Emotional highs and lows of democracy in 2016

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Birgitta Jonsdottir of the Pirate Party reacts alongisde party members after early results of the parliamentary elections in Iceland, October 29, 2016. However, they did not achieve the success they had hoped for (Reuters/Geirix) Reuters

Protesters in Hannover, Germany, demonstrate against the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the US and Germany, April 23, 2016 (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach) Reuters

Emotions run high at a meeting with locals in Seelisberg, central Switzerland, to discuss a planned accommodation centre asylum seekers on August 4, 2016. Here an angry resident confronts a member of the canton Uri government. The meeting had to be stopped (Keystone/Urs Flüeler) Keystone

A demonstrator calling for Brexit in London, Britain, on November 23, 2016. Voters had approved Britain leaving the European Union in June, but for some the government is not acting quickly enough over Brexit (Keystone/EPA/Hayoung Jeon) Keystone

Young men raise their fists during a concert by nationalist band Romantic Violence in Budapest, on October 1, 2016. This followed a rally by far-right sympathisers in support of Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban's policies on migrants, which were against European Union quotas for accepting asylum seekers (Keystone/AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Keystone

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the then Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, in Florence, Italy, on November 5, 2016. Renzi stepped down from his post in December (Keystone/Ansa/Maurizio Degl'Innocenti) Keystone

Voters said no to a peace accord signed between the Colombian government and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. This was a cause of upset and disbelief for some in the capital, Bogota, on October 2, 2016 (Keystone/AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Keystone

Flavia Kleiner, head of the NGO committee against the so-called enforcement initiative, and her colleagues celebrate on February 28, 2016. Voters had just said no to this hardline initiative to automatically deport foreigners who commit certain crimes (Keystone/Lukas Lehmann) Keystone

Rightwing Austrian Freedom Party presidential candidate Norbert Hofer hugs a supporter during an election campaign rally in Vienna, Austria, on April 22, 2016. Hofer finally lost the vote to be president - which had to be held three times - to the former head of the Greens Alexander Van der Bellen on December 4 (Keystone/EPA/Christian Bruna) Keystone

Keen disappointment on the night of November 8, 2016 for the democratic supporters of Hillary Clinton. In a big upset, she lost the US presidential election to the populist Republican challenger Donald Trump (Keystone/Nathan Hunsinger) Keystone

Activists march in support of same-sex marriage in Sydney, Australia. The Australian government's proposal to hold a national vote on legalising same-sex marriage was defeated in the upper house of parliament on November 7, 2016 (Keystone/EPA/Carol Cho) Keystone

Students in white masks call for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to step down, amid an explosive political scandal, in Seoul, South Korea, on November 12, 2016 (Keystone/AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Keystone

A supporter of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party cheers while watching the vote counting process during the 2016 presidential election in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 16, 2016. The party's Tsai Ing-wen was later confirmed as the first-ever female president of the island, which has a delicate relationship with China (Keystone/EPA/Ritchie B. Tongo) Keystone

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The US elections, Brexit, populism, nationalism, authoritarian leaders – while some see 2016 as the end of democracies as we know them, others say the results of popular votes reflect the true will of the people, going against the elites.

But what is clear: 2016 has been by far the most turbulent year for democracy since the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Election wins, vote defeats, demonstrations and angry protests. Democracies produce winners and losers – and, what is even more important, regular votes allow citizens to let off steam.

Swiss voters were “spoiled” in terms of direct democracy in 2016. They went to the polls four times on a national level, voting on people’s initiatives, changes to the constitution or on new laws. For the British, however, their ballot on whether to stay in the European Union was their first in 40 years.

But the political debates have two sides. It is customary to have a tough but fair democratic debate, while remaining respectful. But this year the borders have shifted dramatically. Personal attacks, even severe ones, on opponents are becoming more common. This can be witnessed in our gallery of the political year 2016.

(Text: Renat Künzi, swissinfo.ch)