There are, however, new legislative
initiatives being taken in some countries to introduce different kinds of youth
quotas for young people to be meaningfully represented in the electoral
process. Quotas are not the only measure and are not necessarily the best
solution to under-representation, but they can be considered along with other
measures. Three types of quotas are mainly used today[i]:
1.
reserved seats (constitutional and/or
legislative) (See Reserved seats)
2.
legal candidate quotas (constitutional and/or
legislative) (See Legal candidate quotas)
3.
voluntary political party quotas.
Voluntary party quotas
In countries with no legal provisions
guaranteeing a minimum of young people on candidate lists or reserved seats for
young people, political parties can opt to introduce voluntary quotas to ensure
that a minimum of young candidates are represented on their lists.
Political party quotas are part of a
political party’s internal regulations and cannot be enforced by EMBs. Yet
despite their voluntary nature, it is encouraging to see that many political
parties have established voluntary quotas for young people. To name only a few:
in Cyprus, the Movement for Social Democracy adopted a 20 per cent quota for
candidates under 35 years old in 2010; and in Nicaragua, the Sandinista Front
for National Liberation has had a 15 percent quota for youth in party leadership
and electoral lists since 2002.[ii]
Voluntary party-based quotas in
constituency-based electoral systems, generally relating to gender, have been
shown to work successfully in some parts of the world, as can be seen with the
Labour Party in the United Kingdom. In the South African Development Community
(SADC) region, the ruling ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe, like the ANC in South Africa and
the FRELIMO in Mozambique, has a voluntary quota for both women and youth.[iii] ZANU-PF, despite being the ruling party, still lacks in its
representation of women, a situation that worsens in elections where the party
faces strong opposition.[iv]
[ii] Quota
Project, "About Quotas."
[iii] Bookie
Kethusigile-Juru, “Quota Systems in Africa: An Overview” in The Implementation
of Quotas: African Experiences Quota Report Series, ed. Julie Ballington
(International IDEA 2004), 4.
[iv] Kethusigile-Juru,
"Quota Systems in Africa," 4.
