Stolen Elections? Distorted Democracy?: Why Are There Stolen Elections?

Democracy has been on the ascendance since the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991. That seminal event has totally transformed the world from a contest between socialism/communism and democracy into a world dominated by the western form of democracy. Despite the out-sized triumphalism in the West, recent events around the world show that democracy is now in deep crisis with severe political polarization and popular discontent.
Extremists and the far-right are gaining significant grounds in many purported democracies. There are also far too many instances of what are called "stolen elections"What has happened?So, is stealing an election similar to cheating in gambling?They seem to be quite the same. Gamblers try their luck in gambling, and are not above cheating to win, by whatever devious ways they can think of. Similarly, politicians steal elections by whatever ways available to them by the written and unwritten rules of politics.
They do that all the time to get elected to positions of power. What can be done to safeguard democracy?