Youth participation in political processes

FOR political systems to be representative, all parts of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes, a significant portion of the population has little or no voice or influence in decisions that affect group members’ lives. A key consequence is the undermining of political systems’ representativeness.

To make a difference in the long-term, it is essential that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics.

Inclusive political participation is not only a fundamental political and democratic right but also is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations.

For young people to be adequately represented in political institutions, processes, and decision-making, and in particular in elections, they must know their rights and be given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.

When there are obstacles to participating in formal, institutionalised political processes, young people can rapidly feel disempowered. Many tend to believe that their voices are not going to be heard or that they will not be taken seriously even if they are heard.

The problem becomes circular as politicians may lose interest in responding to the aspirations of young people if they cannot win their votes. This in turn leads to young people being increasingly excluded from taking part in decisionmaking, or in debates about key socioeconomic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice, environmental protection and cultural diversity.

In new and emerging democracies, the inclusion of young people in formal political processes is important from the start.

Young people’s active contributions can bring democratic values to life, leading to the overturning of authoritarian practices.

In countries where young people have led protests that have forced authoritarian regimes from power, they are likely to feel significant frustration if they are not included in new formal decision-making procedures. This can destabilise democratisation and accelerate conflict dynamics.

Electoral stakeholders have a role to play in promoting young people’s participation in formal decision-making processes. For this role to be effective, it is necessary to understand the interconnected nature of the obstacles to participation in these processes that young people encounter.

Obstacles to youth participation

Significant obstacles to youth political participation occur at different levels and in different areas, including structural, individual, and organisational ones. Also, and importantly, election-related violence has a negative impact on youth participation in elections.

Obstacles at the structural level

The following issues are hindering young people’s participation at the structural level:

● Age requirements to vote or run for office. The first barrier for youth participation is the minimum voting age requirement set for national elections at 18 in most countries, which disenfranchises younger citizens.

The second barrier for youth participation is the minimum age for eligibility to run for office, which is often set higher than the age to vote.

● Age restriction in campaigning in some of the countries. As youth (15-35) encompasses “minors without voting rights’, “minors with voting rights’ and “young adults with voting rights’ some electoral laws penalise political parties who use minors for campaigning. It can be a challenge to both protect youth and encourage their participation at the same time.

● Increased costs for candidate nomination and campaigning and the lack of political finance regulations make it even more difficult for youth to start a political career. Similarly, if parties are not giving financial support to young candidates at the same rates as for older candidates, they are disadvantaged.

● Social and cultural traditions. In most societies, politics has been for centuries a domain of older, often male and wealthy citizens, a situation that has resulted in the systematic exclusion of young people from political debates and decision-making and thus contributed to the under representation of youth. Despite a broad consensus that young people have an important role to play in political processes, the participation of youth in politics remains a sensitive issue in some regions.

While participation of all citizens at the local level is the cornerstone to build healthy democracies, it is often at the local level that young people are not given the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes.