As part of the “Young People Vote 2023” task conducted by the Civic Education Centre, students had the chance to make campaigns to encourage participation in elections, make election commissions and number votes. They could besides initiate school debates on topics that are crucial to them.
Teachers, utilizing the ready-made scenarios provided by the Civic Education Centre, conducted classes involving students in the subjects of parliament, informed choice and importance of political parties. All schools could participate in the electoral celebration, highlighting for young people the value of the right to choose their representatives. All of this aimed at raising interest in politics and shaping civic habits for the future.
Turnout lower than in reality
All students aged 13 to 19 were entitled to vote in school election simulations. Schools besides had the chance to let junior class elections. Of the 186,819 students entitled to vote in 576 schools that gave the election results, 99,439 people voted, giving attendance at 53.2%.
Source: ceo.org.plThe Citizens' Coalition proved to be a decisive winner of the school election, scoring 31.1% of the vote and ahead of the next committee by 10 percent points. Second place with a score of 20.6% went to the Confederation. The Left won 3rd place with a score of 15.5%, and 4th place went to Law and Justice with a score of 11.9%. 5th place finished 3rd Road with a score of 11%. At the end of the list were the Unpartisan Local Governmentists with a 4.1% score.
KO as a substitute for fresh Left?
The triumph of the Civic Coalition among young people was undoubtedly surprising. The KO score was about 10% higher than during the school election in 2019. Youth opinion polls specified as “Debutants 2023,” among a somewhat older group than the participants of the “Young Vote” project, showed that this organization has twice as much support in this age group. It is possible that KO's advanced score is influenced by the fact that the organization is seen by the youngest primarily as an alternate to the presently ruling party. Another crucial origin may be the presentation in the media of Donald Tusk's organization as the more progressive and even substitute for the fresh Left, with a clear decrease in the number of votes (from 23% in 2019 to 15.5% today).
The TikToku run has done its job
The Confederation has besides achieved a advanced score of 20.6%, which is almost the same as the 2019 “Young Vote” results, and is consistent with pre-election polls that show that support for this group among young voters is much higher than among the elderly. Support may be due to the fact that Mentzen's run was mainly based on online media (e.g. TikToku), which are more popular among young people.
The young don't know what the 3rd Way is?
The 3rd Road is not very popular among children due to the fact that its score is only 11%. Aversion in this case may simply be based on a deficiency of cognition about this coalition, as PSL and Poland 2050 have not alternatively promoted themselves in an attractive way to specified young audiences. The Confederacy or the fresh Left have more clear views in this respect and are so more attractive to students.
Old-fashioned PiS
Law and Justice have experienced a crucial decline in support among young voters. In 2019, the organization won the biggest support, due to the fact that 25%, but now it is half as much. For the young PiS is now a organization that “always” was in power, which may explain their discouragement, given the youth's tendency to rebel. In addition, the organization is liable for the situation in schools and for many controversial events that may displease the young generation.
