Global elections

People walk past a large poster of the movie Swatantra Veer Savarkar displayed outside a cinema hall in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Mar. 21, 2024. The movie, set to be released on Friday, is one of several upcoming Bollywood releases based on polarizing issues, which either promote Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s political agenda, or lambast his critics. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

As India’s election nears, some Bollywood films promote Modi politics by embracing Hindu nationalism

A cluster of Bollywood films based on polarizing issues that promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s Hindu nationalist agenda are coming out.

Presidential candidate Anta Babacar Ngom greets supporters during her electoral campaign caravan in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 11, 2024. Senegal’s only female presidential candidate may stand no chance of winning but activists say her presence alone is helping to advance a decades long campaign to achieve equality in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal votes Sunday in a presidential election that has fired up political tensions

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores flash victory signs as they arrive to the National Assembly for the annual presidential address, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 15, 2024. As the July 28 presidential election nears, Venezuelan government keeps arresting opponents allegedly tied to criminal plots. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

As election nears, Venezuelan government keeps arresting opponents allegedly tied to criminal plots

FILE - Algeria's President Abdelmajid Tebboune gives a press conference, in Algiers, Algeria, Sunday, 24, 2019. Algeria's presidential campaign is officially starting a week ago with five candidates vying to replace the longtime leader pushed out in April in an ongoing protest movement. Algeria has scheduled this year’s presidential elections for September 7, providing more than five months for first-term President Abdelmajid Tebboune to campaign for a second term to lead the oil-rich north African nation, his office said in a statement on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum, File)

Algeria sets election for September. The military-backed president is expected to seek a 2nd term

ADDS SECOND SENTENCE. FILE - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont speaks at a press conference in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy, Oct. 4, 2021. Puigdemont says that he will return to Spain for the first time since leading a failed 2017 breakaway bid if he has a viable chance to be restored as regional president following upcoming elections. Puigdemont is still a wanted man in Spain and hoping that a contentious amnesty bill that was crafted by Spain’s left-wing government to clear him and hundreds of other supporters successfully makes it through the Madrid parliament in the coming months. (AP Photo/Gloria Calvi, File)

Fugitive Catalan chief Puigdemont pledges he will return to Spain if he can be restored to power

People are reflected in a window of a hotel at the Davos Promenade in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

AI-created election disinformation is deceiving voters globally

UP NEXT: SLOVAKIA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

People gather to take part in a protest against the government, in Bratislava, Friday, March 15, 2024. Thousands of Slovaks have rallied in the capital to condemn a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to overhaul the country’s public broadcasting amid a wave of anti-government protests. (Jaroslav Novak/TASR via AP)

People gather to take part in a protest against the government, in Bratislava, Friday, March 15, 2024. Thousands of Slovaks have rallied in the capital to condemn a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to overhaul the country’s public broadcasting amid a wave of anti-government protests. (Jaroslav Novak/TASR via AP)

Thousands rally in Slovakia to condemn a government plan to overhaul public broadcasting

Thousands Slovaks have rallied in the capital to condemn a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to overhaul the country’s public broadcasting amid a wave of anti-government protests.

EARLIER SLOVAKIA COVERAGE

An ally of Slovakia’s populist prime minister is preparing a run for president

Slovakia’s new government led by populist Robert Fico wins a mandatory confidence vote

Populist Slovak lawmakers back a new law that abolishes an anti-graft prosecutor

More News

FILE - Demonstrators protest President Macky Sall's decision to postpone the Feb. 25 vote, citing an electoral dispute between the parliament and the judiciary regarding some candidacies in Dakar, Senegal, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. The Senegalese government has announced March 24, 2024 as the new date for the country’s delayed presidential election. (AP Photo/Stefan Kleinowitz, File)

Senegal’s government sets March 24 as the new date for the delayed presidential election

The Senegalese government has announced March 24 as the new date for the country’s delayed presidential election.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt holds his traditional red ministerial box as he leaves 11 Downing Street for the House of Commons to deliver the Budget in London, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Britain’s Conservative government announces tax cuts it hopes can lift its ailing election fortunes

British Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt is seeking to bolster spirits within his Conservative Party with a series of tax cuts that he hopes can turn the political tide ahead of a general election this year.

