Shane P. Singh
Compulsory voting boosts turnout but has also negative consequences, such as increasing invalid voting. Furthermore, it gives voters, including newly enfranchised youth, few opportunities to express discontent or disinterest. Shane P. Singh, Carolina Plescia and Sylvia Kritzinger argue that we could solve this by introducing a 'none-of-the-above' (NOTA) option Read more
Pelin Ayan Musil
In the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, Turkish opposition parties suffered catastrophic defeat. Several factors contributed to their surprise victory in the recent local elections. Pelin Ayan Musil and Sultan Tepe argue that shifting from alliance to party-centred competition gave opposition parties a striking advantage – and laid bare the vulnerabilities of President Erdoğan’s political strategies Read more
Collins Molua Ikome
Collins Molua Ikome writes that the political and electoral landscape in Cameroon makes it impossible to defeat the ruling CPDM party in an election. Paul Biya's regime is exploiting the Anglophone conflict to consolidate power. A potential military coup in Cameroon is, however, unlikely Read more
Werner Krause
Werner Krause and Christina Gahn argue that we need to pay more attention to how the media communicates the results of opinion polls to the public. Reporting methodological details, such as margins of error, can alter citizens’ vote choices on election day. This has important implications for elections around the globe Read more
Matthew E Bergman
Recent elections in several countries have produced inconclusive outcomes. This has resulted in extended periods of bargaining between parties to determine the next government. Matthew E Bergman, Hanna Bäck, and Wolfgang C Müller argue that contrary to conventional wisdom, long bargaining periods might actually be a constructive investment in future productivity Read more
Carl Henrik Knutsen
Billions of citizens will cast their vote in 2024, some in democratic and others in autocratic elections. Some of these elections, writes Carl Henrik Knutsen, could solidify autocrats’ hold on power. Others might help dethrone them – and thus open up potential avenues for democratisation Read more
Lisa Janssen
Accepting electoral defeat is essential for democratic stability. Yet, amid the political polarisation that followed the storming of the US Capitol and similar events in Brazil, losers’ consent became harder to obtain. Using case studies from UK elections, Lisa Janssen explains how polarisation influences citizens’ responses to election results Read more
Gift Mwonzora
Can digitalisation prevent election tampering in Zimbabwe? New technologies certainly have the potential to improve the conduct and management of elections. But, as Gift Mwonzora argues, without concomitant political will and adherence to electoral laws, digitalisation does little to enhance electoral integrity and democracy in (semi-)authoritarian regimes Read more
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