EMBs have the capacity to facilitate
the development of codes of conduct for political parties. Codes of conduct can
highlight measures that political parties should take to ensure young people
have the means to participate in all stages of an electoral process and are not
being used to incite violence and breach peace. If mutually accepted among
competing parties, codes of conduct are useful ways of building confidence,
relationships, and trust among contending political forces.
A working example of this can be seen
in Zanzibar’s “Guidelines for Political Parties Code of Ethics for 2015
Election, Zanzibar.”[i]
One provision, Paragraph 4b, highlights the importance of ensuring
inclusiveness throughout the electoral cycle: “Political Parties will ensure
equal participation of women, youth and people living with disability as voters
and candidates during election.” Paragraph 4d, meanwhile, focuses on the role
of political parties in ensuring peaceful elections: “Political Parties will
not use women and youth groups to initiate violence and breach of peace during
election.”
Example: In Liberia in 2011, youth leaders of
Liberia's political parties signed a code of conduct devised by the chairs of
the youth wings of all 16 political parties along with media organizations
convened by International Alert and the Liberian National Electoral Commission.
It was later endorsed by the association of Liberian Community Radios, the
Liberian Motorcycle Union (made up of young people, including many
ex-combatants), and all 15 County Co-ordinators of the Liberian Federation of
Youth at a subsequent meeting in Gbarnga. It has since been used nationally and
locally throughout Liberia by these bodies to call for peaceful participation
by young people during the election period. The context for developing this
Code of Conduct among young leaders is that young people in Liberia have
previously been manipulated towards violence, including during the long civil
war. See Annex: Liberia Youth Code of Conduct.
