Joel Hashipala
PARTICIPATION in the electoral process has become a major issue among Namibian youth who shy away from their democratic right. Apathy among young voters plays a big part by swaying the youth to abstain from these elections.
For a fact, many believe participating in elections does not affect them anyhow but politics has a major role to play in our daily lives ranging from policies implemented by our executives.
A key consequence is the undermining of political systems in place. The electoral process may seem unattractive due to long ques at registration centres and polling stations, but it’s certainly worth the wait.
Elections help us decide which political
party or individuals will run the State machinery.
The political parties and leaders we choose determine the policy points and developmental interventions of our government and whether they cater to the needs of the Namibian house.
Practicing our democratic right is enshrined under Article 17 of our Constitution. Youth participation in the electoral process allows them to be represented in political systems in all parts of society.
The Namibian youth make up of a significant portion of the population which has little or no voice or influence in decisions that affect all Namibians.
Decisions are usually formulated and implemented by our elders while the youth remain spectators with decisions that affect them not being addressed.
We have seen the youth being given chances by the ruling party and opposition parties to represent these parties and Namibian youth at large but these appointments seem more like tokenism.
They barely have a voice when it comes to raising major issues affecting Namibian youth at large.
What usually happens is that young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes due to various reasons such as unemployment and rising levels of inequality, which are soaring each year.
When there are obstacles to participating in formal political processes, young people can rapidly feel disempowered even though there are young parliamentarians meant to champion the needs of the Namibian youth.
The majority of the Namibian youth tends to believe their voices are not going to be heard or that they will not be taken seriously even if they are heard.
This creates a problem as it becomes circular as politicians may lose interest in responding to the aspirations of young people if they cannot win their votes, making them focus more on the middle age and elderly. The current policies in place are not fully beneficial to the youth, this in turn leads to young being increasingly excluded from taking part in decision-making, or in discussions about key socio-economic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice, environmental protection and cultural diversity.
It’s true that voter turnout tends to be lower among youth while the elderly show up in numbers even though they are the minority. Many factors including apathy is a challenge among the youth, but various factors such as the structural and organisational obstacles to electoral participation many young people face also limits youth participation in elections.
There’s a feeling of distrust among Namibian youth towards the institutions of governance which needs to be resolved by the Electoral Commission of Namibia through civic education. As the nation heads to the 2024 elections, there’s a need to address issues of apathy, structural and organisational issues to allow Namibian youth to practice their democratic right. To make a difference in the longer term, it is essential that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics. Inclusive political participation is not only a fundamental right, but also a political and democratic right.
Youth apathy towards elections has far reaching implications for the future of democracy.
Addressing these issues will require multi-faceted approaches to re-integrate the civic duty of Namibian youth.
The ECN has a major part to play by cultivating a generation of active citizens who are informed about the electoral process.