Five Elections In 2024 That Will Shape Future World Order

2023 is undoubtedly volatile for countries across the globe, when countries choose their real friends and global leaders put their national interests first.

Countries in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have become more vocal about their country's interests, sidelining Western countries' priorities. And 2024 promises that developing countries will have more space on the globe.

In 2024 the world's eyes will be on South Asia amid elections in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, as well as Indonesia.

Sputnik India takes a look at why elections in these nations matter and how they will shape their countries' fate.

Bangladesh's 169 million voters are set to elect their 300 members of Parliament and the next government on January 7. The ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and are the two main political forces.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled the country since 2009 and is looking for a fourth consecutive term. The the BNP alliance has announced its decision to boycott the elections in the face of alleged crackdowns by the government on opposition parties.

Bangladesh's foreign ministry said that BNP supporters have engaged in "destructive acts to instil panic and exert undue pressure on the government to concede to their controversial demands".

Senior Awami League members have accused the US Ambassador in Dhaka of tacitly backing the pro-Islamist opposition.

A lower-middle income country, Bangladesh is strategically well located between China and India. Many experts suggest that the US wants to strengthen its position in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean for military, trade and natural resources purposes.

US interference can be seen in its May 2023 threat to restrict travel visas to Bangladeshis if elections do not meet Washington's definition of "free and fair." The US has now threatened to ban garment exports. Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) sector is the second largest in the world and is also a key revenue earner for the nation.

Pakistani elections will be held on February 8. The country is grappling with multiple problems, including dozens of terrorist attacks, economic woes and political instability.

The election will be months overdue — it was supposed to be held within ninety days of the dissolution of Parliament in August. The election commission delayed calling the vote, claiming that it needed more time.

Pakistan has had a total of 29 prime ministers since its independence in 1947. However, no prime minister has ever completed a whole five-year term of office.

The country of 230 million people has been embroiled in political turmoil for nearly three years. In April 2022, MPs ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan — now in prison facing some 180 criminal charges — after he refused to follow Western sanctions on Russia. The former cricketing star has already been convicted on one charge and sentenced to three years in prison.

The Pakistani rupee also hit its lowest in 2023. Inflation is running at 30 percent and power cuts are commonplace. The country sought a bailout from International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $3 billion "nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA)." The executive board of the IMF will finally meet on 11 January 2024 to consider the final approval to hand out the next $700 million tranche of its loan program to Pakistan.

Indonesia's elections will be held on Valentine's Day, 14 February. Although incumbent President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, remains popular, the constitution bars him from running for the third time.

The top three contenders remaining for the post are Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan.

Meanwhile, Jokowi's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka has also been shaking hands with the crowds and running for vice presidential election candidate.

36-year-old Gibran has been dubbed a 'nepo kid' by the opposition. However, he remains a favourite among the crowds.

Gibran's candidature ran into controversy after the Constitutional Court of Indonesia ruled he did not meet the minimum 40-year age requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

But the judges made an exception allowing officials who are at least 35 to run if they have been previously elected to office – allowing Gibran to become Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto's running mate ahead of the 14 February election.

Many experts said that the election will be "about the future of democracy and political culture in Indonesia."

The world's largest democracy is all set to choose a new government in a month-long election, scheduled for April-May.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking forward to its third consecutive win, but the Congress party is bidding to return to power.

Local opinion polls say that Modi's popularity remains intact across the country. Opinion polls also suggest that the BJP can easily win a parliamentary majority out of the total 543 seats.

Uncertainty looms over the US Presidential election 2024, which will be held on 5 November. The election looks almost certain t be a re-run of 2020's contest between Democrat candidate Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump. If Trump wins, he will become only the second US President to serve two non-consecutive terms; the first was Grover Cleveland.

The vote will be a verdict on Biden's presidency — especially his foreign and economic policies, including his decision to back Israel's assault on the Palestinian Gaza Strip which has killed more than 20,000 civilians.

Trump continues to challenge the mainstream narrative on climate change, question Washington's relationship with its NATO allies and threaten import tariffs on trading partners.

Whoever wins, the election will have serious global ramifications.