Reduction of abstention cannot be moment of contrition in the post-election period but a constant concern, defended Berto Messias
The study on electoral abstention in the Azores, unanimously approved by the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, will provide a "major contribution to fully understand the problems arising from the abstention in our region and the causes of abstention, namely political, social, economic or technical factors," defended the Regional Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs.
Berto Messias spoke Thursday in the city of Horta.
The Regional Secretary praised the "consensus that the proposal for this study represented" as well as "the definition of the assumptions under analysis in this matter and the establishment to be developed in the context of this study."
Berto Messias considered that the study "should not be a political work for politicians," but it should rather "involve the civil society and those who have been conducting research on these issues for many years."
For the Regional Secretary, the issue of abstention and the concerns around it" are not matters that should be taken into account in the weeks before the elections or much less in a moment of contrition in the post-election period; it should be a permanent concern."
"There is no better contribution to combat abstention than a government or political parties in their duties - whether executive or legislative, whether at regional, municipal or local level -attuned to the problems of everyday people in order to positively respond to their aspirations and concerns," said the Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs, Berto Messias.