Year end 2024: A year of political changes and ongoing conflicts around the world. mint

Nearly half the world’s population, including India, will vote in elections in 2024, making it a consequential year for democracy. Elections in the world’s major democracies took place against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.

Leadership changes were seen in countries such as Germany, France and the United States. Sheikh Hasina faced exile in Bangladesh and Bashar al-Assad had to flee Syria, ending her and her father’s five-decade-long grip on power.

Overall, 2024 was a tough year for the incumbents. “Although every election is shaped by local factors, economic challenges were a consistent theme around the world. “This includes the US, where the economy was the top issue for registered voters – especially those who supported Trump,” a Pew Research Center report said.

While India held decisive parliamentary elections for the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got a weak majority.

In another high-profile election, the Democrats lost the presidency in the United States. Republican former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris in the election held on November 5.

Power in the United Kingdom shifted to the left. The Labor Party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority, ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

Regime change: Here is a look at the major elections held in the world in 2024 and the changes in power seen:

united kingdom

Political power in the United Kingdom shifted to the left. The Labor Party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority, ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

The elections were held on 4 July. The Labor Party won more than 400 of the 650 parliamentary seats, their largest majority in decades.

Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister of Britain in July 2024.

United States of America

In the US elections held in November, Republican Donald Trump defeated Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris. Republicans also won a majority in both houses of Congress. This was the third consecutive US presidential election in which the incumbent party lost.

Republican Party’s Donald Trump, who was the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, chose JD Vance, junior US senator from Ohio, as his running mate. Trump and Vance are scheduled to be inaugurated as the 47th President and 50th Vice President on January 20, 2025.

Sri Lanka

Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September. Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition won the presidency, defeating his rivals.

Dissanayake is a Marxist Member of Parliament from Colombo representing the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The 50-year-old defeated prominent names including outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who finished third with only 17 percent of the votes, and Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who got less than 3 percent of the votes in Saturday’s election. ,

Dissanayake’s victory is a significant development in Sri Lankan politics – the country is grappling with the aftermath of mass protests that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power in 2022. Sri Lankans voted for the incumbent, clearly reflecting the anger in the country.

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 14 November, two months after the presidential election. The NPP achieved a historic victory by winning 159 out of 225 seats.

Then there were countries where the outgoing parties remained in power but suffered significant losses.

Here are some prime examples:

India: The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won its third consecutive victory but was forced to form a coalition government. BJP’s numbers in the Lok Sabha reduced from 353 to 293.

Elections for the 543-member Lok Sabha were held from April-June 2024.

France: In France, a first round of contingent voting took place on 30 June and a second round on 7 July to elect all 577 members of the National Assembly. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the assembly after his coalition suffered a massive defeat in the European Parliament elections. The legislative race was dominated by three major factions: Macron’s pro-government group, the leftist New Popular Front (NFP), and the far-right National Rally (RN).

The elections resulted in a hung parliament, with the National Rally winning the most seats but failing to win a majority. The government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier collapsed in early December in a vote of confidence over a cost-cutting budget. Macron named François Bayrou as Prime Minister of France in December.

South Africa: The African National Congress failed to win a majority of seats in the National Assembly for the first time since the end of apartheid.

Japan: The Liberal Democratic Party – which ruled the country for much of the post-World War II period – and its coalition partner, the Komeito, lost their majority in parliament.

other elections

bangladesh

Parliamentary elections were held in Bangladesh on 7 January. The elections for the 350-member Jatiya Sangsad faced criticism over fairness.

The ruling Awami League (AL), led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, secured a fourth consecutive term by winning 224 of the 300 seats contested. However, the election results were boycotted by major opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Accusing the government of suppressing opposition voices and creating an uneven playing field.

Following the election, Bangladesh saw widespread protests amid criticism from global leaders. The students’ agitation against job reservation escalated into a large-scale revolt in July and August 2024 and Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign. An interim government was established, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as chief advisor.

Pakistan

Elections for the National Assembly were held on 8 February. Voting was held after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ban on his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Since PTI was banned, many of its candidates contested the elections as independents, securing more than 100 seats and becoming the largest single group in the assembly.

However, PTI’s independent MLAs lacked the necessary coalition to form a government. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, emerged as the largest formal party with 75 seats, followed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54 seats. A coalition government was later formed by the PML-N and PPP along with smaller parties under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.