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THE VERDICT

Is an election still valid if the opposition is in jail?

Debated on August 26, 2026
YES23%
NO77%
YES NO No opinion

The owl's take

The verdict is unambiguous: a large majority considers that an election held without free opponents carries no validity.

The sharpest divide is along gender lines: men reject the idea almost entirely, women lean the same way but less decisively.

By age, those between 25 and 54 are unanimous in their rejection, while those 65 and over split evenly, the only group without a clear verdict.

Two registers emerge from the debate: the denunciation of dictatorship dressed as democracy, and a legitimacy argument captured plainly as: without real choice, no winner can claim to be recognized.

By country

By gender

By age

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