Executive summary

Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy and the most effective means to convince and express the will of the people to choose their representatives and governors who manage their affairs, which contributes to the consolidation of sustainable democracies. Electoral processes are conducted in almost all parts of the world; however, they face many challenges that undermine their integrity and threaten the achievement of their objective to represent people who are considered the basis of the ruling authority. Such challenges are topped by electoral violence, hate speech, and disinformation that deprive citizens of access to health information during the electoral processes in a way that affects their electoral choices, along with suppression of political opposition, interference to influence the outcomes of the electoral process, lack of integrity of the procedures and rules regulating the elections, in addition to being manipulated by certain governments as a means to add legitimacy and justify their continued rule, which causes democratic backsliding in today’s world more than ever before. On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Democracy, Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights, examines in this Study the challenges threatening elections worldwide by using realistic models, challenges, and obstacles faced by electoral processes, to address these concerns and propose many solutions that contribute to enhancing the safety and integrity of electoral processes to reflect the free choices of citizens.