A new study has found that voters in 19 countries, including in three of the world’s largest democracies, are widely skeptical about whether their political elections are free and fair.

Voters in 19 countries, including in three of the world’s largest democracies, are widely skeptical about whether their political elections are free and fair, and many favor a strong, undemocratic leader, according to a study released Thursday.

The report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or International IDEA, concluded that “democratic institutions are falling short of people’s expectations.” The 35-member organization promotes democracy worldwide.

”It is past time that people’s perceptions are centered in conversations about the future of democracy; this analysis is a small but important first step towards that effort,” the Stockholm-based organization wrote.

The surveys had a margin of error hovering around 2-4% and the number of respondents in each country was around 1,500. The sole exception was the Solomon Islands, where the small population meant they had a representative sample of 526 people, IDEA said.

  • bambooEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    It is observable and well known that opinion polls in later voting states shift in line with results in earlier states. Basically, people don’t want to vote for a candidate they believe has already lost, and so there is a snowball effect where a candidate having a small lead in the first few states ends up having an increasingly large lead in later states, even if opinion polls from before the primary election began predicted other results. The US parties exploit this by ensuring states that favor their preferred candidates go first. If you don’t believe this, well there’s nothing else I can offer you and I hope you are content in your rosy world view.

    • EatATacoEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      I would be curious to see your evidence that this happens, not that I would be surprised. But how much does this account for? Remember, she crushed him. Right from the start. We aren’t talking about some narrow victory. And they were both in the same system, so he could have gotten a head start and she fallen off.

      Unless you have some quantifiable evidence that would overcome such a large deficit, then it’s really just believing what you want rather than what the evidence suggests. In other words, it’s not my world view being tainted by glasses.