Four South Asian countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan – are set to hold crucial elections this year, most of which are expected to re-elect incumbent leaders back to power and solidify their political standing.
Bangladesh
held its general elections on Jan. 7, handing over incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina her fourth straight and overall fifth term. Her victory had been seen as a
foregone conclusion, but election day itself was boycotted by opposition parties due to the perceived vote-rigging in favor of Hasina.
Meanwhile, South Asia's youngest democracy Bhutan, which transitioned to a democracy from a monarchy 15 years ago, will be holding its general elections on Jan. 9. These polls will be held amid widespread unemployment that has sent “record numbers” of young Bhutanese to migrate in search of better opportunities.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will be holding its legislative election on Feb. 8 for its 16th national assembly. However, there have been moves from lawmakers to
delay the elections due to a possible low voter turnout in cold areas as well as safety concerns by political leaders amid a rise in violence.
India will be conducting its general elections in
April or May 2024 with current prime minister and controversial strongman Narendra Modi
confident that he will once again emerge a winner. Observers believe that Modi’s
continued popularity, despite a “
rapid deterioration of human rights protections in India” under the strongman’s watch, according to Amnesty International, could mean that the outcome of this year’s polls will largely be in his favor.
Democracy watchdog International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance has
noted that while all countries in South Asia are democracies, they all have weak democratic structures and pervasive corruption. The lack of diverse political representation continues to reduce democracy to an “occasional ritual for electorates manipulated by powerful groups.”
While the holding of regular elections gives people the opportunity to register their desired form of government, as noted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in South Asia, these elections are held amid “
deepening challenges to liberal democracy.”