Discover how countries around the world handle election campaigns in recent years, from the shortest at 12 days to the longest at almost four months
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American election campaigns seem to last forever. However, as many commentators have suggested, recent events with the change of the Democratic candidate effectively reducing this year’s campaign to 100 days; perhaps this should change. Shorter election campaigns are also popular in most other leading democracies.
Here is a round-up in reverse order of what countries consider the right time to allow a campaign to run. Some are free-for-alls with no fixed limits, others are highly proscribed by law, some by convention. We also look at some of the rules enforced on election campaigns.
13) United States
Although Kamala Harris’ current election campaign is projected to last 107 days, other US presidential races have lasted for much longer. While many other countries have laws stipulating the length of a campaign, the US does not.The first candidate to announce their running in the 2024 Elections was Donald Trump, almost two years before the 2024 US Elections. Ted Cruz, another candidate, announced his running 596 days before election day.
Vast quantities of money are required to sustain lengthy presidential campaigns. While many countries do not allow election candidates to purchase television adverts, this is a legal way of campaigning in the United States.
Although certain social media sites clamped down on digital campaigning – with Twitter announcing a complete ban on political advertising in 2019 – measures have been reversed recently. As of 2023, Elon Musk lifted the ban on his new platform X for ’cause-based ads’ in the United States.
Voter turnout for the last US presidential election in 2020 was around 66 per cent – the highest of any national election since 1900.
12) Mexico
It took 93 days for President Claudia Sheinbaum to be elected from when her campaign began. Electoral campaigns are shorter in Mexico, starting 90 days before election day and ceasing three days before the day itself. Candidates are also permitted to engage in a 60-day ‘pre-campaign’ season.
According to the Mexican Constitution, during the period of elections – and until the end of the election day – the broadcasting of all governmental publicity in the media is banned, with the only exception given to informative campaigns on education, health and those required in an emergency. Mexico’s National Electoral Institute also mandates spending caps for presidential campaigns, a number calculated as twenty percent of the total public campaign funding provided to all seven parties. In 2024, this figure was calculated at 3.305 million pesos, equivalent to $194 million.
In the most recent electoral campaign, parties had 41 minutes per day on each public television and radio station, with radio and television access permitted only through ‘state time’.
60.92 per cent of all eligible voters cast their ballots in the recent election, with Mexican expats able to vote in-person for the first time.
11) Philippines
In the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr – elected in 2022 – had a campaign lasting 90 days. With a total number of 67 million voters eligible to cast their ballot, the voter turnout for the election was 80.83 per cent.
Election periods begin 90 days before election day in the Philippines, and campaign periods do not include the day before or day of election where a blackout period is observed. Television and radio time – known as Comelec Time – is allocated equally between candidates for free throughout the elections.
10) Canada
The minimum length of an electoral campaign in Canada is 36 days. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected in 2015, began his campaign 78 days before election day. A total of 71 per cent of eligible voters took part.
In Canada, a blackout period is observed from the day before the election day to the end of the election day itself. Although restrictions are placed upon political advertising during this time, activities including reposting political advertisements online, distributing brochures or installing lawn signs are permitted.
9) Italy
Italy’s president, Giorgia Meloni, led a campaign that lasted for 66 days. Italian elections are held a maximum of seven years apart – but earlier, if a government collapses. This year the lowest voter turnout recorded, of just under 64 per cent.
While there is no maximum number of days that a campaign can be held for, Italy still has strict regulations regarding how campaigns are run. Unlike other countries, Italy’s electoral race continues each day until the required majority is reached.
Equal time and space for political candidates via radio and television is a regulation stipulated in law in Italy. Paid political advertising messages can appear in the press, but should be marked as such. As well as this, opinion polls cannot be published in the 15 days before the election day. Parties must also declare on their website any donations received that are greater than €5,000 – however, privacy regulations mean that contributors must consent to this information being released first.
8) Brazil
The current president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – elected in 2022 – began his campaign on 16 August, 2022. For federal election, if both the presidency and seats in the Chamber of Deputies are on the ballot – like in the most recent election process – then it is legally permitted for a campaign to last 90 days. However, during midterm elections involving only Chamber of Deputies candidates, campaigns are permitted to last 60 days. Local election campaign lengths are dictated by state laws, with campaigns ranging from 59 to 90 days long.
Similar to other countries, Brazil adopts a blackout period where candidates are prohibited from distributing political advertisements or engaging in campaigns.
