The voting phase of the 276 proposals selected under the Participatory Budget of the Azores - OP Açores 2019 began today and will run until September 30. Citizens are invited to participate, choosing the proposals that should be implementation by the Regional Government, not only on their island but also on other islands of the archipelago, as this year's edition includes a new category: projects of regional scope.
Among the 276 proposals put to vote, 62 are of regional scope, while the other 214 are directed to a specific island of the archipelago: 69 on S. Miguel, 33 on Terceira, 25 on Pico, 19 on Faial, 17 on S. Jorge, 16 on Graciosa, 15 on Flores, 12 on Santa Maria and eight on Corvo.
In terms of thematic areas, 131 proposals were submitted in the area of Youth, 47 in Culture, 38 in Environment, 37 in Social Inclusion and 23 in Tourism.
Today, an advertising campaign was launched on the Regional Government's YouTube Chanel, the OP Açores Facebook page and in the regional media with the aim of encourage voting.
For the first time, citizens promoting the proposals put to vote will have at their disposal a kit composed of post templates to be used on social networks, posters and other promotional materials to support the dissemination of their proposals.
This year, citizens can vote twice: one vote for a proposal of regional scope and one vote for an island project
Citizens may vote online at the address https://op.azores.gov.pt or by sending a text message to the number 3838 in the following format: "OPAZORES (space) Proposal number (space) Civil Identification Number."
Regardless of the selected voting method, citizens are required to provide information on their Citizen Card or Identity Card, including numbers and letters.
For the second consecutive year, the Regional Government of the Azores fulfils the commitment made to Azorean citizens. Indeed, this is an effective tool to foster participatory democracy and active citizenship, empowering citizens to make a direct decision on the use of public funds in the Region and involving people in the political process.