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Australia | Belarus | Ecuador | Germany | Malawi | Philippines | Ukraine

  • Australia

    header1 Country Overview

    Voters in Australia will soon vote in a parliamentary election to select all 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate under a ranked-choice balloting system. While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has yet to set an exact date for the election, under constitutional, legislative, and administrative requirements the election can take place no later than May 17, 2025. Members of the House, including the prime minister, serve three-year terms. Members of the Senate who represent territories also serve three-year terms, while those who represent states serve six-year terms. There is no limit on the number of terms a member of parliament may serve.

    This assessment was last updated on February 19, 2025.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    Polls conducted in late 2024 and early 2025 show Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s left-leaning Labor Party government trailing behind the conservative opposition Liberal-National coalition, which is led by Peter Dutton. The environmentalist Australian Greens, the country’s third largest party, which tends to ally with Labor, will also contest constituencies nationwide, as will smaller parties and independent candidates. Australia has experienced significant economic strains in recent years, including a nationwide housing crisis and increasingly high costs of living. Debate over economic policies, healthcare, housing access, and immigration will be key issues in the upcoming election.

    Australia is a stable democracy that regularly holds free elections and hosts a vibrant and diverse, though consolidated, media sector. Elections in Australia are credibly overseen by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), an independent federal agency. While the government generally has a strong history of protecting political rights and civil liberties, the press face legal constraints, and recent years have featured new restrictions on asylum seekers. Discrimination against First Nations Australians and LGBT+ people persists.

    Australia has a score of 86 out of 100, with 100 representing the strongest defenses against digital election interference. Freedom House’s Election Vulnerability Index is based on a selection of key electoral indicators. The score reflects the country’s robust electoral system and political pluralism, as well as the threats of cyberattacks and foreign influence operations.

    Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day:

    • Information manipulation: The AEC has identified false and misleading information spread by foreign actors as a threat to election integrity in 2025. In 2023, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) identified a network of coordinated inauthentic accounts manipulating online public discourse in Australia about policy issues and political officials as likely linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Such manipulation of online information can distort voters' understanding of electoral issues, amplify political polarization, and sow distrust in the election process.
    • Cyberattacks: The AEC similarly identified cyberattacks from foreign actors as a potential threat to the integrity of the 2025 election. In July 2024, Australian authorities revealed that a Chinese state-affiliated hacking group had targeted Australian government and private sector networks and stolen sensitive data. Cyberattacks against the electoral commission or media outlets that provide voting information could impede credible reporting relating to the election.

    Australia is rated Free in Freedom in the World 2024, with a score of 95 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties, and Free in Freedom on the Net 2024, with an internet freedom score of 76 out of 100. To learn more, please visit the Australia country reports in Freedom in the World, Freedom on the Net, and Freedom House's Australia country portal.

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      26,010,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      95 100 free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      76 100 free

    • Date of Election

      May 2025

    • Type of Election

      Parliamentary

    • Internet Penetration

      94.90%

    • Population

      26.7 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Belarus

    header1 Country Overview

    On January 26, the Belarusian government will hold an openly rigged presidential election, the first presidential election since President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s fraudulent reelection in 2020 that triggered mass protests across the country. Lukashenka, who is running for his seventh consecutive presidential term, will face four token candidates that have been screened by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). With the entirety of the openly operating democratic political opposition either imprisoned or in exile, none of the candidates present any real challenge to Lukashenka. The judiciary and other institutions actively help advance Lukashenka’s agenda. Constitutional referendums in 1996, 2004, and, most recently, 2022, have further consolidated his control over government.

    This assessment was last updated on December 12, 2024.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    The Lukashenka regime’s brutal and continued crackdown in response to mass protests over his victory in the fraudulent 2020 election has effectively eliminated political opposition, independent media, and civil society in the country. Those who vocally opposed Lukashenka have either been imprisoned or have fled the country. The Viasna Human Rights Center, a Belarusian organization, reported that over 3,600 people have been held as political prisoners since 2020, with 1,296 in custody as of the end of November 2024. The vast majority of these political prisoners were arrested in the wake of the 2020 protests. An estimated 500,000 people have fled the country since 2020.

    The 2025 presidential election follows parliamentary elections held in February 2024 that were widely considered rigged. The opposition, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called for a boycott of the vote, and the Belarusian regime did not invite the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the elections.

    Belarus has a score of 12 out of 100, with 100 representing the strongest defenses against digital election interference. Freedom House’s Election Vulnerability Index is based on a selection of key electoral indicators. The score reflects widespread website blocking, arrests, and violence in retaliation for online activities.

    Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day: 

    • Website blocks and content removal: Lukashenka’s regime ramped up website blocking and content removal after the 2020 protests. According to human rights organization Human Constanta, at least 12,000 websites were blocked by the end of 2023, including the sites of foreign news outlets virtually all non-governmental organizations and independent Belarusian news outlets. The government also routinely issues additional blocking orders against websites of news outlets operating in exile, which have registered new domains. The government also blocked several virtual private networks (VPNs) in May 2024, ahead of virtual elections for the exiled opposition’s Coordination Council in May 2024, which required a VPN for those inside Belarus.[ES1] Since 2020, the government has employed “antiextremism” legislation to force websites and social media users to remove “extremist” blogs, posts, and comments. While authorities are unlikely to introduce new mechanisms to facilitate website blocking or content removal ahead of the presidential election given the already narrow space for online dissent, they could employ existing measures to restrict access to content that criticizes them. 
    • Arrests and prosecution: Hundreds of political prisoners in Belarus have been imprisoned in retaliation for their online activity. Administrators of social media channels, especially on Telegram, that criticize the government have been handed multiyear sentences. For example, Yana Pinchuk, who reportedly managed several Telegram channels critical of the government, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June 2023. Further, in November 2024, over 100 people were detained in a week for Telegram posts related to the election, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center. The Lukashenka regime can be expected to continue to arrest critical voices in the remaining period leading up to the election. 
    • Harassment and intimidation: Those who criticize the government online face routine physical attacks, including in custody. Torture is widespread in Belarusian prisons and four political prisoners jailed for online activities have died in custody. 6tv.by journalist Ales Sabaleuski was beaten during his December 2023 interrogation on trumped up “extremism” charges. Relatives of critics who have fled Belarus have also had their apartments raided by security forces or been sentenced to prison on bogus charges to intimidate those operating in exile. At the same time, government-affiliated social media channels have intensified their harassment and intimidation of critical voices. Security services, and social media channels affiliated with them, publish “repentant” or “confessional videos,” which can include incriminating information about people’s private lives. State media have also produced and distributed such videos. 
    • Information manipulation: With the majority of independent news outlets blocked, state-linked outlets dominate the online space, spewing pro-government propaganda. In July 2023, Lukashenka thanked state journalists for helping him hold onto power following the 2020 protests. Belarusian state outlets publish false information denigrating the European Union, sometimes in conjunction with Russian propaganda arms. Belarus’ information space has also been a target of the Kremlin’s propaganda narratives, though the interests of the two states have become significantly more aligned since 2020. State outlets and social media channels are expected to continue to promote false stories beneficial to Lukashenka and detrimental to his opponents ahead of the vote. 
       
      Belarus is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2024, with a score of 8 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties; Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2024, with an internet freedom score of 22 out of 100; and as a Consolidated Authoritarian Regime in Nations in Transit 2024, with a score of 2 out of 100 for the country’s democratic progress. To learn more, please visit the Belarus country reports in Freedom in the World, Freedom on the Net, Nations in Transit, and Freedom House’s Belarus country portal.
       

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      9,228,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      7 100 not free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      22 100 not free

    • Date of Election

      January 26, 2025

    • Type of Election

      Presidential

    • Internet Penetration

      89.50%

    • Population

      9.1 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Ecuador

    header1 Country Overview

    Ecuador’s next general elections are scheduled for February 9, 2025. Voters will select the country’s next president and vice president, all 151 members of the National Assembly, and 5 members of the supranational Andean Parliament. Incumbent president Daniel Noboa Azín, a businessman and leader of the National Democratic Action (ADN) alliance, is seeking a full four-year term after assuming office through early elections in 2023. Noboa, who remains relatively popular, is expected to face more than a dozen challengers—including Luisa González Alcívar, a candidate for former president Rafael Correa Delgado’s left-wing Citizens’ Revolution (RC) party who lost to Noboa in 2023. If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote, or at least 40 percent with a ten-point lead over the second-place finisher, a second round of voting between the top two candidates will be held on April 13.

    This assessment was last updated on November 19, 2024.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    The country has experienced considerable social, political, and economic tumult in recent years, including a sharp rise in violence fueled by organized crime and growing criminal involvement in international drug trafficking. In January 2024, President Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” to “neutralize” more than 20 organized criminal groups following the escape of a gang leader from prison, multiple prison riots, and an armed attack on a television station. The Noboa government has also responded to the crisis with a series of states of emergency, which have been criticized by civil society groups for facilitating human rights abuses, including due process violations and extralegal state violence.

    Ecuador’s next president will also have to address concerns about the country’s economy and other challenges. Indicators published by the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) in July 2024 indicated that the economy had entered a recession. Over the past year, the country has also faced an unprecedented electricity crisis driven by poorly maintained power plants and a drought that has depleted hydroelectric power generation capacity. In October 2024, the government announced that scheduled power cuts would reach 14 hours per day, a duration that has continued to fluctuate in the weeks since.

    Elections occur regularly in Ecuador, and some key state institutions have displayed greater independence since the end of the Correa administration in 2017. The 2025 vote is the first presidential poll since the 2023 early elections, which were triggered by former president Guillermo Lasso Mendoza’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly amid impeachment proceedings against him. Lasso’s maneuver, while constitutional, underscored the political dysfunction that has hampered the country in recent years.

    Ecuador has a score of 66 out of 100, with 100 representing the strongest defenses against digital election interference. Freedom House’s Election Vulnerability Index is based on a selection of key electoral indicators. The score reflects an environment where elections are credible, but where violence, institutional weaknesses, and deficiencies in the rule of law present obstacles to democratic consolidation.

    Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day:

    • Violence and threats: Physical violence and online threats against political candidates, elected officials, and journalists remain serious concerns in advance of the 2025 elections. Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio Valencia, who ran on an anticorruption platform and denounced ties between Ecuadorian politicians and drug traffickers, was murdered ahead of the last election. Digital platforms remain a major conduit for such violence and intimidation. In October 2024, then presidential candidate Jan Topic Feraud—who was disqualified from the election by the Electoral Dispute Court (TCE) in November—received anonymous death threats on WhatsApp warning him to drop out of the race. Political actors and journalists remain vulnerable to both online intimidation and potentially deadly violence ahead of the 2025 elections.
    • Content removal: Journalists have been pressured to remove online content after receiving threats or intimidation from powerful actors. In December 2023, the Durán-based digital outlet El Ferrodiario deleted a social media post sharing an opinion piece after the author received an unspecified threat, though it did not remove the piece from its website. The article had encouraged local political candidates to develop specific policy proposals. Similar pressures levied against journalists who report on the 2025 election could limit the public’s access to information about candidates ahead of the vote.
    • Cyberattacks: A cyberattack reportedly compromised the telematic voting system used by voters living abroad during the 2023 early elections, prompting the National Electoral Council (CNE) to readminister elections in three overseas National Assembly constituencies. While the circumstances of the attack were not publicly disclosed by the CNE, it was reportedly caused by a denial-of-service (DoS) attack targeting the CNE’s servers. Commentators have urged the CNE to ensure that voting processes are well administered and technically secure in 2025, noting that such incidents could undermine the public’s confidence in the vote.
    • Information manipulation: False and misleading information, including content generated using artificial intelligence (AI), may distort the information space around the election. During the 2023 campaign, there is evidence that bot accounts were used to shape online discussions about Noboa and González. After a presidential debate, for instance, one analyst claimed that Noboa’s campaign allegedly used bots to amplify his talking points on social media, while bots allegedly linked to González’s campaign focused on discrediting Noboa. Such campaigns could make it more difficult for voters to discern accurate information about the election.

    Ecuador is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2024, with a score of 67 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2024, with an internet freedom score of 63 out of 100. To learn more, please visit the Ecuador country reports in Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net, and Freedom House’s Ecuador country portal.

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      18,000,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      65 100 partly free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      63 100 partly free

    • Date of Election

      February 9, 2025

    • Type of Election

      General

    • Internet Penetration

      83.60%

    • Population

      17.1 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Germany

    header1 Country Overview

    The assessment for this country will be published as soon as it becomes available.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    Preelection assessment coming soon...

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      83,800,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      95 100 free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      77 100 free

    • Date of Election

      February 23, 2025

    • Type of Election

      Parliamentary

    • Internet Penetration

      93.30%

    • Population

      83.3 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Malawi

    header1 Country Overview

    The assessment for this country will be published as soon as it becomes available.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    Preelection assessment coming soon...

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      20,410,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      65 100 partly free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      59 100 partly free

    • Date of Election

      September 16, 2025

    • Type of Election

      General

    • Internet Penetration

      27.70%

    • Population

      19.8 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Philippines

    header1 Country Overview

    On May 12, 2025, Philippine voters will choose 12 of the Senate's 24 members, all 317 members of the House of Representatives, and nearly 18,000 local officials. Members of the Senate, who are selected under a plurality-at-large system, serve six-year terms and are only allowed two consecutive terms. Members of the lower house serve three-year terms and may serve a maximum of three successive terms.

    This assessment was last updated on February 11, 2025.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    The Philippines has held regular elections since transitioning from authoritarian rule in 1986. Though the Philippines hosts a vibrant political landscape, established political dynasties have long dominated politics. Rule of law and the application of justice are haphazard and heavily favor the elite.

