Disputed elections becoming a global phenomenon, report finds

Voter turnout is diminishing around the world and the results of elections are increasingly being questioned, a report on the state of democracy said on Sept 17.

- 

Between 2008 and 2023, global voter turnout fell by 10 percentage points, from 65.2 per cent to 55.5 per cent, according to an annual report by International Idea, a Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation.

The problems that affect "young democracies" are also affecting "remarkably very old and consolidated democracies" in Europe and America, said Mr Kevin CasasZamora, secretary-general of Idea International.

Of the 173 countries covered by the think-tank, nearly half of them show "a very severe decline in at least one absolutely crucial element of democracy", such as the ability to hold credible elections or freedom of the press, he added.

According to the report, in the United States, three indicators have been down since 2015 - credible elections, civil liberties and political equality.