7) Australia
Australia’s current president, Anthony Albanese, had an election campaign spanning 36 days. Registering to vote, and voting itself for those aged eighteen or over, is mandatory in Australia and can result in fines or court appearances for those who do not follow the law. For the first time since the 1925 federal election, the most recent election had a voter turnout below 90 per cent.
Donations over $14,500 must be declared by parties, and donations of over $1,000 from foreign donors are banned entirely. In Australia, there is no limit regarding the amount, format or timing of electoral communication other than a blackout period. This occurs from the Wednesday before election day to the close of the poll on the day itself, whereby all electoral advertisements cannot be broadcast on television or radio.
6) France
President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 campaign lasted 36 days, however it is common for electoral campaigns in the country to occur within a two-week period.
Since 1995, all candidates in departmental and municipal elections of districts with a population greater than 9000 people are subject to spending caps. If they obtain more than five per cent of votes, candidates are eligible to be reimbursed for up to 50 per cent of their expenditures within the spending cap. There are also limits on donations, with companies prohibited from donating to campaign funds, and individuals’ donations capped at €4,600 per year.
Complex election rules in France also limit the airtime that each party can have, with media blackouts enforced over the election weekend to guarantee fairness and limit any favouring of one political party.
5) Indonesia
President Joko Widodo’s 2014 campaign in Indonesia lasted 35 days. Despite its short campaign, the 82.39 per cent voter turnout was far higher than the 65.6 per cent global average. More than 204 million voters cast their votes at 820,000 polling stations around the country – with more than half of voters between 17–40 – marking the world’s biggest single-day election. Indonesia also adopt a blackout period three days prior to the election day, as well as the day of polling itself.
In the most recent election, the General Electoral Commission (KPU) made a requirement for all parties to publish reports on supporters’ contributions. The vote counting tool, Sirekap, was also used in 2024 elections, despite concerns over its inaccuracy after reports found the total number of valid votes at polling stations exceeded the number of registered voters.
4) UK
Sir Keir Starmer, elected this summer in the United Kingdom, ran a campaign of 35 days. A twenty-year low for voter turnout was reported, with 60 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballot in the 2024 election.
In the UK, all political advertising is banned from being on the radio or television, however non-broadcast political advertising is permitted in leaflets, newspapers and on social media. Candidates are given ‘party political broadcasts’ that are not classified as advertising according to the UK’s Office of Communications.
In the recent election, UK political parties were on track to spend millions of pounds on digital campaigning: from running adverts on Facebook and Spotify to purchasing adverts on the homepages of more than fifty UK websites.
3) India
The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, was elected in 2024 and had a campaign spanning 33 days. The 2024 election was the biggest election ever globally, with 969 million eligible voters – or one in eight of the world’s population – voting over seven days across April, May and June. A staggered approach to voting was taken to ensure security staff could adequately guard polling stations throughout the country. 48 hours before election day, all political campaigning ceases in India due to mandatory blackout periods.
After voters cast their ballot – using electronic machines – their fingers were marked with an ink to prevent voting again. The ink stains fingernails and skin for around two weeks.
2) South Korea
Twenty-two days were all it took for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s campaign in South Korea. The election also marked the highest voter turnout in 32 years, at 62 per cent – with 29.66 million people casting their votes across the country.
Electoral campaigning is permitted from the day after the closing of candidate registration, to the day before the election day in South Korea. TV and radio campaigning is permitted, however as the election day draws nearer, such activities may be restricted along with newspaper advertisements. Six days before election day, polls with public opinions are not allowed to be published until after voting has finished.
South Korea also enforces a blackout period on the day of the election itself where campaigning is prohibited. The total amount spent on campaigning is decided by the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea, who set an upper limit based on previous data and the current population.
1) Japan
With some of the shortest election campaigns in the world, Japan’s current prime minister, Fumio Kishida’s campaign, lasted just 12 days. The most recent federal election saw a voter turnout of 56 per cent.
During election periods, candidates are restricted in the scope of their campaigning, with advertising and signage strictly controlled. Political candidates are not allowed to buy space in newspapers, or time on the radio or other forms of media – giving every candidate an equal opportunity regardless of wealth. Signboards are only permitted in particular, and equally-sized areas.
Recently, concerns about declining public trust led the country’s governing party to announce its next leadership election could have campaigns for a maximum of 15 days.
