Although young people between the
ages of 15 and 24 constitute about one fifth of the world’s population,[i]
their participation and influence in formal politics remain limited. The rights
to participate in a country’s political and electoral processes are recognized
as basic human rights, yet youth are grossly underrepresented in parliaments
and governments across the globe. Several countries have responded by implementing
quotas for youth to increase their participation. Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda,
Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Uganda, among other countries, have adopted some kind of
quota to bolster the representation of youth. These quotas take various forms,
but most fall into the following categories:
- reserved seats (constitutional and/or
legislative)
- legal candidate quotas
(constitutional and/or legislative)
- voluntary political party quotas.[ii]
Reserved seats
A few countries have reserved seats
to promote inclusion in legislative bodies. Illustrative examples for countries
with reserved seats for young people include:
- Kenya, with 12 members nominated by
political parties to represent special interest groups (youth, persons with
disabilities, and workers) with the relevant list to be composed of alternating
male and female candidates
- Uganda, with five seats for people
under 30, one of whom must be a woman
- Rwanda, with two members of
parliament elected by the National Youth Council.[iii]
Written into the reformed Rwandan
Constitution of 2003 are reserved seats in the legislative branch of
government. Of the 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of
the legislature’s 24 seats are reserved for female politicians, two for youth
representatives, and one for the disabled community.[iv]
While the implementation of a youth quota guarantees youth representation, a
common critique in Rwanda is that the youth “representation does not
effectively meet the needs of the population” and is therefore still minimal in
its impact.[v]
It is good practice for political
parties and EMBs encouraging the adoption of youth quotas to acknowledge and
take into account the percentage of youth in the country, as well as the
intersectional nature of all population groups, so as to provide adequate
representation to all. However, quotas are not necessarily the best solution to
the problem of under-representation – they need to be considered carefully in
light of other measures and may only be appropriate with certain types of
electoral systems.
Legal candidate quotas
In countries with constitutions or laws providing
quotas for young candidates, political parties are obligated to fill all their
candidate lists with a minimum number of young people. Several countries have
adopted them; impacts vary, and usually depend on the position in which young
people are placed on political party lists and the type of electoral system
used. Candidate quotas can be an effective means to increase youth
representation under the condition that young people are placed in electable
positions. This can work in a ‘closed list’ proportional representation
electoral system but would not have much of an impact in cases of “open list’
proportional representation electoral system. Yet there is a risk they will
have no real impact in terms of increasing the representation of youth in a
parliament if young people are placed too low on the political party candidate
list in the case of a closed list proportional representation electoral system.
As youth quotas are a relatively new
form of intervention, research conducted on the implementation of gender quotas
are an informative source for the success of political quotas over the long
term.
Example: Using the reserved seats quota
system, Kenya has introduced gender quotas for women, with 47 seats
in the national assembly, and 12 seats for special interest groups, including
youth, persons with disabilities, and workers. In the senate, two seats are
reserved for youth, one male and one female. Quotas also apply at sub-national
level. Kenya has also aligned the eligibility age for candidates with the
voting age.
See Voluntary party quotas.
See also Legislated Quotas in Topic Area: Parties and Candidates.
Reform
For reforms to be implemented
correctly, there is a need to understand that young people are not a homogenous
block and that other social aspects (such as gender, rural/urban dwelling,
ethnicity, and language) need to be taken into consideration when designing
interventions. The inclusion of youth in political processes is a complex,
multidimensional challenge that has to be addressed with a variety of tools,
depending on objectives and context. With this in mind, the following reforms
have been identified:
- Encourage the introduction of youth
quotas in electoral laws by means of reserved seats and/or legal candidate
quotas (if appropriate – as they are not the only or necessarily the best
solution).
- Encourage political parties to embed
voluntary quotas for youth in their internal party regulations and place young
candidates in electable positions.
- Recognize and consider the
intersectional nature of population groups and take this into consideration
when designing interventions.
- When implementing youth quotas,
stipulate conditions surrounding the placement of youth candidates on party
lists and nomination for electable positions (where relevant to the existing
electoral system).
[iv]
Bookie
Monica Kethusegile-Juru, “Quota Systems in Africa: An Overview,” in The Implementation of Quotas: African
Experiences Quota Report Series, ed. Julie Ballington, (IDEA, 2004),
https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/implementation-of-quotas-african-experiences.pdf.
[v]
Kethusegile-Juru, “Quota Systems in Africa: An Overview.”
