This question is posed on behalf of Sok Pitour, Camboida.

I am working for local organization in Cambodia promoting youth political participation.

I wonder if there is any country that has the policy or mechanism or legal framework to promote/motivate/guarantee youth in elected positions, for example a quota system for youth.

Thank you very much in advance for any examples or references you can provide me with!

Summary of Responses

Practitioners’ Network responses suggest that countries promote youth in elected positions many ways. For the purposes of this discussion, youth are defined as individuals aged 15-25 years (UNDP).  However, it is important to note that many members referred to the term without defining it in their country contexts.

A few members cited countries where legislatures and parties set aside a proportion of seats for youth. Members suggested this is  the case in Morocco, Kenya, Pakistan, and Ecuador. In the context of Pakistan, a member shared the recent enactment of local government laws reserving a seat for youth in every local council. The member added that some of these seats are directly elected on a separate ballot, while others are indirectly elected.

PN members also suggested  that some countries promote youth political participation by setting the minimum age for candidacy in all legislative elections at 18 years of age. This is the case in Ecuador, El Salvador, Senegal, Uganda, and Burundi. Members generally noted in these contexts that youth are encouraged to contest direct legislative elections at any administrative level. Referring to Uganda, a member added that youth are also included in special interest group lists in parliament (e.g. women, workers, persons with disabilities, the army).

Members also cited  specific policies or legal frameworks promoting youth in elected positions. For example in Kenya, a member cited the National Youth Policy of 2006 and the National Youth Act of 2009. In El Salvador, a member noted that campaigns are conducted in schools to foster electoral participation of young people approaching the age of 18. Interestingly, a member shared that in Bosnia, Article 13.7 of the election law awards the seat of mayor to the youngest candidate if no candidate receives a majority.

Finally, a member cautioned that the participation of youth as candidates does not guarantee that resources are effectively allocated towards them. The member further noted that there are rarely provisions in constitutions guaranteeing the proper funding for youth candidates, suggesting that those interested in promoting youth in elected positions establish trust funds to support youth candidates’ campaigns.

External Resources 

Enhancing Youth Political Participation Throughout the Electoral Cycle (UNDP)

Contributing Members

• Enrique López Sanavia
• Víctor Hugo Ajila
• Francesca Binda
• Kisimba Lumbwe Albert
• Malcom Cartagena
• Moussa Abdou
• Solomon Bobosibunu
• Skye Christensen
• Josias Bukuru
• Mohammed Washala Abdi
• Carl Dundas
• Epiphanie Meteteiton Houmey
• Ochana Patrick
• Jean Bosco Hitimana
• Jacqueline Mwebesa Atuheirwe
• Tope Akanmu
• David Hardley Ajwang Onyango
• Ababacar Fall
• Ray Kennedy

Los jóvenes, las mujeres, los adultos mayores, los discapacitados, agrupados individualmente en sectores sociales, constituyen una fuerza política que evidentemente deciden las elecciones. Solo falta que dichos sectores se agrupen y participen como ciudadanos que son porque los reconoce la Ley.

Como se puede promover su organización y participación activa, independientemente de que es un derecho garantizado por la Ley? Como puede cada sector tener un sistema de cuotas o parcelas políticas?.

Muy simple: organizándose dichos sectores sociales de motu propio o bien  organizándolos, para despertar su voluntad e interés por la política y por las elecciones, en virtud de que los jóvenes y las mujeres son un voto renovado y descomunal si se pone en ejercicio popular.

En países latinoamericanos existen frentes juveniles, organizaciones, grupos que se desenvuelven con un mecanismo partidista previsto en los estatutos de cada partido político. Habrá que revisar los documentos básicos de las organizaciones políticas para entresacar de ellos las reglas y métodos, no solo para garantizar a los jóvenes su posición en los cargos públicos o de elección popular, ni circunscritos a  la cuota política que les pertenece a su nivel, sino pugnar por la participación plural, abierta y natural de esta descomunal fuerza, habida cuenta de que estadísticamente en el mundo existen  países de jóvenes de 26 años o menos.  

En Ecuador, una forma de promover la participación de los jóvenes fue incluir en la Constitución de la República requisitos flexibles para ser candidatos.

Por ejemplo: ser ecuatoriano de nacimiento y tener al menos 18 años de edad. (Solo para Presidente de la República se exige 35 años de edad).

Otra manera ha sido la creación de dependencias estatales encargadas de promover la participación juvenil.

También se ha motivado a los partidos políticos que es conveniente que incluyan en sus listas a los jóvenes para superar la crisis de representación por la que atraviesan.

Es importante considerar que las medidas se toman de acuerdo al contexto local y deben ir acompañadas de la capacitación y la formación.

Saludos cordiales

Víctor Hugo Ajila

Ecuador

Morocco's parliament has a set-aside, national list for youth (under the age of 40).  In addition to multi-member constituencies, there is a national list which elects 60 women and 30 young men.  

La loi électorale de la RDC, donne plus de largesse aux jeunes, en ce sens qu’elle accepte les candidats à tous poste a partir de 18 révolus. Seulement il faut souligner que la participation des jeunes au processus est une paire de manche, mais sa participation POLITIQUE est une autre et en cela il faut des le départ des organisations formatrices des jeunes à ce prendre en charge et a savoir comment s’orienter dans un schéma ou sur une piste politique.

Au cours cette année, il est prévu, par les commissions électorales des pays membres de la SADC, d’organiser un séminaire sur la capacitation et la participation des jeunes à la chose publique via les élections. Ce qui est une très bonne chose vue des commissions électorales.

En El Salvador, a pesar de que la inscripcipón de nuevos votantes se cierra 6 meses antes de las elecciones, se permite que los jóvenes que arribarán a la mayoría de edad (18 años) entre las fechas del cierre y las elecciones, puedan inscribirse con anticipación. Para motivarlos, se realizan campañas en las escuelas con los jóvenes que están por cumplir dicha edad. También se hacen contrataciones con empresas para dar alguna especie de regalía al joven que se inscriba (una entrada al cine, saldo para hablar por el celular, descuento en algún restaurante, etc.). Además, se visitan radios y programas de tv juveniles para motivarlos.

El día de las votaciones, los jóvenes que demuestren que han votado (se les entinta el dedo) pueden recibir también algún beneficio en diversos comercios.

Bonjour à tous,

Dommage pour notre ami car dans mon pays nous n'avons pas encore des textes qui fixent le quota des jeunes pour des mandats électifs. Cependant, tous les partis politiques font comme ils le peuvent pour promouvoir la jeunesse dans les activités politiques.

Aussi, une importante politique de la jeunesse a été mise en place par le gouvernement afin de prendre en charge toutes les préoccupations des jeunes. Des fora ont été organisés, des structures de jeunes entrepreneurs, etc. et certainement, nous allons débouché dans les années à venir sur le quota des jeunes comme il existe pour les femmes pour tout mandat électif.

Hello

In Zimbabwe, there is no written policy or any legislation that supports such. At political party levels there are mechanisms though to include a quota for youths i.e I have seen young people getting positions in the local authorities or in the structures of the party. This has been limited to a greater extent by the fierce fights, use of personal resources to finance campaigning and other activities hence young people will automatically fall away.

Thank you

Hi,

You might want to refer to UNDP's guide "ENHANCING YOUTH POLITICAL PARTICIPATION THROUGHOUT THE ELECTORAL CYCLE" [linked below]. The guide lists a number of examples, some of which have already been mentioned in this forum. As an additional example, most of the new local government laws in Pakistan reserve a seat for youth in every local council, some are directly elected on a separate ballot, while others are chosen through indirect election.

 http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Electoral%20Systems%20and%20Processes/ENG_UN-Youth_Guide-LR.pdf 

Je tente de répondre à cette question en me basant sur le cadre électoral de notre pays.

En effet, dans notre pays, le Burundi, il n'y a pas de disposition interdisant aux jeunes d'accéder aux postes électoraux. Le Code électoral du 18 septembre 2009,en ses articles  :

• art 4 : l'une des conditions d'être  électeur (les citoyens burundais des deux sexes) est d'"être âgé de 18 ans révolus à la date du scrutin....";
• art 125: l'une des conditions d'éligibilité aux élections des députés est d'"être âgé de 25 ans révolus au moment de l'élection";
• art 182: l'une des conditions d'éligibilité aux élections des conseils communaux est d'"être âgé de 25 ans révolus au moment de l'élection ";
• art 170: l'une des conditions d'éligibilité aux élections de conseils de colline ou de quartier est d'"être âgé de 25 ans révolus au moment de l'élection".

Avec les exemples ci-dessus, les jeunes ne sont pas exclus à la compétition aux postes électoraux.  Ce qui reste, c'est de définir ce que l'on entend par "jeune" et de délimiter l'âge.

I note the positive examples given in this forum and am familiar with the UNDP Guide on the matter, however having just completed extensive examination of the issue, the problem in many jurisdictions revolves more around sustainability than reservation slots for youth or youth-based organisations. Often, there is no provision for the proper funding of election campaign for youth candidates. UNDP pilots point the way forward, but often there are few partners willing to contribute to youth election campaign funding. Furthermore, in some countries, the "sugar daddy" funders of election campaigns where there is no public funding available are often not interested in funding candidates whose winning prospects may not be very high for fear of not being repaid by patronage or other rewards. 

Another issue is the non-friendly electoral legislative schemes regarding elections and political parties which may have minimum age limits to contest elective offices, often times above those for voting qualification. 

