Most CPLP countries rise in Global State of Democracy rankings – Lusa

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Most CPLP countries rise in Global State of Democracy rankings – Lusa

8:42 CAT | 18 Sep 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Most Portuguese-speaking countries have made progress in the assessments made by the Global State of Democracy 2024 report, published on Tuesday, with Brazil standing out despite the turbulence created by the 2022 presidential elections.

The study, published yesterday by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), refers to how the courts sanctioned former President Bolsonaro for his attempts to illegally remain in power and for making unfounded allegations against the country’s electronic voting system.

Although the study, titled ‘Strengthening the Legitimacy of Elections in a Time of Radical Uncertainty’, has recorded a decline rather than an improvement in overall democratic performance for eight consecutive years worldwide, the South American country is seen as an example where elections have shown an ability to “strengthen democracy in the face of adversity”.

Brazil saw improvements in all four parameters used by the report’s authors, rising five places in the ranking relating to Political representation to 42nd, climbing 17 places to 63rd in Civil rights, climbing 38 places to 53rd in Rule of law and climbing 29 places in Political and civil participation, reaching 4th position out of a total of 173 countries.

The report listed Angola in a group of countries making progress in terms of freedom from corruption, along with Bulgaria, Kenya and the Maldives.

Even so, it saw little change in the different parameters in 2023 compared to the previous year, retaining 121st place in the Representation ranking, moving up one place in both Rights (119th) and Rule of Law (118th) and three in Participation (134th).

The authors of the report refer to the “enthusiasm” created by the emergence of a new generation of political leaders in Mozambique and Senegal, “given the extreme gap between the demographics of society and the demographics of the current heads of state and government in Africa”.

Some deterioration

Mozambique saw some deterioration as, despite maintaining 118th place in the ranking in Representation, our country dropped four places to 121st in Rights, fell nine places to 116th in the overall classification on Rule of Law and dropped three places to 129th in Participation.

In the report published on Tuesday, which analyses data for 2023, Cape Verde is among the 32 countries, along with Portugal, that have seen a decline in the effectiveness of parliament in the last five years.

Despite being considered a high performer, like Portugal, Cape Verde’s performance on this index has deteriorated.

In the different parameters, Cape Verde rose three places in Representation to 32nd, remained at 54th in Rights, dropped one to 49th in Rule of Law and rose three in Participation (120th).

Guinea-Bissau moved up one place in Representation (112th), two in Rights (129th) and Rule of Law (137th) and three in Participation (66th).

Timor-Leste stands out in the report as having made general progress in democratic performance, with the highlight being the average electoral participation rate of 79%, a high figure despite the fact that voting is not compulsory.

The Asian country moved up five places in the Political Representation criterion (51st), four in Rights (95th), two in Rule of Law (65th) and seven in Participation (79th)

Equatorial Guinea also saw improvements, rising two places in Representation (144th), maintaining 163rd in Rights, rising six in Rule of Law (157th) and growing three in Participation (161st).

The Global Report on the State of Democracy is produced annually by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

According to the latest study, 2023 was the eighth consecutive year in which more countries showed a decline rather than an improvement in global democratic performance, the longest consecutive decline in 48 years.