2020s in electoral politics refers to events and outcomes from elections all around the world, during the decade of the 2020s.
Africa
Algeria
Benin Presidential elections were held in Benin on 11 April 2021 to elect the President of the Republic of Benin for a five-year term. Incumbent president Patrice Talon was re-elected for a second term in office with 86% of the vote.
Burkina Faso General elections were held in Burkina Faso on 22 November 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly.2020 African election calendar EISA In the presidential elections, incumbent president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of the People's Movement for Progress was re-elected in the first round with 57.9% of the vote, avoiding the need for second round. The main campaign focus of the major presidential candidates was the growing insecurity in the country with the rise in terrorism and ethnic violence.
Burundi General elections were held in Burundi on 20 May 2020 to elect both the president and the National Assembly.Burundi's main opposition leader announces election bid Andalou, 18 November 2019 Évariste Ndayishimiye of the ruling CNDD–FDD was elected president with 71% of the vote. In the National Assembly elections, the CNDD–FDD won 72 of the 100 elected seats. The Conference of Bishops of Burundi issued a statement criticizing the transparency and freedom of the election process. The church deployed around 2,716 observers across Burundi's 119 municipalities. The conference's observers witnessed intimidation and expulsion of opposition observers from the polling and vote counting stations. The church condemned the ruling party for engaging in national election fraud. The East African Community issued a statement saying that "The 2020 Burundi elections hold an iconic place in the history of the nation, marking this the first peaceful and democratic transfer of power. More significantly, the process was domestically driven through own funding. The peaceful conclusion of the electoral process will not only be a big win for the people of Burundi, but for the East African Community as a region."
Cameroon Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 9 February 2020.Cameroun - Législatives et municipales 2020: Selon ELECAM, aucun incident majeur «de nature à troubler le déroulement du scrutin» n'a été signalé dans le pays Cameroon-Info, 10 February 2020 The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement retained its majority in parliament, winning 139 of the 167 seats decided on election day. The ongoing Anglophone Crisis dominated the process, with supporters of Ambazonia calling for a boycott of the election. Ensuing violence resulted in a low turnout in the Northwest Region and Southwest Region, with separatists claiming that 98 percent of eligible voters had boycotted the election.Low Turnout Frustrates Election In North West, South West Regions, Cameroon News Agency, Feb 9, 2020. Accessed Feb 11, 2020.
Cape Verde Parliamentary elections were held in Cape Verde on 18 April 2021. The current prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva of the Christian democrat Movement for Democracy (MpD) party, won re-election after five years of government."Opposition returns to power in Cape Verde after 15 years" , Agence France-Presse, 20 March 2016. His main contender was Janira Hopffer Almada, of the moderate socialist African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). The two parties have been the dominant political forces in Cape Verde since its democratization, but several new parties were taking part in the election.
Comoros Legislative elections were held in the Comoros on 19 January 2020; in constituencies where no candidate received a majority, a second round was held alongside local elections on 23 February. The elections were boycotted by the main opposition parties, including the two largest parties in the outgoing parliament, the Union for the Development of the Comoros and Juwa Party, in protest at constitutional reform and political repression, The result was a landslide victory for President Azali Assoumani's Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros, which won 20 of the 24 elected seats.
Côte d'Ivoire Presidential elections were held in Ivory Coast on 31 October 2020. The election, boycotted by the opposition, saw the reelection of incumbent Alassane Ouattara. Several people were killed in clashes in Toumodi, as well as Tiébissou.
Djibouti Presidential elections were held in Djibouti on 9 April 2021. Incumbent president Ismaïl Omar Guelleh was re-elected for his fifth five-year term, having served in the role since 1999. Egypt
Ghana General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent president Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former president John Dramani Mahama said he would contest the results.
Guinea Parliamentary elections were held in Guinea on 22 March 2020 alongside a constitutional referendum,Guinea postpones legislative election and referendum Daily Nation, 2 March 2020Guinée: couplage du référendum constitutionnel avec les législatives du 1er mars RFI, 5 February 2020Guinée : Alpha Condé annonce le report des législatives et du référendum constitutionnel Jeune Afrique, 28 February 2020 after being postponed four times from the original date of January 2019.Invite au référendum : « le président a parlé au conditionnel », rassure Kassory Conakry Infos, 25 September 2019Guinea NDIGuinée : la Ceni fixe la date des élections législatives à la fin 2019 Jeune Afrique, 7 May 2019GUINEE – Elections législatives : La date du 28 décembre ne fait pas consensus au sein de la Céni Le Quotidien, 18 September 2019President approves February vote in turbulent Guinea Yahoo News, 12 November 2019 The 2020 Guinean presidential election resulted in a third term for President Alpha Condé, with protests against him resulting in at least 30 deaths according to the opposition.