Potential partners interested in this issue should encourage political parties (and EMBs for independent candidates) to set up trust funds to support youth candidates' election campaigns.

Bonjour a à tous et toutes!

Il est important de former la jeunesse à être de bon leaders de demain. La jeunesse doit être encouragée à militer dans les partis politiques  qui sont les faiseurs de leader. Un accent particulier doit être mis sur les jeunes filles et les femmes en général de sorte à augmenter la participation de la gente féminine.

Phanie

La plupart des partis politiques ont des cellules de jeunes et les statuts le comportent les dispositions y relatives. La charte des partis politique prend en compte la jeunesse. 

Phanie du Togo

In Uganda, there are laws regarding youths participation in elective position.

1. There is youth council at every level from village to National.

2. There is also provision for two youth representatives i.e. a female and a male at village, parish, subcounty, district and

    the National Parliament.

3. The youth are also free to contest for direct elective position at any level.

4. Youth are also free to contest in other special interest group representation to any council or Parliament. The special

     interest group are; the workers, women, physically impaired, the army.

All the above therefore, gives youths enough array of political leadership.

Ochana Patrick 

Au Burundi, ni la loi électorale, ni la Constitution de la République n'interdit la participation des jeunes aux postes électoraux. En effet, l'âge pour pouvoir participer au vote étant de 18 ans révolus, à partir de 25 ans, on peut déjà se faire élire aux différents types d'élection prévus par la Constitution de la République (élections collinaires, communales et législatives). En plus, nous constatons que la plupart des partis politiques introduisent dans leurs organes des sections des jeunes.

As my ugandan colleague above mentioned,the youth participate in all elective positions right from the grassroot,so there is no need for me to duplicate the submission,thank you

In Nigeria,  the constitution has given the youths ample chance to participate in elective posts. This is because the constitution has stipulated the minimum age limit for each post to be contested for. For example to contest for the post of Councillor such person must attain the age of 25 years, for chairman of a local government 30 years. Members of state house of assembly 30 years, Governor of a state 35 years, Senate 35 years, House of Representatives 30 years and President 40 years. From the above it could be established that these age bracket of 25 to 40 years is still youthful. 

 Kenya established National Youth Policy 2006, National Youth Act 2009, Election Guidelines and the attendant process are painfully miserable.  The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has not rolled out plans to ensure massive awareness that would somewhat lead to broader participation and ownership by the youth. This is regardless of the fact that the elections were set to commence in February 2011. This can only mean that turn out will be quite low and the resulting National Youth Council will be quite illegitimate.

The guideline proposed the establishment of the National Election Supervisory Committee at the national levels whose among the key function is; to co-ordinate the National Youth Council Election at the national levels and oversee the election at the National Youth Congress and National Delegate Forum. This Committee is constituted of five Permanent Secretary; Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Provincial Administration and Internal Affairs, Finance, Gender, Children and Social Services and the Office of the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, a representative of the Interim Independent Election Commission, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and two representatives nominated by the Minister. All these are in place in a Kenyan situation but awareness has not been done to the youth properly.

Au Sénégal, Aucun dispositif juridique ou Réglementaire ne prévoit l'octroi d'un quota pour Les Jeunes dans Les Assemblées électives contrairement aux-femmes pour lesquelles la loi sur la parité votée par l'Assemblée Nationale fait obligation aux Partis Politiques de faire Figurer 50% sur les Listes de candidatures sous Peine d'irrecevabilité. Seulement, à partir de 1992, lors de l'adoption du Code électoral consensuel, l'âge électoral a été abaissé de 25 à 18 ans révolus pour permettre aux jeunes de prendre une part plus active dans le jeu électoral. La promotion des jeunes au niveau des partis politiques ou dans les assemblées électives est du ressort exclusif des partis politiques pour augmenter le nombre de leurs militants jeunes. Notre constitution fixe également l'age minimum pour se présenter à l'élection présidentielle à 35 ans

ABABACAR FALL

Expert Électoral - Consultant

DAKAR (Sénégal)

Bosnia has an interesting provision in Article 13.7 of its election law that awards the seat of mayor to the youngest candidate in case of a tie

If the Municipal Mayor is indirectly elected then he or she shall be elected by a majority vote of the total number of members of the Municipal Council/Assembly. Each member of the Municipal Council/Assembly may nominate a candidate for the position of the Municipal Mayor. In the event a candidate does not receive a majority vote of the total number of members, a second election shall be conducted. If no candidate receives a majority of votes of the total number of members, a third election shall be conducted. The member that receives the most votes in the third election shall be elected. In the event that there is a tie, the youngest candidates with the same result shall be elected Mayor.

This has in some cases had the effect of encouraging political parties to run young candidates "just in case" the election ends in a tie.