South Asia Election Updates: Globally, over 4 billion will vote in 2024 – the year of elections. Of these, nearly 1.5 billion people will exercise their ballots across four countries of South Asia (all former British colonies) – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh Election Updates
In Bangladesh elections boycotted by the main opposition party, scheduled on 07 Jan 2024, the world’s longest serving female prime minister looks set to win a fourth consecutive five-year term. Here, deepfakes and disinformation (using cheap AI tools) are also making headlines.
Pakistan Election Updates
In Pakistan, cricketer-turned former PM Imran Khan is in prison; Nawaz Sharif is looking to make a comeback. Irrespective of who comes to power, Army will play an outsized role in politics of the country now grappling with massive economic, political and security challenges.
India Election Updates
India, the world’s largest democracy – with nearly 955 million voters, is expected to hold multi-phase elections in 4-5 months. Fresh from electoral successes in state elections in Hindi heartland states, India’s popular prime minister Narendra Modi looks set to win a third consecutive term riding economic growth, nationalism and welfarism.
Sri Lanka Election Updates
Sri Lanka, the island paradise nation, recovering from its worst economic crisis, may head to the polls around September.
MitKat and datasurfr will continue to monitor geo-political events and election updates across South Asia and its impact on global and local businesses. Over the next few days, we will analyse the upcoming electoral battles in the four demographically rich and diverse South Asian countries, beginning with Bangladesh, which goes to polls this Sunday.
