In honor of the 2024 US Presidential Election that took place on November 5th, I wanted to explore what elections look like in other parts of the world.
In the US, this current election was projected to be closer than ever. It was up to the swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia – to determine the next 4 years of our country. In the US, individual states can hold a lot of power. We use the Electoral College, meaning states with vast populations like Florida, Texas, New York, and California have more electoral votes and therefore more influence on the election. A state's electoral votes equal the sum of its senators (always 2) and its representatives in Congress, which is correlated to population. For example, California, with 52 congressional districts, has 54 electoral votes in total. Candidates need to earn 270 electoral votes to win the election.
In short, this process is pretty unique and can be pretty confusing. On the contrary, some other democracies have a simpler process. I took a look at some of the other elections in 2024 and figured out how their system compares to ours.
South Korea
This year, South Korea held its 22nd general election on April 10th. South Korea has a National Assembly that is similar to the United States’ House of Representatives or the United Kingdom’s Parliament. A majority of seats are needed to officially win, with elections taking place every 4 years. This year, the Democratic Party (DP) won a majority of the 300 seats in the National Assembly with 175 seats. Their opposing party, the People Power Party (PPP), won only 108 seats. A third party, the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) won 12 votes. The current President Yoon Suk Yeol, elected in 2022, faces new opposition as his opposing party won the National Assembly. This turn of events could conflict with President Yoon’s domestic and foreign policy.
Algeria
Presidential elections were held in Algeria on September 7, 2024. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune won a second term with 84.3 percent of the vote according to the Constitutional Court.
Earlier this year, an announcement was made saying that this year’s Presidential Election would be held in September instead of the usual month of December like the election prior in 2019. The President of Algeria is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate had received a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round would be held. In order to be listed on the ballot, candidates need signatures from 600 elected officials or from 50,000 members of the public. This election was administered by the National Independent Electoral Authority, which was established in 2019, but b. Before this, Algeria's Interior Ministry was in charge of elections. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of the National Liberation Front sweeped the votes over candidates Abdelaali Hassani Cherif of the Movement of Society for Peace and Youcef Aouchiche of the Socialist Forces Front.
Venezuela
Over 12 million citizens flooded the polls for Venezuela’s Presidential Election on July 28th. However, many political pundits have claimed the election was overtaken by massive fraud. By historic margins, the Venezuelan People chose former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez to bring about a new era of democracy and change to the governance of Venezuela. They exposed that current President Nicolas Maduro does not have popular legitimacy nor credibility with the Venezuelan people. Of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Maduro has been President since 2013, though in 2019, he also illegally claimed the presidency of Venezuela, despite global condemnation of a rigged election. These illegitimate election results are not new to Venezuela; even 5 years later, Maduro still wields his control of the National Electoral Council to announce fake election results, without any evidence to support his case. Though the Venezuelan People support Edmundo Gonzalez and he won the election by a vast majority, Nicolas Maduro is still the reason they live in fear. Maduro has directed baseless charges and intimidation at Edmundo Gonzalez, causing him to flee the country. The Venezuelan People are scared and worried for the future of their democracy.
Belgium
Belgium had its Parliamentary election this year on June 9th, with elections occurring every five years. Over 7 million people went out to the polls which resulted in a divided House of Representatives, consisting of over 16 different parties. The largest party was The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), led by Mr. Bart De Wever, winning 24 seats of the 150-member House. The Vlaams Belang (Flemish Nationalist) party, led by Mr. Tom Van Grieken, became one of two second-largest parties, winning 20 of the seats. The Movement for Reform Party (MR), led by Mr. George-Louis Bouchez, tied them with 20 seats. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s Open Vld party reduced its share of seats from 12 to 7, losing dramatically in this election. Coming in fourth and fifth place were the Socialist Party in Wallonia (PS) with 16 seats and the Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB*PVDA) with 15. This party shift is definitely an adjustment for Belgium after these past few years, but peaceful democracy will always prevail.
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