Colombia's president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella was in Cali on August 5, two days before his August 7 inauguration, with 11,100 military and police personnel deployed for the ceremony; an invitation controversy stirred political tension, with former president Álvaro Uribe's attendance unconfirmed; outgoing vice president Francia Márquez closed her chapter at the vice-presidency after a contentious four-year tenure under Gustavo Petro
A tactic in which losing candidates reject certified election results to obstruct transfers of power, documented in the US, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Guinea-Bissau since 2020.
full dossier ›A joint South Korean investigation team searched the National Election Commission's offices on July 23 to seize evidence of alleged voter turnout figure fabrication in the June 3 local elections, which saw unprecedented ballot paper shortages at dozens of polling stations; the controversy has already forced the resignation of NEC chief Roh Tae-ak and sparked demonstrations demanding an election re-run
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 13 barred Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate, from visiting his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest, for 90 days, effectively blocking all contact until after the first round of Brazil's October 2026 elections; the trigger was Flávio reading Jair's handwritten letter on YouTube, violating Jair's social media ban
Electoral authorities declared Fujimori the winner of the June 7 runoff on June 29 by fewer than 50,000 votes out of 18 million cast, making her Peru's first woman president-elect; left-wing rival Roberto Sánchez refused to concede and alleged fraud, raising the prospect of a disputed transition
Barrett breaks with three fellow conservatives to uphold Mississippi's law allowing ballots cast by Election Day to be counted if they arrive afterward; ruling preserves similar rules in 17 other states
Five structural forces, from concession refusals and snap elections to far-right mainstreaming, that increasingly determine whether a democratic transfer of power actually completes.
Petro's bloc launches a 'juridical offensive' over the scrutiny; the CNE denies a full overseas recount
A lame-duck leftist president, barred from re-election, demands a recount and audit after his bloc loses the runoff by under 1%
Soldiers arrest President Embaló as both he and the opposition claim election victory; civil society alleges a 'simulated coup,' ECOWAS suspends the country