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.