2024 will be a key test for the health of democracy around the world. Analysis of significant elections in key regions, and what they might portend.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
2024 is an extraordinary year for elections around the world – India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and of course, the United States. A huge swath of the globe will vote in national elections. What might these elections say about the strength or frailty of democracy? We’re joined now by NPR correspondents from around the world. Eyder Peralta is in Mexico City, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, and Frank Langfitt, NPR’s global democracy correspondent, in Washington, D.C. Let me thank you all for being with us. Thank you.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Thank you, Scott.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Great to be here, Scott.
SIMON: Frank, let’s begin with a sense of the significance of this year and some of what you’ll be alert for.
LANGFITT: Yeah. I think this year, as you’re pointing out – it’s the biggest one for elections that anybody can remember. It’s at least 70 countries, billions of voters eligible. And it’s not just the numbers, Scott. It’s the context. This is coming when democracy has been in decline for the last 17 years. That’s according to Freedom House, a think tank here in D.C. You’re seeing more and more disinformation campaigns, the specter of AI. And I think what you hear is people are very nervous about the integrity of elections. And there’s also a concern that parties may win democratically and then turn around and actually try to undermine the democratic systems and the checks and balances in those countries. So I think people are going to be watching this year incredibly closely.
SIMON: Let me turn to you now, Diaa and Eyder. How do you see these issues in the part of the world you cover?
PERALTA: Well, look, I feel like the conversation in my patch has moved on from the mechanics of elections – first, because the bad guys have become super…
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