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]

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. 

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.  

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).