The youngest candidate for the mayoralty of Chisinau Maxim Braila, of the People’s Party, calls on the young people to go and vote on May 20. In a news conference at IPN, Maxim Braila said that the young people have been mainly absent from the polls and the motivations were most of the times unserious. At the same time, the causes for youth absenteeism should not be looked for among the young people only, but also in the carelessness of those who were in power.

“Most of the times, the state didn’t show interest in ensuring the proper civic and political education of the citizens in general and of the young people in particular. The rulers aimed to have a mass of people that is easily manipulated and less responsible for the own destiny,” stated the candidate.

Maxim Braila noted that the power permanently hampered the young people’s access to elections, inventing places of residence, preliminary registration, special permits and other obstacles. “The CEC data concerning the elections of 2014 show that 62% of the young people didn’t take part in elections then. The youth absenteeism from the ballot vote was greater in the rural areas – about 65% - and smaller in the urban areas, standing at 60.2% in Chisinau. In the elections of 2014, only 3% of the voters aged between 18 and 25 and 21% of those aged between 25 and 35 took part in the elections. The figure repeats each year, from elections to elections,” he said.

According to the candidate, the voters bring more democracy and Europe at home by vote. They also make so that the young people remain in the country by vote. “The future is obtained not by indifference, but by political struggle. This is a truth that no one should neglect. To this we should tie our present and based on this we should guide our future when we are urged to vote,” he stated.

Maxim Braila is the youngest election runner in Chisinau. He is 25. He is the vice president of the People’s Party. On the ballot, he will be under No. 8.