Participation of all citizens in
formal political processes is fundamental for democracy. If a segment of the
population is deprived of the right to vote or is disengaged, the
representativeness and legitimacy of these processes is undermined. Although
young people participate in political processes in multiple ways, their
representation in formal political processes is limited. There
is a growing recognition, however, that young people’s involvement is critical
to making elections more representative. EMBs and other electoral stakeholders
have a crucial role to play in empowering youth to participate in formal
political processes. Indeed, the emerging consensus has
seen many electoral assistance agencies adopt
a youth focus in their programming.
As a first step in fostering increased youth inclusion, participation, and representation in electoral processes, EMBs could employ young people across all levels of their organization, including in their strategic planning. This would improve EMBs’ knowledge about the needs of young voters; move EMBs towards diversity in regard to age; leverage young people’s flexibility, creativity and willingness to learn; and allow young people to have ownership of the political process.
Another way of fostering youth
inclusion, participation, and representation in electoral processes is for EMBs
to support youth-focused and youth-led organizations, and to partner with CSOs
and other electoral stakeholders that empower youth. Such alliances are
particularly important for EMBs to establish in their efforts to work with
youth as partners and leaders in ensuring peaceful elections.
A youth empowerment perspective on all the electoral processes they manage throughout the electoral
cycle involves EMBs:
- keeping reliable data on youth
participation, including through youth-led data collection
- making registration processes as
convenient and appealing as possible for all youth, especially for first-time
voters
- exploring options to counter
youth-specific obstacles to voting (and identifying obstacles to
voting/participation as a first step to countering obstacles) and by fostering
safe and inclusive spaces for youth
- seeking to work with youth to
maintain electoral integrity through monitoring the electoral process
Constitutional and legal frameworks
remain some of the strongest tools to develop and mandate youth-friendly
electoral policies and practices. Well-crafted legislation can support targeted
structural interventions that foster inclusivity for young people and other
groups. Legal and voluntary quotas for youth participation are one option for
certain contexts reforms that respond to the diverse circumstances of young
people; and the eligibility ages at which youth can vote and run for political
office all influence youth engagement in the electoral cycle. Legislative
frameworks to scrutinize and manage political finances can support a level
playing field for young people, particularly youth from marginalized groups and
young women, who might otherwise be disadvantaged in settings that favor wealthy,
mature, male candidates and political elites.
It is vital that EMBs, political
parties and governments have a clear understanding of international electoral
standards and legal frameworks in order to develop youth-sensitive policies
that address barriers and enable youth to participate in the political life.
EMBs have a role to play in helping
political parties be more inclusive of young people. Democracies are based on
inclusion and broad representation, yet youth, women and other groups are often
excluded from representative institutions due to the inherent biases and
practices that exist in traditional political parties. As a key electoral
gateway, political parties influence the extent to which young people are
active in representational politics, but their failure to successfully engage
young people can lead to distrust, disengagement and marginalization.
To mitigate this deficit, political
parties—sometimes in collaboration or with the support of EMBs—can adopt
measures to improve youth participation. These include codes of conduct that
prescribe peaceful youth engagement; mentoring and leadership programs to
counter exclusionary practices and foster youth networks; subsidies to
facilitate access by youth to political finance; and candidate and party quotas
to build robust youth representation. Strong party youth wings can also provide
a voice and connections for young people entering the political and electoral
cycle.
Beneficially, active youth players
are a positive channel through which parties can reach out to a youth cohort.
Globally, EMBs have established cross-party networks to provide skills and
training for young people, equipping them to perform effectively and
sustainably in the political cycle. EMBs also play a role in ensuring peaceful
participation by young people, including developing measures to combat youth
involvement in election-related violence which is prevalent in conflict and
post-conflict contexts. Meaningful youth participation in political parties is
essential for healthy and inclusive representation models in the future. EMBs
can collaborate with political parties and other actors to facilitate
cross-party dialogue and initiatives.
As mandated providers of civic and
voter education, EMBs play a vital role in encouraging young people to be
interested and involved in the electoral process. Youth are not a homogenous
group, and—in their diversity—will be receptive to different approaches to
learning about democracy and electoral processes. Collaboration with other
electoral stakeholders, including the media and—importantly, young people
themselves—will produce the most effective methods for reaching targeted
subgroups. In their approach to informing and educating young voters and
prospective voters, EMBs will be alert to the intersectional nature of
marginalization and disadvantage. They will also be keen to learn from their
intended audience – as young people themselves are creators and implementers as
well as beneficiaries of civic and voter education.
Likewise, young people are creators
as well as consumers of media. The media and EMBs together contribute to the
achievement of SDG 16, target 10, “to ensure public access to information and
protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and
international agreements.” To achieve this target, the media, as well as
informing and educating, play a “watchdog” role in relation to how electoral
processes are reported. Ethical codes of behavior are in place to discourage
inflammatory statements, and to hold up standards of accurate and balanced
coverage of electoral processes.
Alongside traditional media, social
media has grown as a primary source of information, especially for youth.
Platforms such as Facebook and YouTube are ubiquitous. There is still a digital
divide, however, and providers of civic and voter education should collect data
on internet use and accessibility, considering possible regional and gender
divides, even in countries with otherwise high internet penetration rates.
Education has the transformative
potential to build peace, and EMBs and other stakeholders, recognizing the
educative role youth can play in this process, particularly in conflict and
fragile contexts, can collaborate with youth organizations to provide civic and
voter education for responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.
