VOTE MOCK ELECTIONS
Today, Moldova needs programs that would promote voter education amongst both adults and students/school pupils. Teachers are always trying to find connections between the "real world" and the skills taught in the classroom. In an election year, the inundation by the media of persuasive messages provides an ideal opportunity to make this connection. Additionally, the presence of voter education related programs brings advantages towards students' interest in the activities around elections and connects them to the elements of persuasion and the electoral process.
Statistics show today, as of April, 2008 that 14.8% of Moldovans would not go to voting, and 20 % are not decided if they will participate in elections. Amongst the main reasons are – lack of knowledge and skills, mistrust in political parties, thus 46,9 of the population do not know whom to trust or doesn’t trust to any political party or politician. 58 % of Moldovan voters know already whom they will vote for. Their decision is usually based on parties program (about 61%), but the rest are influenced in their decision by leader image, public opinion manipulation, nostalgia, tradition, etc. [1]
We have an electorate that is not reacting to the political environment and that is because it doesn’t offer incentives/reasons and alternative models. The only thing that the electorate has to do is to “sanction” political elite by absenteeism, by non-involvement – ticks of a democracy in decline. For example, it was said that at the 2007 local election was only 52, 3% of the population participated, comparatively to 58, 7% that participated in 2003.[2]
Given today’s statistics regarding the readiness of Moldovan electorate to participate in parliamentary elections in 2009 and the awareness vis-à-vis this important event for the country, it is possible to affirm that Moldova needs voter education related initiatives more than ever. Voter education helps elections become the event real for thousands and millions of citizens, including students, adults and elders, and it serves as a catalyst for future generations to become enthusiastic participants in country’s democracy. After all, that’s what living in a democracy is all about.
The current initiative aims at addressing the following problems:
- Lack of the Educational aspect of the Elections for the general population, especially from the rural areas;
- Lack of knowledge and experience about civic involvement, elections, the entitlements of the local authorities, the parliament and the president amongst population from rural areas;
- Lack of platforms that allows voters to understand and learn how elections work and how significant they are for the future developments of the country, by preparing and running/simulating elections themselves in their communities;
- Lack of eventsat the rural/local level that would allow people learn more about the Moldovan political system, about EU and the rights EU member countries have compared to non-EU members, additionally, there are no enough opportunities during which general population gets a chance to present their opinions on political matters important to our country during the pre-election debates.
Read more about project: www.hilfswerk-austria.md/euvotez
