Taiwan, India and Mexico are some of the countries that will have elections this year. These three countries have large communities in the United States, so it will be important to know how they can be part of the electoral processes in their countries of origin and the importance of voting in each of these nations.
Voting abroad is something really new, considering that not all countries allow it and some that do allow it do not implement it correctly and effectively, said Kathleen Newland, Senior Fellow and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute. during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services.
And during 2024, several countries will have presidential elections that will mark a political change in the world, which will determine the future of upcoming events, directly or indirectly affecting citizens who have left their countries of origin.
Dr. Rohit Chopra, associate professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences at Santa Clara University, said that this year the role of technology will be very important, since the flow of information will be present during the electoral processes.
Rohit Chopra commented that fake news in the context of elections ends up complicating things with respect to the difference between what we know to be true and what is false, thus making the handling of information more confusing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could be a threat, what is done with it is to generate material immediately, creating a false illusion of the combined information that may seem real.
“This false information is like the kind of rumours that have been circulating on WhatsApp for years that have led to the deaths of minorities,” said Dr Rohit Chop.
Dr. Arvind Panagariya, professor of political economy at Columbia University, spoke about the upcoming elections in India.
“To give you an idea of the Indian elections, I will say that there are about 900 million voters, from where a large proportion of voters will come out in the upcoming elections, and this exercise is going to last about 4-5 weeks. There are also 11 million election officials, including security forces who are going to be deployed,” Panagariya explained.
He added that elections in India are mostly peaceful and require a great effort from the population, who must find a way to reach the voting points.
There are approximately 500 parties that will participate in the upcoming elections, which makes them a heavy election.
The elections in India are becoming very important, because it is a country that is growing very fast, ranking tenth among growing economies, and is expected to reach third place in 4 or 3 more years.
Although there is a lot of participation from the groups that leave their place of origin, the impact is not too much, elections in India are still fought in a conventional way with the participation of its own residents, since they do not allow voting abroad, so those who have left the country must return to vote.
In the case of Mexico, voting abroad is a reality, this is what he talked about Diana Alarcón González, former senior advisor and coordinator of international affairs for the mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Claudia Sheinbaum is a presidential candidate for these elections in Mexico, being the favorite and with the greatest strength in the country.
“We estimate that there are more than 11 million Mexicans living and working in the United States. A few years ago, they passed a constitutional reform in which Mexican children born abroad can be recognized as Mexicans as well. Considering that the number of Mexicans abroad has increased dramatically, we can see the great potential and the great importance that they have in the upcoming elections,” said Alarcón González.
Unfortunately, there is very low participation among citizens living in other countries, even though Mexicans abroad do have the possibility of voting virtually, by mail or at consulates, he said.
“In 2018, there were about 19,000 votes from outside the country, which could be seen as a very small figure considering the number of citizens abroad,” added Alarcón González.
Mexico will have a historic electoral process in 2024 due to the political moment that it is experiencing, he said, mentioning that a woman will be president for the first time, so it will be a new act in the country.
“If you are a Mexican living in another country, I invite you to register and vote to be part of this great electoral process,” concluded Diana Alarcón González.
The elections in Taiwan will be decisive for the geopolitical situation in its surroundings, said Rong Xiaoqing, veteran reporter of Sing Tao Daily (New York), who explained that in the case of Taiwan, it is not allowed to send or vote outside the territory, those who live abroad must go to the country and present themselves directly in their city, county or town where they are registered.
“There was previously an attempt to pass a law to allow Taiwanese people living abroad to vote, but it was not implemented due to political interests,” Rong Xiaoqing added.
“Their voting rights are being affected because not everyone has the opportunity to vote,” concluded Rong Xiaoqing.
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