Democracy demands more than a vote

In 2024, more people will vote in elections than any time before. This week alone, some 400 million citizens of 27 countries will elect their representatives to the European Parliament. On Tuesday, the result of elections in the largest democracy - India - will be announced. There, more than 968 million people voted, some 150 million more than in 2019. The US elections in November will have a direct effect on the lives of all, as America affects political developments elsewhere, global trade, the efforts to alleviate the effects of the climate crisis. Other major countries in which elections have been held or are coming up are Indonesia (with more than 200 million voters), South Africa, Taiwan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

In our neighborhood, the municipal and regional elections in Turkey shook Recep Tayyip Erdogan's omnipotence. In North Macedonia, presidential and...