FILE - Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal Russian politician who had tried to run in next month's presidential election gestures while speaking at a meeting of the Russia's Central Election Commission in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Russia's Supreme Court upheld a ruling Monday, March 4, 2024, barring anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin from running in the country's upcoming presidential elections. In a statement on social media, Nadezhdin, a local legislator from a town near Moscow, said he would continue to appeal his case. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russia’s top court upholds decision barring anti-Ukraine war hopeful from presidential race

Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld a ruling barring liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin from running in the upcoming presidential election.

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi briefs the media on Friday's elections, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 4, 2024. While praising Iranians for withstanding "bad weather and continuous propaganda by the enemy," Vahidi said the vote saw 25 million ballots cast — a turnout of just under 41%. The lowest previous came in the last parliamentary election in 2020, which saw a 42% turnout.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Hard-liners dominate Iran parliamentary vote that saw a record-low turnout and boycott calls

Iranian hard-line politicians dominated the country’s vote for parliament. However, the election Friday also saw a record-low turnout.

Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters upon her arrival to her opening campaign rally at the Zocalo in Mexico City, Friday, March 1, 2024. General Elections are set for June 2. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

5 key issues at stake in the upcoming 2024 Mexican elections

Mexico is almost certainly about to get its first woman president. Whoever wins, there’s a lot at stake: migration, anti-drug cooperation, the intertwined economies of the U.S. and Mexico, Latin American populism and even the fate of democracy in Mexico.

FILE - Opposition lawmakers hold banners reading: "Stole the elections" during a Serbia's parliament constitutive session in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 6, 2024. Officials say a key vote for control of Serbia’s capital, Belgrade is to be rerun later this year. The announcement follows months of soaring political tensions over claims that the ruling populists of President Aleksandar Vucic orchestrated a fraud in the vote for Belgrade’s city assembly. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

An election for control of Serbia’s capital is to be rerun following opposition fraud claims

Officials say a key vote for control of Serbia’s capital, Belgrade is to be rerun later this year. The announcement follows months of soaring political tensions over claims that the ruling populists of President Aleksandar Vucic orchestrated a fraud in the vote for Belgrade’s city assembly.

A woman fills out her ballot as a policeman walks past during the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 1, 2024. Iran held the country's first election since the mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, with questions looming over just how many people will turn out at the polls. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Hard-liners are leading in vote count in Iran’s parliamentary election after record-low turnout

Iran’s hard-liners are leading in an initial vote count in the capital Tehran following a record-low turnout in an parliamentary election.

Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters upon her arrival to her opening campaign rally at the Zocalo in Mexico City, Friday, March 1, 2024. General Elections are set for June 2. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

Mexico’s presidential candidates promise security or continuity as campaigns officially begin

Tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in a violence-torn Mexico state while even more did so in Mexico City’s central square as the country’s leading presidential candidates officially kicked off their campaigns.

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak listens to Amanda Pritchard Chief Executive of NHS England speaking at a press conference at No 9 Downing Street about the British National Health Service, and a 15 year plan to boost employment in the NHS, in London, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool, File)

An election in the UK is likely this year, we just don’t know when. Here’s what to know

The United Kingdom is poised to hold its first election in five years in a country battered by the cost-of-living crisis, the fallout from Israel-Hamas conflict and deep divisions over how to deal with migrants and asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from Europe on small inflatable boats.

FILES - This combination of two file photos shows Xochitl Galvez, at left, arriving to register her name as a presidential candidate on July 4, 2023 in Mexico City, and at right, Claudia Sheinbaum at an event that presented her as her party's presidential nominee on Sept. 6, 2023 in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, Files)

Mexico is about to have its biggest election ever. Here’s what to know

Campaigning formally starts on Friday for the biggest election in Mexico’s history. Voters will choose the country’s president, along with the 628 seats in Congress and thousands of local posts _ more than 20,000 positions overall.

A woman casts her ballot during the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 1, 2024. Iran held the country's first election since the mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, with questions looming over just how many people will turn out at the polls. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian parliament vote, first since 2022 mass protests, sees a low turnout despite government push

Iran has held its first parliamentary election since mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws after the death of Mahsa Amini, apparently drawing a low turnout amid calls for a boycott.

