We remember this day in a year in which Spain will face several electoral processes.
Every first Thursday of February is celebrated around the world as World Election Day, an initiative that arose during the World Conference of Election Officials, held in Hungary in 2005, and which was endorsed by the United Nations, among other international organisations.
The objectives of this event are:
To raise public awareness of the different types of voting systems, to raise awareness of the importance of promoting a democratic culture and high levels of voter participation, and to encourage new voters and young people to exercise their right to vote.
Elections are the mechanism by which voters express their opinion through a secret ballot to elect a representative to a political, trade union or other office. This institutional process is possible in a democratic environment.
How to motivate youth
For young people to be empowered and to make use of their right to vote, it is important to value democracy.
But what is democracy?
Beyond a regime or form of government, it is a way of life where the highest values in the human sense are highlighted.
It has to do with upholding the rule of law, the division of powers, universal suffrage and regular elections.
It involves the institutional defence of human rights.
It is linked to the freedom of expression, opinion, thought, conscience…
It has to do with the right to freedom to investigate and to receive and disseminate information and ideas by any means of expression.
It implies the active participation of citizens and transparency in public administration.
The democratic ideal is related to respect for ethnic, religious, gender, sexual orientation and ideological differences.
In its fullest sense, democracy is about access to minimum levels of socio-economic welfare.
Elections in Spain
In Spain, several elections are scheduled for 2023. The first will be on 28 May: municipal and regional elections (the latter, however, will not be held in all autonomous communities, excluding the regions of Andalusia, Castile and Leon, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country). The other electoral event is expected to take place in November or December, and will be the General Elections to elect the people’s representatives to the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.