This definition was popularized by political scientist Robert Dahl.
A free and fair election involves political freedoms and fair processes leading up to the vote, a fair count of eligible voters who cast a ballot, a lack of electoral fraud or voter suppression, and acceptance of election results by all parties.
[1] A 2016 study evaluated ten dimensions of the conduct of elections between 1975–2011:[2] The V-Dem Democracy Indices codes free and fair elections separately from the extent of suffrage.
[3] The study of 169 countries from 1975 to 2011 estimated that only about half of elections were free and fair.
[2] The study wondered whether the increase in non-democratic regimes holding elections over time alongside a rise in global efforts around election observation led to a rise in the proportion of elections that were deemed to not be free and fair.