Romanians are encouraged to become informed voters by using the app “Eu cu cine votez?”, an interactive platform which has already been accessed by over 100,000 users. It aims to help citizens identify their compatibility with political parties ahead of the December 1 parliamentary elections.
“Eu cu cine votez?” is inspired by Wahl-O-Mat, a platform successfully used in Germany before every election. It helps voters to compare the positions of political parties on topical issues, giving a clear insight into each respondent’s compatibility with different political parties based on their answers.
“The app is very useful to help voters who don’t have time to read all the election materials to decide who would be the best person to vote for. With the help of the app, they can make an informed, rational decision on who to vote for. We advocate for objective information and voting decisions to be based on the most objective criteria. Our aim is to minimize the impact of irrational factors on the voting decision”, emphasizes Prof. Dr. Mircea Comșa, member of the research team that developed the questionnaire.
“Eu cu cine votez?” (“Who do I vote for?”) works on the basis of a 28-question questionnaire, developed by a research team including Prof. Dr. Ionela Băluță (University of Bucharest), Prof. Dr. Mircea Comșa (Babeș-Bolyai University), Prof. Dr. Bogdan Voicu (Romanian Academy) and Prof. Dr. Claudiu Tufiș (University of Bucharest).
The platform “Eu cu cine votez?” (“Who do I vote for?”) includes relevant questions on topical issues, such as whether religion should be compulsory in schools, whether economic development should be prioritized over environmental protection, or the number of public sector employees. Users can track their compatibility with political party positions in real time and receive a detailed score for each party. In addition, they can explore the parties’ detailed answers to each question.
“The platform is a very valuable tool that will help Romanians to make conscious and informed choices. It’s a very important thing for democracy, elections are the essence of a democratic state and such an app provides easy access and the possibility to think about essential questions and important issues in society. It really makes you think about what is important before you make a decision on who you vote for in the elections”, explains Dr. Peer Gebauer, German Ambassador to Romania.
Intuitive tool for voters
“The app is very easy to use and I really liked that at the top of the screen it shows which party a particular option belongs to and the percentage of compatibility,” said Mona Vasile, senior learning designer. She added that the results provided by the app were in line with her expectations, emphasizing the importance of getting involved by voting: “We need to go to the polls, but go informed.”
Andrei Scurtu, an entrepreneur, considers the app a valuable tool for society: “I like that there is an initial virtual tour to help you navigate. At the end, you can check the party positions on the questions you answered, which is very useful to get informed about the parties.”
Messages of encouragement for voters
“We urge you to take 20 minutes now and do the simulation, so you don’t regret it 4 years later. Go from being a disoriented citizen to an informed voter”, encourages Mihai Marc, project coordinator of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Romania.
Maria Ionescu, vice-president of the organization “O Țară ca Afară”, considers the app to be an example of a great civic initiative: “The most important thing is that it is very easy to use, intuitive. I encourage everyone to use it”.
The initiative is supported by all four German political foundations present in Romania: Friedrich Ebert, Konrad Adenauer, Friedrich Naumann and Hanns Seidel.