site.bta65% of Young Romanians Believe They Can Determine Election Outcome

The warm weather in Romania is in contrast with the cool political atmosphere in the country in the week of the European Parliament elections. No large billboards lining the streets, no heated debates on TV.

Still, there are small campaign posters pasted on special boards in highly visible locations. People rarely stop to view them, which is different from when they pass by a church. In the latter case, they usually slow their pace and do the cross sign.

The latest survey conducted by the INSCOP polling agency, a copy of which was sent to the BTA office in Bucharest, shows that only 2.5% of Romanians believe that their country is going in the right direction, while 60.3% are pessimistic about the future. One thing is certain: almost no one will be thinking about Europe when they go to the polls later in the week, according to an analysis by Politico.

In Romania, the European elections will coincide with local elections, and the issues associated with Brussels are overshadowed by the problem of corruption in Romanian municipalities. This may be one of the reasons for observers to suggest that expatriate voting is an important factor which will influence the election results.

But not only. About 65% of young people in Romania are convinced that they represent the force which will determine the outcome of the elections. Young Romanians intend to cast their ballot mainly because they want to exercise their democratic right to vote (43%), to influence European policies (41%), and to protect democracy from extremism (8%).

One million young people in Romania are able to vote for the first time. A total of 18,965,288 people are eligible to vote, according to Romanian government data.