2024 Elections

"Senegal had long been seen as one of the most stable democracies in the region. It is the only country in mainland West Africa that has never had a military coup. It has had three largely peaceful handovers of power and until earlier this month had never delayed a presidential election". #Senegal #elections2024 #futureofdemocracy

"The groundbreaking artificial intelligence image-generating company Midjourney is considering banning people from using its software to make political images of Joe Biden and Donald Trump as part of an effort to avoid being used to distract from or misinform about the 2024 US presidential election". #2024elections #ai #misinformation

"Around half the world’s population, or some 4bn people, live in places that are holding elections this year. These polls will decide who governs over 70 countries. But together they also represent one of the biggest health assessments of democracy in history. For over a decade there have been fears that democracy as a political ideal is ailing, with governments betraying liberal values and authoritarianism becoming common". Read full article by the Economist here: https://lnkd.in/dNaUHR4S #2024elections

"With 99.4% of votes counted, Stubb had 51.6% of the vote to Haavisto’s 48.4%. Nearly half (about 46%) of voters who were permitted to take part in early voting did so, according to official data".

Are you feeling represented? #UKelections

Finland will be voting on a new President on the 28th of January. There are nine candidates: Pekka Haavisto and Olli Rehn are running as independents supported by at least 20,000 voters despite their long track records in party politics. Mika Aaltola is running as an independent after coming to public prominence through plentiful media exposure after Russia's assault on Ukraine in early 2022. Alexander Stubb is a former minister and Prime Minister who has now returned to politics, representing the liberal strand of opinion within his right-wing National Coalition Party. Pekka Haavisto is running for the third time after losing out for the Greens in 2012 and 2018. Jussi Halla-aho is a populist and former Finns Party chair with a fervent online following who is looking to leverage his hardline immigration stances to maximise his support. Olli Rehn has a long CV including ministerial and EU Commissioner posts, as well as a background in eastern Finland. Li Andersson is the Left Alliance leader who has said she wants to offer a left-wing alternative for voters. Jutta Urpilainen has taken time out from her role as EU Commissioner to run on the SDP ticket. She has previously led the party and served as Finance Minister. Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo is an MP, businessman and former presenter of the Finnish edition of "The Apprentice". In 2018 he defected from the National Coalition Party to form his own group — Movement Now. Sari Essayah is the Christian Democrat candidate. A former race-walker, she is presenting a conservative view on social issues during the campaign. Read full article by Yle here: https://lnkd.in/dCktnTbc #2024elections #Finland #Suomi

Eyes on Bangladesh today. #electionday #2024elections

The 2024 elections start today with Bangladesh. Some facts about Bangladesh : - Population: 170 million (2023) - Number of voters: 120 million - Capital: Dhaka - Language: Bangla (Bengali) - Religions: Islam (majority), Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity - Current Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina - Current ruling party: Awami League - Main opposition party: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Current status: Current prime minister has been in power for three consecutive terms and four overall and is running for another term which she is expected to win. Under her rule, Sheikh Hasina managed to lift millions out of poverty through sharp economic growth. Sheikh Hasina has developed a backing by many regional countries such as India, China and Russia. Opposition party has decided to boycott elections as they believe the elections will not be free and fair. Opposition has requested that the current government step aside and that a caretaker government oversee the vote. This request has been denied. There has been a crackdown on opposition in the past months, with thousands arrested. There is a fear of further violence following the elections and military has been deployed to the capital prior to the elections. More details in links in the comments.