More than 50 countries that together have half the world's population are expecting national elections in 2024.
The year looks set to test even the most robust democracies and to strengthen the hands of leaders with authoritarian leanings.
From Taiwan and Russia to India and South Africa, the bumper crop of contests has huge implications globally.
In some countries, the balloting will be neither free nor fair.
And in many, isolationist policies, curbs on opposition parties or the potential for manipulation have put the fate of democracy front and center.
Looming large on the calendar is a possible U.S. presidential rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.