One of the education tasks in democratic societies is to support and encourage the younger generation to become active and devoted citizens, who are willing and capable to engage in decision-making that concern them in public and political life. To help the national institutions in the field of education to achieve this task, at the request of the Center for Continuous Training in the Electoral Field (CCET), UNDP Moldova developed the study "Electoral Education - a Basic Citizenship Attribute in a Culture of Participatory and Representative Democracy".

The study includes a comprehensive analysis of the national curriculum in terms of the presence of electoral literacy modules for students, starting from elementary school to high school. The document also compares the regional models of electoral education, presenting the practices of teaching electoral content in schools in France, India, Belgium, Australia, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The study presents a series of conclusions and recommendations. One of the conclusions shows that, at this stage, the national curriculum at the elementary school level practically does not have any explicit content unit regarding the formation of electoral competence. For the middle school and high school level, there are subjects of Education for Society and Civic Education that include content units on voting, electoral systems, powers of the state etc. However, there is a need to address other topics that would strengthen the electoral competence of students who, starting at the age of 18, already express their right to vote.

The recommendations of the study are addressed both to the Center for Continuous Training in the Electoral Field, to continue the extracurricular training programs, which they carry out starting from the elementary school level and up to the university level, but also to the public authorities, to introduce, as an offer, the optional discipline "Electoral Education" in the framework plan for all schooling levels.

The author of the study is Dr. Associate Professor. Loretta Handrabura, and the co-authors are Natalia Grîu, expert in education, Dr. Doina Bordeianu and Natalia Țurcanu, professor of history and civic education.

The study was developed within the UNDP Moldova project "Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections", implemented with the financial support of the American people, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).