How can young voters play an active role in shaping their country’s future? The Council of Europe supported the Central Election Commission (CEC) in hosting the roundtable ‘Electoral Education for First-Time Voters in Albania 2025’, a programme implemented by the Academy of Political Studies in cooperation with the National Agency for Pre-University Education, designed to engage young voters in the democratic process.

The event highlighted the achievements of the national programme, which reached around 20,000 high school graduates across Albania. According to the presented data, 47% of first-time voters exercised their right to vote in the May 2025 parliamentary elections, marking an increase in youth voter turnout compared to previous elections. Notably, young voters from the Albanian diaspora participated for the first time, with 4,356 casting their vote from abroad.

Ilirjan Celibashi, the State Election Commissioner, emphasised the importance of continuing public education among young voters, and stressed the need to make electoral education more engaging. Giulia Re, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, Thilo Schroeter, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Erjon Tase, Executive Director of the Academy of Political Studies, all emphasised the importance of building a lasting culture of active citizenship, where informed and independent voting is the norm.

Students who took part in the programme described it as highly informative, saying that it helped them to understand the significance of voting and the value of independent, critical thinking. Discussions also explored ways to expand outreach to young people and formally incorporate electoral education into the national civic education curriculum.

The event was organised as part of the Strengthening Electoral Integrity in Albania (SEI) project, which is run by the Council of Europe Office and funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.