Every vote counts and young people must take an active role in shaping the direction of their nations. PHOTO | COURTESYBy
Summary
· The consequences of low youth turnout during elections might be severe in Africa and could affect the future direction of African nations
The issue of youth not voting during
elections is a significant concern in many African nations. For instance, in
Tanzania’s 2020 general elections, there was a low voter turnout of 15 percent
among voters aged between 18 to 25 years, which was lower than the overall
turnout of 50 percent.
The same trend was observed in
Uganda’s 2021 presidential elections, with the voter turnout among youth
reported as low as 8 percent.
However, things were different in
Ethiopia’s 2021 parliamentary election where the election recorded a high voter
turnout of 90 percent, although the young people’s participation was high but
it was not as high as expected.
In Burundi’s 2020 presidential
election, the voter turnout among young people was reported low, with estimates
suggesting that less than 10 percent of registered voters between 18 to 25
years participated in the election.
Similarly, estimates show that less
than 15 percent of registered voters between 18 to 35 years of age participated
in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) 2018 presidential election.
In South Sudan’s 2018 referendum,
estimates suggest that less than 20 percent of the registered voters between
the ages of 18 to 35 participated in the referendum to determine the number of
states in the country.
According to the Uganda Youth
Network (UYONET), the voter turnout among young people during the 2021 Uganda
presidential elections was as low as 8 percent, significantly lower than the overall
voter turnout of 57.2 percent. Out of the 18 million registered voters, only
about 400,000 young voters aged between 18 to 25 years old turned out to cast
their ballots.
Similarly, during Kenya’s 2022
General election, youth voter turnout was low, with only 39.84 percent (8.8
million) of the total registered voters being youth, a decline of 5.17 percent
from the 2017 figures.
Additionally, only 47 percent of
registered voters between the ages of 18 and 35 participated in the 2017
presidential election in Kenya, which was lower than the overall turnout of 80
percent of voters.
The recently concluded Nigerian 2023
General election has once again highlighted the issue of youth voter apathy in
the country and the continent as a whole.
In that election, there were about
93.4 million registered voters, out of these, 37 million were young people, but
only 24.9 million young people showed up to cast their ballots. This is an
indication of a disappointingly low youth turnout during elections.
However, there is hope. Rwanda
provides an example of an African country that has successfully addressed the
issue of youth voter apathy.
In the 2017 presidential election,
an estimated 74 percent of registered voters aged between 18 to 35 years
participated in the general election.
So, why is there a significant
percentage of young people failing to turn out to vote during elections? The
reasons for this may vary from one person to another ranging from a lack of
trust in the political system and a lack of interest in politics to a belief
that their vote will not make a difference.
However, young people in Africa
should understand that the policies and decisions made by governments and
political leaders can either support or hinder economic growth and development.
Every vote counts and young people must take an active role in shaping the
direction of their nations.
In democratic states, the citizens
(the voters) have all the power or authority to put a particular political
party or government into the system.
During elections, voters get
opportunities to express their collective decision and opinions based on a
specific politician or a political party, so they elect their government
officials (representatives).
Thus, the consequences of low youth
turnout during elections might be severe in Africa and could affect the future
direction of African nations.
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