Youth participation in elections inspirational
SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 will forever be etched in the mind of Rushinga Constituency Youth Quota legislator Barbra Thompson after she was sworn into Parliament together with other Parliamentarians.
On the day of the ceremony, she cut a lone figure as she acclimatised herself with the ambience, the new settings and welldressed men and women of different stature, as she waited to be sworn in together with other legislators at the new Parliament building in Mount Hampden.
At 28, she is the youngest Parliamentarian in the 10th Parliament, whose members were sworn in after successfully winning in the just ended harmonised elections.
Her presence in the August House is expected to inspire youths who have always stood by the side-lines, showing little or no interest in politics over the years despite the numerical significance.
The United Nations Development Programme (2017) in its “Handbook for Electoral Management Bodies’ acknowledges that youth are key change agents in a country, and the potential of young people’s contributions to sustainable human development must not be ignored.
The youth’s vote becomes crucial in determining the political discourse which in turn shapes their involvement and participation in the economy.
Elections lie at the heart of democracy and effective and inclusive participation of all citizens—including youth—in elections and broader political processes is critical to democratic development.
Youths seem to have been galvanised in embracing a new sense of purpose, probably inspired by the realisation that there is a symbolic relationship between economics and politics, if what the country witnessed in the harmonised elections held in August is anything to go by.
That realisation also resonates with the country’s Constitution which in Section 20 states that “the state and its institutions at every level must take reasonable measures, including affirmative action to ensure that youths are afforded opportunities for employment and other avenues for economic empowerment.”
Taking stock of what transpired in the August harmonised elections, expectations are high that the inclusion of youth in electoral processes will increase in the next few years as political parties broaden their bases, by opening windows of opportunities for more youth to participate in future elections.
Their numerical significance is what political parties would need to rally on to increase and strengthen their membership base.
According to the 2022 census, people under the age of 35 make up more than 60 percent of the country’s population. Among these young people are many college and university graduates who are ripe for political leadership.
Unlike previous elections, this year was generally different as hundreds of youth participated in the just ended country’s harmonised elections either as aspiring candidates or voters.
Since the turn of 2022, a groundswell of civic society organisations, political actors, and activists turned to traditional outreach and social media to rally Zimbabwe’s youths around the importance of elections.
A litany of youth-led initiatives conducted voter education through collaborations with artists, sports tournaments, door-to-door outreaches, musical concerts, and roadshows.
The effort was not in vain.
A large number of youthful aspiring candidates took part in the elections with some winning resoundingly.
Names of young legislators that easily come to mind include Masvingo Zanu PF legislator for Masvingo North Brian Mudumi, Chipinge East legislator Lincoln Dhliwayo and Chikomba West MP
Tatenda Mavetera who is now the Minister of Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information Communication Technology are some of the youths who participated and won resoundingly.
Their presence in both the August House and the Cabinet has brought a new paradigm shift in politics.
Far from just being representatives in the political governance architecture, the youth’s presence is expected to generate robust debates, bring refreshing ideas into parly and create a progressive legacy for future leaders.
The youths are not homogeneous and do not operate in a vacuum, so their voices matter. The beauty about including them in governance issues is they are openminded, they are able to collaborate with a variety of state and non-state actors especially youth organisations. Because of their numerical significance, youths are an important constituency that is critical in promoting continuity, cohesion, and the future of political governance.
The harmonised elections held in August proved that indeed creating an enabling and empowering environment for youth participation in electoral processes and the building of peace is a vital part of strengthening democratic governance.
However, that realisation was a cumulative process that included awareness on the role of youth as major political parties in the run up to the elections, encouraging youth wings to throw their candidature for both local authorities and August House seats.
During the run up to the elections the country’s major two political parties, the ruling Zanu PF and opposition CCC concurred that youths were now showing interests in politics.
“The youth has been a major part of the ZANU PF campaigns from participating in our primary elections,” Farai Muroiwa Marapira, director of information and publicity at ZANU PF said.
The efforts are now aptly on show, judging by the number of young legislators who now represent various constituencies in both lower and upper houses.
However, despite an encouraging peak in political participation by the youth in Zimbabwe, the signs elsewhere on the continent are not hopeful.
A survey carried out show that young people in most African countries are apathetic when it comes to elections.
While they are the most affected by governance issues they appear to be the least interested in them. In South Africa’s 2014 national elections, apathy was the reason for a registration level of just 33 percent for 18 and 19 year olds.
Compared to other young Africans, Zimbabwean youth are a progressive lot and have been displaying an even higher enthusiasm for democratic processes such as elections.
A survey by Afrobarometer conducted across 28 African countries last year, showed that 56 percent of young Africans expressed tolerance for military intervention, making the high levels of electoral participation among Zimbabwean youths more remarkable than their counterparts in other countries. Zimbabwean youths believe in peaceful processes and have been eager in promoting and fostering a culture of peace, something which is commendable and encouraging.
Unlike other states, Zimbabwe remains committed to prescribed and due electoral processes, hence its decision to ratify the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) to align with African shared values and standards on democracy and governance.
The active involvement and significant appetite of Zimbabwe youths in electoral process are hopeful signs for the nation’s future and a commitment to carry forward the legacy of transparent leadership through elections.