People over 55 years old made up a third of the eligible voters in the partial elections held yesterday in 5 municipalities, Vlorë, Berat, Cërrik, Mat, Tepelena. 16% of eligible voters were in the 55-64 age group and 18.4% were in the over 65 age group, according to official data from the Central Election Commission.
However, their preference for candidates running for mayor is crucial for the final election result, due to their much higher interest and willingness to vote, compared to younger voters.
According to official data from the CEC, although they constituted 34.4% of voters on the list, the age group over 55 years old cast 50% of the total votes, or 15.5 percentage points more than their weight in the total voter list.
The most active age group in voting is those over 65, who cast 27.6% of the votes, when they constitute 18.4% of the voter list.
The highest interest from this age group was in Mat and Tepelena, where more than half of those registered over 65 went to vote, and less in Vlora, with 18%.
The 55-64 age group cast 22.3% of the votes, when it constituted 16% of the registered voters.
The 45-54 age group has the highest balance between weight on the electoral list and voters, with 16.7% and 15.5% respectively.
Among the youngest, the contribution to the vote is significantly lower for two main reasons.
Firstly, due to the high level of emigration, which has mainly involved young people.
Secondly, as a result of the lower interest they have in voting, which causes even those in Albania not to go to voting centers.
Official data shows that the age group from 18 to 44 years old made up almost half of the voter list (48.9%), but they cast 34.6% of the total votes in yesterday's elections, leaving the "fate" of the results in the hands of voters over 55 years old.
Young people's interest in voting has been particularly low in Vlora, where less than 10% of the age group up to 35 years old who are eligible to vote have gone to the polling stations, also testifying to the high level of youth emigration in the coastal city.
The most enthusiastic young people to vote were in Mat and Tepelena, where 20-25% of those eligible to vote between the ages of 18 and 34 went to the ballot boxes yesterday.
The partial elections were held yesterday in Vlora, Berat, Cërrik, Mat and Tepelena, following the creation of vacancies in the positions of mayors due to resignations, dismissals or taking other public mandates by former mayors.
In total, there were 334,539 people on the voter list in these municipalities. According to preliminary CEC data, the percentage of voters was 18.45% (for 383 centers out of 472 in total), with interest being much lower compared to the normal local elections of 2023, when the total participation was around 38%.
Elections were also planned in the capital, but were canceled after the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the current mayor, Erion Veliaj./ Monitor
