India is not the only country facing a momentous election in 2014, now just a few weeks away. A number of countries are scheduled to have elections/referendums that could have an impact on world affairs or the region they are situated in. The countries facing crucial polls are:

Afghanistan: The election is scheduled in April, even while the US troops are withdrawing and uncertainty surrounds the process. Afghanistan?s 2009 presidential election was plagued by terror, voter fraud and corruption. The country will face the same issues this time, especially with the Taliban going on the offensive and targeting polling stations. President Hamid Karzai is barred from serving a third term and the potential frontrunners include finance minister Abdullah Abdullah, economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, moderate former foreign minister Zalmai Rasool and the current President?s older brother, businessman Qayum Karzai. Polling stations in more than a third of Afghanistan?s 34 provinces are seen as dangerous, so it remains to be seen how legitimate the polls are.

South Africa: Also to be held in April, this will be the first since the death of Nelson Mandela and is seen as a turning point in Africa?s largest economy. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is expected to remain in power, but public discontent over corruption scandals, lavish lifestyles of ANC leaders headed by President Zuma, lack of social services and decaying infrastructure mean that the ANC will likely lose ground to other parties like the opposition Democratic Alliance and a new populist group, the Economic Freedom Fighters. The year 2014 might be the most exciting elections South Africa has seen in two decades.

Iraq: The country?s fragile democracy will carry out its second parliamentary election in April against the backdrop of a surge in sectarian violence. Although prime minister Nuri al-Maliki?s State of Law coalition lost significant ground in April?s provincial elections?a sign of internal tensions among the Shia majority?it is possible that rival parties will aim to keep Maliki in power simply to avoid a descent into chaos.

Hungary: Ever since former prime minister Viktor Orban took office for the second time in 2010, he has used his two-thirds majority to enact a new constitution, which limits freedom of the press, rolls back checks and balances installed after the fall of communism and threatens the independence of the central bank. The parliamentary elections scheduled for April will be the first chance for the country to pass judgment on their aggressive prime minister and his questionable version of democracy. Orban is leading in recent polls, but there is a strong chance of the Left and Centre regaining power.

Colombia: Colombia?s current president, Juan Manuel Santos, will run for re-election in May. Even though Santos? approval numbers have dipped in recent months, he is expected to win a second term?but only after a dramatic, feud-filled campaign. Santos hopes that an end to Colombia?s insurgency will make way for a new era in Colombian-US relations, one that centres less on military aid and more on education and technology.

Thailand: Last December, after violent protests in Bangkok, prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved the lower house of Parliament and called for fresh elections for February, a move that was shot down by the courts and protesters who are demanding an entirely new political system. The country is now in political limbo, waiting for the street protests to die down and normalcy to return, before new elections are announced, possibly by a royal decree.

Scotland: This September, Scotland will face the most momentous election in its history. It will vote on whether or not to become an independent country (in 1707, Scotland united with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain). Recent polls show that more Scots want to remain part of the UK rather than leave it, but with the campaign for independence (led by Alex Salmond of the pro-independence Scottish National Party) yet to take off in earnest, a third of the population is still undecided. The nationalists argue that independence will improve economic growth and give Scotland more influence on the world stage. There are, however, doubts about the economic viability of an independent Scotland and the fate of oil resources in the British North Sea.