FILE - In this Monday, May 7, 2018 file photo, Vladimir Putin enters to take the oath during his inauguration ceremony as Russia's new president in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. With most opposition figures either in jail or abroad and many independent media outlets blocked, the Kremlin maintains a tight control over the country's political system and the vote is all but guaranteed to see President Vladimir Putin, 71, cement his place in power until at least 2030. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

What to know about Russia’s presidential election, set to give Putin another six-year term

With most opposition figures either in jail or abroad and many independent media outlets blocked, the Kremlin maintains a tight control over the country’s political system.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez shows the signed document that agrees on varios presidential election dates to propose to the National Elections Council (CNE), at the end of the signing ceremony at the National Assembly, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Venezuelan government, allies and other groups propose more than 20 dates for presidential election

A proposal meant to guide electoral authorities in setting the date for Venezuela’s presidential election includes more than 20 potential options ranging from as soon as mid-April through early December.

Serbian outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic speaks during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. The final international report about a tense early vote last December in Serbia concluded on Wednesday that the election was held in unjust conditions and "marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources." Outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Wednesday accused opposition groups and independent media of creating a "false narrative" about the alleged election fraud with an aim to destabilize the country. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

An international monitoring mission says Serbia’s election was held in unjust conditions

A report by international monitors says Serbia’s recent disputed election was held in “unjust conditions” in part because of the president’s involvement and systemic advantages for the ruling party.

FILE - Demonstrators protest President Macky Sall's decision to postpone the Feb. 25 vote, citing an electoral dispute between the parliament and the judiciary regarding some candidacies, in Dakar, Senegal, on Feb. 9, 2024. A national dialogue panel in Senegal proposed holding elections in early June, the first proposed new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year. (AP Photo/Stefan Kleinowitz, File)

Senegalese leaders propose June elections after court rejects president’s 10 month delay

A group of Senegalese civic and religious leaders have proposed holding elections in early June, the first new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year.

Iranian women listen to their country's national anthem as one of them waves the national flag during an election campaign rally ahead of the March 1, parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Iran is holding parliamentary elections this Friday, yet the real question may not be who gets elected but how many people actually turn out to vote. Separately, Iranians will also vote on Friday for members of the country's 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an eight-year term on a panel that will appoint the country's next supreme leader after Khamenei, 84. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Many in Iran are frustrated by unrest and poor economy. Parliament elections could see a low turnout

Iran is holding parliamentary elections this Friday, yet the real question may not be who gets elected but how many people actually turn out to vote.

A municipal police officer stands guard in Maravatio, Michoacan state, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Two mayoral hopefuls in this city were gunned down the previous day within hours of each other, ahead of the June 2 national elections. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Two mayoral hopefuls of a Mexican city are shot dead within hours of each other

Two mayoral hopefuls in the Mexican city of Maravatío have been gunned down within hours of each other, as experts warn the June 2 national elections could be the country’s most violent on record.

FILE - Senegal President Macky Sall poses before an interview with The Associated Press at the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal, Feb. 9 , 2024. Senegal’s President Macky Sall said Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, that he will end his term in April as expected, but he didn't give a new date for the presidential election originally scheduled for Sunday. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal’s president says the postponed election will be held before the rainy season begins

Senegal’s President Macky Sall has told a national dialogue that elections will be held before the rainy season begins around July, and reiterated his commitment to leave office before his mandate ends in April.

In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko addresses the media after voting at a polling station, in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Lukashenko was believed a few years ago to be considering whether to lead the new body after stepping down, but his calculus has apparently changed, and he announced on Sunday that he will run in next year's presidential election. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)

Belarus’ election reinforces the authoritarian leader’s 30-year rule. Only loyalists could run

Belarusian authorities have announced preliminary results from parliamentary and local elections in which only candidates loyal to the country’s authoritarian leader were allowed to compete.

African National Congress supporters listen to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Mose Mabhida stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, during their national manifesto launch in anticipation of the 2024 general elections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

9 people have died in a road crash in South Africa after attending a ruling party election rally

Nine people have been killed in a road crash in South Africa after attending an election rally by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ruling African National Congress party.

