Two political parties this past week highlighted the importance they place on the rather large youth vote for next year’s elections.

Vice President Nangolo Mbumba spoke at a Namibia Exile Kids Association (NEKA) reunion in the Oshikoto region last weekend – and even though a daily distorted his words and apologised for it, the fact that the veteran politician encouraged young people to unite and get involved in politics for the right reasons should be amplified.

Mbumba urged the youth to desist from trying to run a country based on tribalism, as it is counterproductive. He further encouraged the championing of an inclusive society that embraces solidarity for all. 

Similarly, the All People’s Party (APP)’s acting president Nangolo Shuumbwa in an interview with New Era this week said eligible young Namibians must stand up and be counted in 2024 by showing up at polling stations to cast their vote. 

Shuumbwa bemoaned the fact that some young people have become keyboard warriors, who are brave on social media but nowhere to be seen when and where it matters most.

In 2024, the majority of the voting population is going to be people who did not live through the height of apartheid, and therefore do not have the vivid memories of those dark days that previous generations do. Already, 30% of voters in the last general election were born-frees.

If the votes cast in the next elections will reflect the views and wishes of those living through the reality in Namibia, and not those a gasp away from death’s door, young people should not just register and vote, but also make themselves available to contest for elected positions. 

Supreme among the challenges facing the youth is unemployment, even for those who have, at great cost, graduated. Those who would want to capitalise on the perceived discontent and mass unemployment better work on solid plans of how they will solve that conundrum to convince an eloquent and forthright Generation Z, who is all too familiar with the country’s burgeoning debt burden and limited sources of income. 

Namibia stands on the precipice of what will define the country from hereon. 

If the youth does not vote, their preferred candidates or parties will flounder and they forfeit the opportunity to be taken seriously. They also ‘lose’ the right to complain.

While young people on social media are quick to lambast and question the competence and skill of the current crop of politicians, they fall far short of action and participation. 

Even the very act of voting, which means waiting in long lines – often for hours in the sun to go into cramped rooms – will not change if innovative young people only sit and complain on social media. 

It is worrying that only around 60% of eligible voters turned up for the National and Presidential Elections in 2019, which were highly visible and contested. Of those, 52% were considered young people. Earlier this year, only 11.5% of the 42 135 eligible voters turned up for the Moses //Garoëb by-election. 

However, the youth need to do more than vote. 

Difficult conversations about their realities need to be had – not just among themselves but with older generations to convey their thoughts and convictions.

 Widespread information dissemination needs to happen to combat the wave of misinformation, which will no doubt be peddled during campaign speeches.

But most importantly, young people will have to unite.