"National Study on Family Voting and Freedom of Vote" - Supported by UN Women (2017 – Ongoing)

The Institute for Development Research and Alternatives (IDRA) has conducted the latest survey on the “National Study on Family Voting and Freedom of Voting”, with technical and financial support of UN Women, and is based on a national survey of 1,300 people aged 18 years old, and over. The survey was conducted during the period October - November 2017, and was extended in the entire territory of Albania. The aim of this study was to highlight citizens' opinions on practices that could interfere on the Freedom of Voting, the assessment of "Family Voting“ phenomenon, and the identification of lack of legal, cultural, and structural behind these experiences. The overall objective of this study is to:

• elicit the difference of women and men opinions on practices that might intervene with the freedom of voting,
• understand and identify the cultural, legal or structural reasons behind the malpractices jeopardizing the freedom of voting in different regions of Albania

In the context of “National Study on Freedom of Vote” IDRA has provided proof of knowledge, experience, and capacity including a clear methodology on how to conduct this survey. This survey consisted in the conduction of 1300 interviews, based on random selection, rural and urban area, Face-to-Face, with representative of the population over 18 years old. The database is scaled by gender and age, in order to achieve accurate findings on perceptions and attitudes towards various elements, such as:

• comparison of the progress (or regress) based on the findings of the previous study on Freedom to Vote and Family Voting study especially on how women vote and participate in elections
• providing concrete recommendations on the future interventions to improve women fair access in the electoral processes and tackling of family voting practices both institutionally and culturally
• measuring voters’ satisfaction in relation to administration of elections
• sharing the findings of the research with a wide range of stakeholders and media

Supported by UN Women this research aims to establish women’s role in public life remains largely un-recognized in Albania, and women’s full and equal participation in decision-making continues to be restricted due to pervasive stereotypes and discriminatory practices, which remain inherent in the public. Furthermore in overall electoral processes, family voting remains a very sensitive problem added to the lack of awareness with regard to the women right to vote, to elect and be elected. The study will contribute to define and better understand and explain perceptions of the electoral process, information voter’s needs, and voter behaviour in Albania and how they have changed over a period of 4 years.