Impact of New Technologies on Young Voters Discussed at First Belgorod Legal Forum

Today, as part of the First Belgorod Legal Forum "Moral Imperatives of Russian Statehood: Personal Dignity, Sovereignty, Solidarity", a roundtable discussion on electoral values took place. The topics discussed included building trust in elections, countering foreign interference in electoral processes, and the transformation of the institution of international election observation.

Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat - Director of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) Ivan Mushket made a speech on "New electoral technologies and their influence on the formation of electoral values of young people".

The formation of a high level of legal and political culture among young voters and the reduction of absenteeism and legal nihilism was closely linked not only to the professionalism of election and referendum organisers, but also to the technological improvement of electoral processes. In this sense, digitalisation opened up new horizons of opportunities, Ivan Mushket emphasised.

According to him, new electoral technologies could not only have a positive impact on the turnout of youth representatives at elections, but also formed a legal culture, gave the new generation a sense of civic cohesion in the conditions of a new network society.

Member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Pavel Andreev made a presentation on "Observation of Electoral Procedures in Foreign Countries: Analysis of Experience and Main Trends".

In his report, he emphasised that the openness and transparency of the State's electoral system was ensured through the work of observers, both national and international.

Member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Igor Borisov presented the report "Foreign Interference in Elections as a Phenomenon of Democratic Processes".

The roundtable was attended by the staff of the IPA CIS IIMDD Offices in Baku, Bishkek and Yerevan, representatives of academia, teaching staff of Russian universities, staff of election commissions, bachelor's and master's degree students of Russian universities.

The First Belgorod Legal Forum brought together more than 1000 experts from nine countries. In addition to electoral issues, lawyers discuss crisis phenomena in law and judicial activity, as well as the interaction between the authorities, representatives of legal science and the real economy in the current geopolitical environment.