Enemy of Democracy, Top 10 Cases of Election Fraud in the World

 Not long ago, a very unusual election counting method was a hot topic in Taiwan. As soon as the voting was completed, an accurate hand-count was conducted for each constituency on the spot, and the possibility of fraud was fundamentally blocked by writing down the number of votes meticulously using correct alphabet letters in front of observers who confirmed it, as if it were a class president election in our childhood.

 It was like that. With the emergence of various indirect methods such as electronic counting machines, pre-elections, and postal voting, there are many cases that constantly point out the possibility of fraud. Today, it is an enemy of democracy! Let’s take a look at the top 10 cases of election fraud around the world.

 

Free is not given for free. (Image by; Niek Verlaan from Pixabay)

 

1. Iran (2009)

 In the 2009 Iranian presidential election, then-current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner amid widespread suspicions of fraud, and this was an example of a quick and strong reaction from the public who felt unfair.

 When Ahmadinejad declared victory, opposition candidates and supporters immediately issued statements and raised questions, claiming fraud in the election process, and as fraud was detected here and there, large-scale protests broke out across Iran. Millions of Iranians took to the streets to express their anger and demand a recount and new elections, protests that turned violent as security forces cracked down on protesters.

 It was noted that social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube played a very important role in this denial. The words of the media and the so-called official channels, already subsumed by those in power, were busy hiding the corruption, and the awakened Iranian citizens used various social media to upload evidence such as videos and images to avoid government censorship and attract international attention. I tried to get it.

 Among the opposition candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi claimed widespread vote rigging and vote counting in support of Ahmadinejad, citing discrepancies in voter turnout and irregularities in the vote counting process as evidence of election fraud.

 In response to these allegations of fraud, including massive election rigging, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly supported Ahmadinejad's victory and dismissed calls for a recount or re-election, causing great anger and disillusionment among the public.

 Even though public protests and acts of civil disobedience continued for months and years, there was no change in Iran's sentiments, resulting in extreme polarization and division of public opinion that continues to this day.

 Iran suffered a missile strike from Israel today and fell into the vortex of another war. It was a bittersweet incident that made me feel like I was seeing the disastrous results brought about by the fraud in democratic elections.

2. Russia (2011)

 The 2011 Russian legislative election sparked massive protests and international criticism due to reports of ballot stuffing and manipulation in favor of the ruling United Russia party, but Putin scuttled the controversy by staging a confrontation with foreign powers. I threw it away. No one in the world seems to think that Russia is a fully democratic country.

3. Mexico (1988)

 Mexico's 1988 presidential election was won by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, suspected of vote rigging, sparking widespread protests and contributing to Mexico's chaos, second only to drugs. Mexico's drug cartels are famous for being stronger than the public authorities, and their politics are also not enough to protect intact democracy, so the phenomenon of only the powerless and weak citizens suffering and fleeing to the United States continues.

4. Zimbabwe (2008)

 The competition was between incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mugabe, who has been in power since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, has been in power for a long time. I was dreaming of. Accordingly, widespread intimidation, violence, and harassment were reported against opposition party supporters and civil society activists ahead of the election, and there were also reports of the ruling Patriotic Front suppressing those who expressed opposing views and manipulating the election process to favor them. It was revealed that state resources and even security forces were mobilized to do this.

 On March 29, 2008, election day, the presidential, national assembly, and local elections were all held together. Despite the above-mentioned unfairness in the election process, millions of Zimbabweans went to the polls amid tight security and heightened tensions and voted for their votes. Express your opinion through voting.

 What happened after voting was truly horrific. Allegations of widespread fraud and irregularities, including voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, manipulation of voter lists, and biased electoral commission practices, surfaced, prompting the MDC - the Movement for Democratic Change, the African Union, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). International observers, including , issued statements condemning the election as neither free nor fair.

 This delayed the release of the results for several weeks, during a period of horrific violence and human rights abuses, particularly targeting opposition supporters.

 Due to twists and turns and international criticism, it was not until September 2008 that SADC brokered a power-sharing agreement, which created a situation where political instability continued and the achievement of Zimbabwe's desire for democracy became more distant. .

