The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, George Reid, will chair a mock election debate at Portobello High School
as part of an event to encourage more schools to hold mock elections
ahead of May’s Scottish parliamentary and local government votes.
There are currently 115 schools
holding mock elections in Scotland, which give students the opportunity
to stand as candidates for political parties and interest groups as
well as acting as speech writers, canvassers and reporters.
The event is being organised by
the Hansard Society Scotland and supported by the Electoral Commission,
to encourage more schools to do so.
Angela Wrapson of the Hansard
Society Scotland said that young people are very engaged by issues. She
said: “As today’s event shows, mock elections are a great way of
allowing young people to see how the issues important to them can be
expressed through politics.
“In this way they learn about
democracy and the political process at the same time. And what better
way for them to try out their campaigning skills than in front of the
Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer?”
The class will vote for their
favourite candidate using the Single Transferable Vote system which
will be used for the first time in the local government elections.
Presiding Officer George Reid MSP said: "It
has been said that young people do not care or want to engage
themselves in politics - but that I do not believe. Right across
Scotland, young people are engaged in issues, which matter to them. It
is vital that we listen to their voice and events such as these help us
to do just that. Some of these young people may become future
politicians whilst others may venture into different careers. What is
certain, however, is that all have the potential to help shape the
future of Scotland and be ambassadors for our nation throughout the
world".
Andy O’Neill, head of the
Electoral Commission in Scotland, said: “It’s important for young
people to become involved with politics early and to learn how their
vote can count. Today, the Hansard Society Scotland has shown how the
mock elections can do this and also how the new voting system, STV,
will work. I would encourage any school not already signed up to take
part.”
The results of all the mock
elections across all schools in Scotland will be collated and the
winning party will be announced in May. Schools can sign up for the
scheme at www.mockelections.co.uk.
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