TIRANA, June 10 – U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu has urged young voters in Albania to not get jaded by the toxic elements of the political process and participate in democracy — first and foremost by voting.
Lu made the comments at the Youth Political Academy in the southeastern city of Korça with the participation of members of youth forums of the political parties, and local youth activists.
The event is one in a series of regional political academies organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies as part of their Embassy Democracy Commission funded project, which encourages youth participation in local elections and youth active bipartisan input in the wider electoral agenda.
During the event, Ambassador Lu stressed the importance of youth voting.
“This is a country where young people hold the power – the power to elect their own leaders and the power to change the whole political system. You have the power to reject criminal politicians, vote buying and angry political rhetoric. But you only have this power if you vote,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of participation, the ambassador said “there’s a saying in America: ‘If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.’ We all love to complain about our politicians,” he told the youths attending the event. “You have the power to choose your leaders. Don’t sell your votes. Don’t listen to angry political rhetoric. And most of all, on election day don’t stay at home. Vote.”