    Debates on corruption and economic policy are likely to be key issues in the election. Concerns related to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.; and Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, will likely loom over the contests, though they are not up for reelection. President Marcos and Vice President Duterte acceded to office in 2022 championing national unity, yet have since turned into bitter rivals. In late 2024, Duterte said she would orchestrate President Marcos's assassination if she were to be killed herself. Activists and civil society organizations called for her impeachment over allegations that she misused public funds as 2024 closed. In February 2025, the House of Representatives indeed impeached the vice president over corruption allegations and her public statements on assassinating Marcos, though the Senate may not try her until July.

    Marcos has himself faced corruption allegations, including from the vice president. Opposition politicians and workers' groups criticized a budget bill Marcos signed in December 2024. Critics have argued that the bill was falsely represented as a poverty-reduction and economic-growth package when it was really designed to bolster the electoral prospects of Marcos's allies. A December 2024 Pulse Asia survey suggested that Marcos-backed candidates would win 8 to 9 of the 12 available Senate seats, while Duterte allies would win 1 or 2.

    The 2022 presidential election, while free from overt restrictions, was characterized by vote buying, political violence, and coordinated campaigns spreading false and misleading information, which effectively undermined fair competition. In late December 2024, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned that vote buying would threaten election integrity during the coming elections, particularly in local races, and announced measures to identify and mitigate such efforts. Political violence has also continued. In January 2025, Comelec approved a list designating 38 areas across the Philippines as "red zones," areas that face serious armed threats and have suffered election-related violence in the past. If designated, Comelec can place the localities under its control, allowing it to supervise officials and control law enforcement agencies.

    The Philippines has a score of 56 out of 100, with 100 representing the least vulnerability in terms of election integrity, on Freedom House's Election Vulnerability Index, which is based on a selection of key election-related indicators. The score reflects a distorted online information environment along with routinely held elections that are marred by the targeted harassment of journalists and media outlets, activists, and government critics.

    Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day:

    • Information Manipulation: There are concerns that this year's elections will, like previous contests, feature content manipulation. In previous polls, political figures and parties employed private firms, recruited microinfluencers, and enlisted the help of hyperpartisan media outlets to spread false and misleading information and discredit their opponents and independent media outlets. For instance, pro-Marcos networks spread YouTube and TikTok content that aimed to paper over human rights abuses perpetrated by Ferdinand Marcos Sr. False and misleading information about candidates, political parties, and policy matters can distort voters' understanding of electoral issues and impede the dissemination of reliable information. In response to concerns about deceptive use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in campaigning, Comelec issued guidelines in September 2024 requiring candidates, parties, and content-hosting platforms to label AI-generated posts, and mandating registration for social media accounts engaging in official campaigning.
    • Harassment: Under both the Marcos Jr. and Rodrigo Duterte administrations, authorities employed red-tagging—a tactic of accusing targets of links to communist groups—to harass and intimidate journalists, celebrities, and everyday internet users. Additionally, violence against independent journalists and activists is a significant problem in the Philippines, sometimes directly related to their online activity. For instance, in October 2022, Percival Mabasa, an online political commentator with a record of criticizing government officials, was murdered. Such violence and intimidation ahead of the upcoming elections could fuel self-censorship and limit voter turnout.
    • Cyberattacks: Technical attacks pose a threat to Philippine media groups, particularly those known for critical reporting on the government. For example, in November 2023, after facing a cyberattack, the nonprofit Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism briefly took down its site to prevent further damage to it. Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against media outlets covering the campaign intensified, impacting ABS-CBN News and several other outlets. Similar cyberattacks could impede access to credible reporting relating to the election.

    The Philippines is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2024, with a score of 58 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2024, with an internet freedom score of 60 out of 100. To learn more about these annual Freedom House assessments, please visit the Philippines country reports in Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net, and the Philippines country portal.

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      115,600,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      58 100 partly free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      60 100 partly free

    • Date of Election

      May 12, 2025

    • Type of Election

      Legislative

    • Internet Penetration

      73.60%

    • Population

      117.3 million

    • Election Year

      _2025-

  • Ukraine

    header1 Country Overview

    Freedom House is closely monitoring for when elections for the Verkhovna Rada (originally scheduled for October 2023) and the presidency (scheduled for March 2024) may take place. Under the Ukrainian constitution, Ukraine is prohibited from holding elections while the country is under a state of martial law, which has been in force since February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. There are also significant concerns that millions of Ukrainians, including those abroad, in the military, or under occupation, could not securely and meaningfully participate in elections if they are held during the war.

    header2 Preelection assessment

    The assessment for this country will be published as soon as it becomes available.

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    Country Facts

    • Population

      38,000,000

    • Global Freedom Score

      51 100 partly free

    • Internet Freedom Score

      59 100 partly free

    • Date of Election

      March 2024

    • Type of Election

      Presidential

    • Internet Penetration

      79.20%

    • Population

      41 million

    • Election Year

      _2024-