Over 35’000 students and first time voters learned about the election process and rehearsed voting procedures in a campaign that aimed to raise awareness among high school students. They took part in simulations and mock elections in order to become familiar with the proper voting steps and how to avoid mistakes at the voting polls.

Part of this campaign was also the launching of “Voto2017” – a mobile app developed for smart phones that informs on all aspects of the voting, and also enables users to document and report irregularities during the election process as well as intimidation of voters. The application was installed and used by over 18,500 voters during the June 2017 elections.

On the election day the mobile app proved successful after the websites of the National Civil Register and the Central Electoral Commission crashed due to cyber-attacks.

“Voto2017” helped users find the voting station, check registration status, and learn about important things to do and not to do prior to and during the voting. It also informed on the counting process and the voting results. But most importantly “Voto 2017” provided the possibility to report real time through images and videos cases of intimidation and photographing of votes.

The campaign and the mobile app were implemented by the Academy of Political Studies (APS) and Council of Europe, with a 41,000 Swiss francs fund provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC. Switzerland is a continuous supporter of the Academy of Political Sciences.

The recent OSCE/ODIHR report on Albania’s parliamentary elections included a recommendation on improving voters’ awareness for future elections.