Half of the world will hold elections in 2024 when the citizens of approximately 30 countries will elect a president, including some of the most influential global players.
The upcoming election that is talked about the most is certainly the one in the United States (U.S.), in which Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump will enter a political rematch.
Biden-Trump rematch
Tens of millions of Americans will elect the 60th president of the U.S. on November 5th in a contest that could keep incumbent Joe Biden in power until he is 86.
Still, poll after poll shows most voters think the gaffe-prone Democrat is too old to be commander-in-chief, despite the fact that his rival, former President Donald Trump, is making similar mistakes at 77. Trump enters the race despite multiple criminal trials.
Putin’s opponents in custody
Vladimir Putin has been Russia’s leader for the past 23 years. In 2020, he amended the constitution to allow him to remain in power until 2036, potentially allowing him to rule longer than Joseph Stalin.
With the war in Ukraine being used to imprison or silence dissidents and opponents, there is little chance that anyone will stand in his way of securing another six years in power in the March elections.
His longtime enemy, Alexei Navalny, is serving a 19-year sentence in a strict penal colony. Another potential opponent, Ukrainian war veteran Igor Girkin, announced his intention to run, but he was also imprisoned, indefinitely.
India’s Prime Minister Modi enjoys unwavering support
Nearly one billion Indians will be called to the polls between April and May when the world’s most populous nation goes to the polls in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist BJP party seek a third term.
Modi’s political career and success have been built on the support of India’s billion-plus Hindus and, critics say, stoking hostility toward the country’s large Muslim minority.
Despite the crackdown on civil liberties on his watch, he heads into the polls as the clear favorite, and his supporters credit him with boosting his country’s standing on the global stage.
Mexico’s first female president?
Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is running on behalf of the Morena party to replace outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Her opponent Xochitl Galvez was elected to represent the opposition coalition, the Broad Front for Mexico. A young governor from the state of Nuevo Leon, Samuel Garcia, also recently joined the race. Early polls show Sheinbaum has a strong lead.
European Union (EU) test for populists
In the world’s largest transnational elections in June, more than 400 million eligible voters from 27 EU countries will elect 720 members of the European Parliament.
The vote will be a test of support for right-wing populists, who have the wind at their backs after the victory of Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam, anti-EU PVV Freedom Party in the recent Dutch election and last year’s victory of far-right Giorgia Meloni – the right-wing Brothers of Italy.
Hailing Wilders’ victory, French MEP from the National Rally, Jordan Bardella wrote on Facebook: “Give us June 2024!”, Klix.ba reports.
Photo: A.L./Klix.ba
