The democratic deterioration experienced by several countries in recent years has been reflected in the quality of elections, materializing in the fact that: there are no equal conditions for all political actors; on the contrary, the judicial persecution of opponents inhibits their participation in the elections, combined with the use of state resources in favor of the ruling party, generating a major disadvantage for the opponents.
Furthermore, weakening electoral authorities is the way to reduce their autonomy and independence in decision-making. The pressure often begins with the budget and manipulation of the appointment of its members.
On the other hand, there is a lack of transparency in the handling of information, as well as the concealment of data, the most extreme being the opacity in the transmission and dissemination of results, which is used to avoid scrutiny by the media and citizens. Another common practice is the change of rules to favour those in power. Finally, there is the constant search to restrict the exercise of political and electoral rights, such as the right to vote or to be voted for, mostly by those who are in favour of the opposition.
The cherry on the cake has become misinformation and fake news, which have become common mechanisms to confuse and deceive citizens, often driven by official discourse. To all this, we must add the restrictions on electoral observation, both national and international.
It must be said clearly: an election lacking the minimum democratic elements cannot be considered a faithful reflection of the popular will.
It is through elections that the government is renewed, but we are also seeing how elections are used to illegally perpetuate rulers or to construct government hegemonies that seek to have absolute control over the state apparatus. All in order to protect under the cloak of democracy the illegalities based on which elections are carried out that in reality only seek to be screens to perpetuate authoritarianism or dictatorships.
We live in times when democratic disenchantment is used to justify abuses in the exercise of power and justify them with popular support through elections that are questionable from a democratic point of view. The path of imposition is always easier than that of respect for democratic values and human rights.
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Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.
