoritarianism is on the rise worldwide as well, national elections grappled with challenges involving voter participation, free speech, and electoral independence.
Major political events in India
The year 2024 has been very crucial as the Lok Sabha elections and polls in several key states, including Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir took place this year, which shaped up the political landscape of India and would continue to impact years to come pertaining to politics.
Lok Sabha polls
The General Elections 2024, held between April 19 and June 1, 2024, in seven phases, was one of the biggest events of the year. The results of the elections were quite shocking as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) failed to achieve the goal – ‘Abki Baar, 400 Paar’- set by the ruling coalition. Even though the NDA could not cross 400-mark, it retained power, enabling Narendra Modi to take oath as Prime Minister for the third time in a row. On the other side, the Opposition’s INDIA bloc fell to draw political fortune. The Congress managed to improve its tally from 52 seats to 99.
BJP in Odisha
The political scenario in Odisha in 2024 has been nothing short of dramatic, with significant shifts in party dynamics and the rise of the BJP despite the enduring popularity of then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The year witnessed BJP’s surge to power in Odisha, a state long considered a stronghold for the BJD. Prominent tribal leader Mohan Charan Majhi became the first BJP Chief Minister of the state. Majhi won the Keonjhar seat by over 11,000 votes this time. A seasoned RSS member, Majhi comes from a humble background. He was a teacher in Saraswati Sishu Mandir in Keonjhar’s Jhumpura before entering politics.
Rahul’s return to UP
In the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from two seats – Wayanad and Rae Bareli. He registered victory in both seats. Gandhi decided to keep the Rae Bareli constituency which was his family bastion. This was a big shift of Gandhi from South to North.
Kejriwal’s resignation
Arvind Kejriwal, who was adamant about not resigning from the post of Delhi Chief Minister, in a surprise move, stepped down September 17, paving the way for his party colleague Atishi to take over. Kejriwal after coming out from jail on bail in the excise policy scam case, vowed that he would accept the post after the people of Delhi give him a clean chit.
J&K elections
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election 2024 was a landmark as it came after one decade in the absence of special status to the state under Article 370, which was abrogated in 2019. In the election, Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) won 42 seats, making a resounding comeback. While the BJP won 29 seats, Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP reduced to 3.
Soren’s comeback
The year 2024 has been unprecedented for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The new year came with a rude shock for him as he was jailed for an alleged landscape in January. However, he later bounced back. Got bail and fought the election, defeating the Opposition BJP. He returned as Chief Minister as his party won 34 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024.
Priyanka’s electoral debut
Another member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut by winning the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-poll with an impressive 64.99% vote share.
Saini replaces Khattar
The Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the state, defying all the poll predictions in which pollsters claimed that there was strong anti-incumbency. BJP’s timely change of Chief Minister – Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar – and rationale ticket distribution worked in its favour.
Fadnavis returns as CM
Devendra Fadnavis returned as Maharashtra Chief Minister as a leader of the Mahayuti coalition. As the face of the BJP’s campaign in the Maharashtra Assembly election this year, his leadership has been widely acknowledged. After a disappointing result in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP’s tally in Maharashtra dropped significantly, Fadnavis once again focused his efforts on party consolidation. He played a crucial role in energising the party machinery in the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections, holding 75 rallies across the state to rally the party’s morale.
Trump Triumphs
Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin.Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. The election was held November 5. Trump, who was the 45th president of the US from 2017 to 2021, and JD Vance, the junior US senator from Ohio – defeated the Democratic Party’s ticket – Kamala Harris, the incumbent Vice President, and Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota.
Rise of Europe’s far-right
Frustrations with the political class have created opportunities for right-wing populists and other challengers to traditional parties and the political status quo. Several elections this year in Europe highlighted this trend: Right-wing populist parties, many of which campaigned on sharply anti-immigration platforms, gained ground in this year’s European Parliamentary elections.
Also Read | Yearender 2024: Climate on brink
Parties on the left and in the centre worked together to keep Marine Le Pen’s right-wing populist National Rally out of power in France in this year’s parliamentary elections. But Le Pen’s party nonetheless significantly increased the number of seats it holds in the National Assembly.
In early December, National Rally voted with New Popular Front, a coalition of left-leaning parties, to end the government of conservative Michel Barnier after just three months.
In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party won 29% of the vote in September elections – a higher share than any other party and its best-ever result. It is unlikely, however, that any governing coalition will include the party.
Three far-right parties had a strong showing in Romania’s December 1 parliamentary elections. Also, right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu received the most votes in the first round of the country’s presidential elections.
However, December 6, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first-round results after evidence emerged of substantial Russian interference in the election.
Portugal joined the list of European nations with a significant right-wing party following Chega’s success in the March elections. The party won 50 out of 230 parliamentary seats, up from just 12 in 2022 and one in 2019.
Key polls at a glance
Russia
Amid war, Russia too held its presidential election. The country insists it’s a democracy but the results are forseeable. In March, Vladimir Putin claimed his fifth term in office.
South Africa
General elections were held in South Africa 29 May. The African National Con gress failed to win a majority of National Assembly seats for the first time since the end of apartheid.
Portugal
In March, the far-right Chega party quadrupled its Parliamentary representation to 50 members of Parliament, winning 18 per cent of the popular vote. However, the party won just two of Portugal’s 21 seats in the European Parliamentary elections in June.
Croatia
In May, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union party, confi rmed a coalition agreement with the far-right Homeland Movement following weeks of political uncertainty after an inconclusive Parliamentary vote.
France
Emmanuel Macron’s decision to hold snap polls in the summer backfired. Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance lost ground to both the left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally.
Germany
In September the far-right Alternative for Germany party won the most votes in regional elections in the eastern state of Thuringia and came second in a regional vote in Saxony.
Year of political transformations across continents
United Kingdom
This year also saw Parliamentary elections being held in the UK. The elections marked a dramatic political shift, resulting in a landslide victory for the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer.
Bangladesh
The 2024 Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, held January 7, marked a significant and contentious chapter in the nation’s political history. The ruling Awami League (AL), led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, secured a fourth consecutive term, winning 224 of the 300 contested seats. In July and August, a student protest against job reservations snowballed into a mass uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina to resign.
Bhutan
In the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, National Assembly elections were in two rounds – a primary round November 30, 2023, and a runoff January 9, 2024. These were the fourth parliamentary elections to be held in the country after it transitioned into a democracy in 2008.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, another of India’s neighbours, elections to the National Assembly were held February 8. The Pakistan PML-N, led by Nawaz Sharif, emerged as the largest formal party with 75 seats, followed by the PPP with 54 seats. A coalition government was subsequently formed by the PML-N and PPP, along with smaller parties, under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the presidential election held September 21 saw Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance defeating his rivals to secure the presidency. This victory signified a shift from the previous regimes and was seen as a response to widespread dissatisfaction with the ruling elite during the economic and political crises of recent years.
Indonesia
Moving away from South Asia, the year 2024 also saw the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia going for general elections. The presidential election was the focal point of the general elections, with Prabowo Subianto emerging victorious.
Taiwan
The East Asian nation of Taiwan also conducted pivotal presidential and legislative elections January 13. Lai Ching-te, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the presidency with 40 per cent of the vote, defeating Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Japan
General elections were held in Japan in October this year. The elections were held one month after Shigeru Ishiba took office as Prime Minister after winning a heated contest in September following the resignation of Fumio Kishida.
Mauritius
Another Indian Ocean island nation, Mauritius, went for Parliamentary elections this year. The elections saw the Opposition coalition, Alliance du Changement, led by former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, emerging victorious.