After about 70 countries held presidential or parliamentary elections in 2025, with few surprises at the ballot boxes, which races will attract the most attention in 2026? And what kind of changes in global geopolitics could these clashes of ideas bring or consolidate? Some international think tanks detailed their perceptions in recent weeks and the InfoMoney consolidated these analyses.
The CIDOB, an international relations research center based in Barcelona, highlighted that the year to come will be a global realignment, after the start of Donald Trump’s second term inaugurated what the center’s experts termed an era of instrumentalization of economic and technological coercion.
“The new year will test the capacity to adapt to dealing with brutal geopolitics: who wins, who will find accommodation or favorable moments to influence a chaotic order, who resists and who feels displaced, without the tools or leadership to face changes,” CIDOB wrote.
The think tank also noted that military intervention is increasing and that even peace has become an asset with economic returns. In addition to the global race among the main players – such as the United States, China and the European Union – to diversify alliances in uncertain times, the center also observed that a “generational fatigue” has unsettled half the world.
Another characteristic of recent years that is expected to persist in 2026 is the so-called Generation Z, born roughly between the mid-1990s and 2010, is mobilizing in several countries and continents to demand changes in imperfect, corrupt and unequal political systems. Protests and disturbances were cited in places such as Nepal, Madagascar, Morocco, Peru, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“All these protests are a sign of the growing impatience of the population with the widening distance between expectations and reality. Therefore, the question is whether 2026 will bring new, unexpected outbursts,” commented CIDOB.
In the assessment of The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the elections slated for 2026 will certainly repeat the blend of expected and unexpected. One example of what should not come as a surprise is the outcome of Russia’s Duma elections, with the pro-Putin United Russia party maintaining its majority. And Vietnam’s legislative elections, in turn, will almost certainly confirm the victory of the Communist Party.
See below some of the most important elections in 2026
South America
After important victories by right-wing forces on the continent in 2025 — such as Rodrigo Paz in Bolivia, José Antonio Kast in Chile, the reelection of Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, and the strengthening of Javier Milei in the parliamentary contest in Argentina — the new year could consolidate this wave once and for all.
On April 12, general elections will take place in Peru, a country whose main hallmark has been political instability: no fewer than seven presidents since 2016 — three of them removed by Congress and two who resigned. The most recent episode occurred in October, when Dina Boluarte was replaced by José Jerí. Prominent among the various potential presidential candidates are Rafael López-Aliaga, Keiko Fujimori, Mario Vizcarra, Carlos Álvarez and César Acuña.
The Colombian presidential election is scheduled for May 31. President Gustavo Petro, a former left-wing guerrilla, is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection. But it would still be a hard-fought victory, as his presidency has been marked by corruption scandals, difficulties in implementing terms of the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC, and direct verbal clashes with the United States.
Amid Petro’s declining popularity, the country is also still traumatized by the assassination of opposition senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a natural candidate for 2026.
The Petro’s Historic Pact party indicated senator Iván Cepeda as its candidate, and he has led polls, but without a lead that could be considered insurmountable. His main opponents are likely to be Sergio Fajardo, a centrist who is running for a third consecutive time, and Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing conservative lawyer campaigning on anti-corruption and family values.
In October, it will be Brazil’s turn to elect the new president, governors and to renew part of the Senate and all of the Chamber of Deputies. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be a candidate for the seventh time and will seek an unprecedented fourth term.
Although leading in most polls, the political scene remains highly polarized. With Jair Bolsonaro out of the race, Lula’s main opponent could be Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son. But the field also includes the governors of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas; of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema; of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado; of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite; and of Paraná, Ratinho Jr.
USA (Midterm)
The midterm elections, when all of the U.S. House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be up for election on November 3, should serve as an indicator of President Donald Trump’s popularity. For CFR, the results could drastically alter the course of domestic policy.
As the think tank notes, midterm voting for the House typically acts as a referendum on the sitting president, with voters historically being stringent evaluators. The president’s party has expanded its seats in the House in only two of the last fifteen midterm elections. Meanwhile, the average loss was twenty-four seats.
The Republicans currently have only a seven-seat margin in the House. This has been one of the reasons why Trump pressured states such as Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, among others, to redraw their electoral maps to win more Republican seats. Some Democratic states are trying to do the same currently.
In the Senate, Republican chances are higher: 35 seats are up for grabs and the Republican Party needs to defend 24 seats, but in 22 of those states, Trump won by 10 percentage points or more in the 2024 election.
There is a crisis of affordability, with about 60% of voters saying the country is going in the wrong direction and stating that economic anxiety is high. There is an affordability crisis, a rising cost of living, stagnant wages and growing fears that artificial intelligence could destroy more jobs than it creates.
Bangladesh
The February 12 election in Bangladesh will be the first since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government were ousted from power in August 2024 due to student-led protests. The 2026 electoral field is fragmented, and parties disagree about electoral rules and their application. Two conservative nationalist parties vie for leadership: the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, and the Jatiyo Party, led by GM Quader. The BNP was the main opposition party when Sheikh Hasina was in power and was a target of her repression. Jamaat-e-Islami seeks to lead a coalition of Islamist parties pressing for constitutional reforms and presents a slate of new candidates to signal generational change. Meanwhile, the Citizen’s National Party is campaigning with the promise to create a “Second Republic” based on a new constitution.
Hungary
Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister and the longest-serving leader in the European Union, is set to face his first serious electoral challenge on April 12, after having secured four consecutive absolute majorities for his right-wing, radical and Eurosceptic Fidesz party. Leading in the polls since the autumn of 2024 is Respect and Freedom (TISZA), a conservative pro-European party founded in 2020 and gaining prominence under the leadership of MEP Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz member who now calls Orbán a “dictator” and “mafioso.” The campaign is likely to focus on inflation, energy costs and slow economic growth. The question is whether the opposition, which fell into disarray after the 2022 election, can capitalize on public discontent.
Sweden
The general elections in Sweden on September 13 have been treated as an indicator of the strength of populist politics in Europe, as well as a measure of the impact of foreign influence campaigns. The country has been governed since 2022 by a center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and comprising the Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. But the government has faced an upsurge in gang violence, as well as debates over immigration and citizenship rules, issues that helped propel Kristersson to power. The main campaign issues are likely to be rapid rearmament after Sweden’s entry into NATO (2024), fiscal policy, rising narcotics crime and immigration control.
Israel
Unless there is a snap election, on October 27 Israelis should elect the new Knesset, Israel’s unicameral legislative assembly. Even after facing a major reputational crisis over the handling of the Hamas hostage situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party remain the favorites. With unwavering support from Donald Trump and a firm hand in the Gaza war, as well as managing the armed conflict with Iran, Netanyahu is still expected to use the current ceasefire agreement to his advantage. Neither his corruption trial nor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity has managed to dent the majority support for the prime minister.
France and United Kingdom
Local elections in France are scheduled for March 15 and 22, when mayors and municipal council members will be chosen, and in the case of big cities, metropolitan or district councils. In cities such as Paris, Marseille or Lyon, changes will be made to separate the vote between central and district councils, breaking with the previous system. It is expected to provoke greater division between metropolitan power and local power. The results will be indicative ahead of the next national elections, scheduled for 2027.
In the United Kingdom, more than 4,000 council seats in England will be contested on May 7, including the seats of the 32 London boroughs. There is an expectation that there could be a repetition of the results of the May 2025 local elections, which brought a victory to Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party. The Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch and the Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer are suffering in the polls.