5. Ukraine (2004)

 The 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, known as the Orange Revolution, was a pivotal moment in Ukrainian history, with widespread allegations of election fraud and a peaceful popular uprising against the government.

 The 2004 election pitted Viktor Yanukovych, the incumbent prime minister with close ties to Russia and the support of outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, against opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who advocated closer ties with the European Union. From the beginning, this confrontation was played out as a confrontation between Russia and the West, with the West expressing concern about the bias of the biased and narrow-minded media and predicting that there would be systematic election fraud.

 In the October 31, 2004 election, initial results showed Yanukovych winning by a narrow margin, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reported through international observers that there were widespread irregularities and fraud, including multiple voting, ballot manipulation, and voter intimidation. It was mentioned that there was.

 Angered by these comments, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets of major cities, including Kiev, in peaceful protests demanding fair and transparent elections. This protest, led by the opposition party and civil society groups, gained momentum and attracted the attention of the international community, spreading into the "Orange Revolution" movement, which used the color orange, the symbol of Yushchenko's campaign. Protesters set up a tent camp in Kiev's Independence Square and staged sit-ins, strikes and marches to demand a recount and a new runoff election.

 As protests intensified, the international community, including the European Union and the United States, intervened to mediate a solution to the political deadlock, condemning election fraud and pressuring Ukrainian authorities to address protesters' demands for electoral reform and transparency.

 Aware of the international condemnation sparked by the Orange Revolution, Ukraine's Supreme Court annulled the disputed election results and ordered a new vote on December 26, 2004, which allowed Yushchenko to punish Yanukovych for his alleged fraud. He defeated him by a narrow margin and assumed the presidency.

 This very Orange Revolution was recorded as a history of great victory that broke the rigged election created by the peaceful and persistent protests of the public who wanted a correct and just democratic result and the close cooperation of the international community. Although it is currently at war, it has become a reason for the international community to support Ukraine.

 

Ukraine's Orange Revolution (photo by Namuwiki)

 

6. Nigeria (2007)

 Nigeria's 2007 presidential election was widely criticized for irregularities, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, which led to the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

7. Cambodia (2013)

 Cambodia's 2013 general election was controversial due to allegations of election fraud and rigging by the ruling party, leading to widespread protests and international condemnation.

8. Haiti (2010)

 

 Haiti's 2010 presidential election was marred by accusations of fraud and malfeasance, resulting in a controversial victory for Michel Martelly and causing political unrest.

9. Kenya (2007)

 

  Kenya's 2007 presidential election was followed by widespread violence and allegations of election fraud, which ultimately led to a compromise rather than democracy that resulted in a power-sharing government.

10. Kyrgyzstan (2020)

  In the general election held on October 4, 2020, pan-ruling parties supporting Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov won a landslide victory, occupying close to 90% of the seats. Protests were held across the country, including the capital Bishkek.

 Protesters occupied major government buildings and the National Election Commission and claimed invalidity, which led the National Election Commission to declare the election invalid two days later. Additionally, Prime Minister Kubatbek Voronov resigned, and parliament moved to impeach the president.

 There was no clear evidence of fraud from the protesters, but according to the BBC, testimony was introduced that "some voters wearing masks were holding already marked ballots," and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which participated as an election observer, held a briefing. “The election was generally conducted well, but there is a high possibility that the suspicion of vote buying was true. The details of the use of election funds were not transparent,” he said, admitting somewhat ambiguous election fraud.

 In any case, it was recorded as a case where fraud was acknowledged and a re-vote was held very quickly, and what is interesting is that most of the equipment supported for this vote was a Korean-made ballot counting machine.

In conclusion....

 

 The biggest threat to democracy may be cases of election fraud. There are many people around us who say, “Ah... where is the election fraud, it’s all a conspiracy theory...”, but it is important to remember that most of the above cases were relatively recent cases of fraud.

 I remember what Joseph Stalin said when he ruled the Soviet Union with bloody terror.

“The power of the state is not created by those who vote, but by those who count the votes!”

 In the end, we must remember that if the people do not wake up and take action, as in the case of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, they will always have no choice but to become slaves to low-quality politicians.