FILE - Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos, left, and Luis Montenegro, leader of the Social Democratic Party, greet each other before an election TV debate in Lisbon, Portugal, Feb. 19, 2024. The center-left Socialist Party and center-right Social Democratic Party have alternated in power for decades. But they are unsure of how much support they might need from smaller rival parties to form a government after the March 10 vote. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

Corruption scandals cast a shadow over Portugal’s early general election and may favor populists

The official two-week campaign period before Portugal’s early general election has begun. The country’s two moderate mainstream parties are once again expected to collect most vote but with the expected rise of a populist party potentially adding momentum to Europe’s drift to the right.

In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, right, presents flowers to an election commission official ahead of voting at a polling station, in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Lukashenko was believed a few years ago to be considering whether to lead the new body after stepping down, but his calculus has apparently changed, and he announced on Sunday that he will run in next year's presidential election. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)

Belarusians vote in a tightly controlled election as the opposition calls for its boycott

Tightly controlled parliamentary and local elections in Belarus are set to cement the hard-line rule of the country’s authoritarian leader, despite a prominent opposition leader’s call for a boycott.

African National Congress supporters, one holding a portrait of Nelson Mandela, gather at the Mose Mabhida stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, for their national manifesto launch in anticipation of the 2024 general elections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Why South Africa is facing a turning point in May’s national election and who the major players are

Polls suggest South Africa faces a historic turning point in a national election in May. The ruling African National Congress could lose its majority for the first time having transformed from a liberation movement to a governing party at the end of apartheid in 1994.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, centre left, is greeted by African National Congress supporters as he arrives at the Mose Mabhida stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, for the ANC national manifesto launch in anticipation of the 2024 general elections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

South Africa’s ANC launches election manifesto as president highlights party’s achievements

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has highlighted the achievements of his ruling African National Congress, which has ruled the country for all of its 30 years of democracy, as it heads into a tight race in May’s election.

FILE- Leaders from the opposition INDIA alliance raise their hands together in a show of unity during a protest rally against the suspension of more than 140 lawmakers from the parliament, in New Delhi, India, Dec. 22, 2023. Last year more than two dozen opposition parties in India came together to take on Narendra Modi, one of the country's most popular prime ministers in generations. But the broad alliance, beset with ideological differences and personality clashes, is cracking at a crucial time, just months before the country votes in a national election. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

The opposition alliance that aimed to oust Modi appears to be cracking just before India’s elections

India’s beleaguered opposition parties, which are beset with ideological differences and personality clashes, joined hands last year to unseat popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defeat his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral juggernaut.

FILE - Senegal President Macky Sall poses before an interview with The Associated Press at the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal, Feb. 9 , 2024. Senegal’s President Macky Sall said Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, that he will end his term in April as expected, but he didn't give a new date for the presidential election originally scheduled for Sunday. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal’s president says he’ll leave office in April, but gives no date for elections

Senegal’s President Macky Sall says that he will end his term in April as expected, but he has not given a new date for the presidential election originally scheduled for Sunday.

A woman walks past electoral posters of candidates for the March 1, parliamentary election, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Candidates for Iran's parliament began campaigning Thursday in the country's first election since the bloody crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran starts first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody

Candidates for Iran’s parliament have started campaigning in the country’s first election since the 2022 crackdown on nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was detained for allegedly violating the strict headscarf law.

Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal Russian politician who is seeking to run in the March 17 presidential election, center, enters the Russia's Supreme Court for a hearing which is considering his complaint against the signature collection procedure, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian court rejects liberal politician’s appeal contesting his removal from presidential race

A liberal Russian politician has lost another appeal against election officials’ decision to bar him from running in next month’s vote in which President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win another six-year term.

In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks in Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Lukashenko alleged that Western countries have sought to foment mass protests after the Feb. 25 parliamentary elections to destabilize Belarus. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)

As Belarus votes in tightly controlled elections, its leader accuses the West of fueling unrest

The authoritarian leader of Belarus has accused the West of trying to foment protests during parliamentary and local elections this month in order to undermine his rule, while the country’s opposition leader-in-exile has called for a boycott of the vote.

FILE - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses members of the defence force during the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the highly anticipated national election will be held on May 29. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

South Africa sets May 29 elections that could be the most pivotal since apartheid ended

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the highly anticipated national election will be held on May 29.