2024 was a historic election year, with over 3 billion people in over 70 countries voting to shape the future.
From South Africa to the South Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, voters determined the political, social, and economic landscape for years to come.
The elections took place during a time of global instability, with ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and a cost-of-living crisis driven by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic: rising inflation and supply chain issues added to the pressure.
It was a tough year for incumbents and traditional political parties. Faced with soaring prices, cultural divides, and frustration with the political system, voters sent a clear message for change. As we look toward 2025, the decisions made at the ballot box in 2024 will have a lasting impact on the world stage.
Here are some of the top photos from elections around the world:
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump is assisted by the Secret Service after gunfire rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of Rwanda's incumbent President and presidential candidate for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) Paul Kagame attend his campaign rally in Gahanga, Kicukiro district in Kigali, Rwanda, July 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSPeda Grbin, President of Croatia's Social Democratic Party, and Sinisa Hajdas Doncic, Vicepresident of Croatia's Social Democratic Party, react to the first preliminary results of the country's parliamentary election, in Zagreb, Croatia April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of the Georgian Dream party attend a final campaign rally ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSPresidential candidate of the ruling MORENA party Claudia Sheinbaum holds a campaign rally in Mexico City, Mexico May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSIndia's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath wave towards Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters during a roadshow as part of an election campaign, in Varanasi, India, May 13, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of Ghana's President-elect John Dramani Mahama celebrate after the electoral commission declared him winner of the presidential election, in Accra, Ghana December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra BensemraSource: REUTERSSupporters for the ruling People Power Party light up their smart phones during a campaign rally for the 22nd parliamentary elections in Seoul, South Korea, April 9, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA woman holds flags during the final campaign rally of the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, in New Taipei City, Taiwan January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied, celebrate as exit poll shows Saied won the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSRussian incumbent President Vladimir Putin, who was declared winner of the presidential election by the country's electoral commission, is seen on a screen on the stage as he attends a rally, which marks the 10th anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERST-shirts with images of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who is running for re-election, are sold in the downtown area ahead of the presidential elections, in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSDemocratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSGanatantrik Chhatra Jote, a left-wing student alliance, join in a torch procession demanding to abolish what they call a "dummy election" at the University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSIranian voters participate in a snap presidential election to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, at the Iranian embassy, in Baghdad, Iraq June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSDemonstrators clash with riot police during a protest against planned controversial revisions to election law outside the Indonesian Parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 22, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSPeople wait at a bus station covered with campaign billboards for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in Tetovo, North Macedonia May 7, 2024. REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSGhana's President-elect John Dramani Mahama, 66, leader of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), addresses supporters in Accra, Ghana December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Francis KokorokoSource: REUTERSA supporter rests under the flag of the African National Congress (ANC) during the party's final rally ahead of the upcoming elections at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa May 25, 2024 REUTERS/James Oatway TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) embark on a rally ahead of the December 7 polls in Accra, Ghana December 1, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSBurqa-clad women leave a polling station after casting their vote as a police officer stands guard during general election, in Peshawar, Pakistan, February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA protester throws a stone during a nationwide strike called by Mozambique presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane to protest the provisional results of an October 9 election, in Maputo, Mozambique, October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech calling for a general election, outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA drone view shows supporters of Senegal's Prime Minister and the head of the ruling Pastef party Ousmane Sonko attending a campaign rally for the upcoming early legislative election, in Guediawaye on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA demonstrator gestures as tyres are burned during a protest against the alleged fraud in the February 14 presidential election outside Indonesia's Commission of the Election (KPU) building in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of the French Socialist Party and "Place Publique" hold flags during a campaign meeting for the European elections named "Reveiller l'Europe" in Nantes, France, April 13, 2024. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSElection workers and political parties' volunteers participate in the legislative election ballot counting, in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSCatholic nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, the global order of nuns founded by Saint Mother Teresa, wait in a line to vote at a polling station during the seventh and last phase of India's general election in Kolkata, India, June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSThe 101-year-old Utako Kanayama casts her ballot in the general election at a polling station in Tokyo, Japan October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSVenezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters atop a vehicle during a campaign rally for the presidential election, in Merida state, Venezuela June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSVoters fill in ballots at a polling station during parliamentary elections in the village of Atskuri in the region of Kakheti, Georgia October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Daro Sulakauri TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA woman speaks on a mobile phone next to election posters, ahead of the announcement of the provisional results of an October 9 election, in Laulane township, in Maputo, Mozambique, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSA drone view shows people queue at the Hospital Hill township to vote during the South African elections, in Johannesburg, South Africa May 29, 2024. REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSSupporters of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), an alliance of political parties, offer noon prayers as they gather for a sit-in protest against, what they call election rigging and are demanding free and fair results of the general elections along the main Highway in Jamshoro, Pakistan February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yasir Rajput TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERSHead of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler is being prepared before the start of the last TV discussion before Austrian general elections on Sunday, in Vienna, Austria, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "REUTERS 2024 ELECTIONS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS YEAR-END" FOR ALL 2024 YEAR END GALLERIES.Source: REUTERS