Kenya
Mali Parliamentary elections were held in Mali on 29 March 2020, with a second round on 19 April. They were initially scheduled to be held on 25 November and 16 December 2018, but were moved to April 2019 and then to June 2019, before being postponed until 2020 by the Council of Ministers. The elections were marred by violence in the north and center of the country.
Incidents on April 19 prevented some people from casting votes, and on 30 April the Constitutional Court overturned the results in 31 districts, giving Rally for Mali, which is led by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, ten more seats than originally expected.Mali crisis: From disputed election to president's resignation Al Jazeera, 18 Aug 2020, retrieved 12 September 2020 Opposition parties led by Iman Mahmoud Dicko established the Mouvement du 5 juin - Rassemblement des forces patriotiques (June 5 Movement - Rally of Patriotic Forces) on 30 May, and thousands took to the streets in protest on 5 June.
Boubou Cisse was reappointed prime minister on 11 June, when he was instructed to form a new government. Tens of thousands of Malians protested again on 19 June, demanding the resignation of President Keïta. On June 20, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for new elections to be held.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Imam Mahmoud Dicko met on 5 July, but the opposition continued to call for civil disobedience to force Keïta's resignation and the dissolution of Parliament. Protests turned violent on 10 July. For the next three days, protesters in Bamako clashed with security forces, and security forces reportedly fired live rounds at the protesters, killing at least 11 and injuring 124.
Morocco
Namibia 2024 election
Nigeria
Seychelles General elections were held in Seychelles on 22–24 October 2020 to elect the President and members of the National Assembly. The National Assembly elections had been due in 2021, but in July 2020 were brought forward by President Danny Faure in order to hold them together with the presidential elections, a proposal supported by opposition parties.
The presidential elections were won by Wavel Ramkalawan of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), with the LDS also increasing its majority in the National Assembly, winning 25 of the 35 seats.
Somalia
South Africa
Tanzania General elections were held in Tanzania on 28 October 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly. The presidential election was won by incumbent John Magufuli of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party. On 24 October 2020 the opposition claimed that the government was interfering in the election by making it more difficult to accredit thousands of opposition electoral observers, whose job is to ensure that the election is fair. The opposition has also claimed that the National Electoral Commission, whose members are appointed by the president, have barred the challenger Lissu from campaigning while letting the incumbent Magufuli campaign. From 27 October, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) blocked several popular social media websites to restrict communication amid violence in the islands of Zanzibar, where dozens have been shot dead and tens have been injured by the police and other security forces. Tanzania electoral watch panel, USA State Department, Commonwealth, and European Union were very critical about the elections.
Togo Presidential elections were held in Togo on 22 February 2020.Togolese to vote in presidential election on 22 February 2020 Panapress, 6 December 2019 Incumbent president Faure Gnassingbé of the Union for the Republic (UPR) was re-elected for his fourth term with 71% of the vote in the first round.Togo President Gnassingbé wins re-election Deutsche Welle, 24 February 2020 His closest challenger was Agbéyomé Kodjo, a former prime minister and leader of the newly established Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development, who received 19% of the vote.
After observing the elections, ECOWAS determined that they were free and transparent, commending the population for its peaceful participation as an improvement from protests years prior against the long reign of the Gnassingbe family.Preliminary Declaration ECOWAS, 24 February 2020 However, sporadic internet shutdowns were recorded across the capital and other major cities, prompting both international watchdogs and opposition parties to question the results.
On 25 February Kodjo filed a petition at the Constitutional Court asking it to overturn the results. Three days later, he and Kpodzro called for public protests, resulting in the military surrounding their homes and the Ministry of Territorial Administration stating that protests would be illegal. Members of the National Assembly responded by accusing Kodjo of planning a coup. Tunisia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Azerbaijan Parliamentary elections were held in Azerbaijan on 9 February 2020.Azerbaijan to hold snap parliamentary election on February 9 Al Jazeera, 5 December 2019 They were originally scheduled to take place in November 2020, but were brought forward after parliament was dissolved in December 2019. Opposition parties accused President Ilham Aliyev of limiting their ability to campaign, and called for a boycott of the election. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party retained its majority, winning 72 of the 125 seats, although this was later reduced to 70 when results in two constituencies were annulled. The second largest party (the Civic Solidarity Party) won only three seats.
China On 23 October 2022, Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term of the paramount leader of China.
India