The youth’s involvement in elections

Mariselle Stofberg

With the conclusion of the 2020 regional and local authority elections, the country has seen a shift within the political arena, with the rise of new political parties and a surge in independent candidates. The youth of the country have also started to become more involved in politics.

Rivaldo Kavanga, a youth activist and member of the Children’s Parliament, participated in a discussion on the Namibia Media Holdings platforms during the elections regarding the role of the youth in the political arena.

Kavanga stressed the importance of the youth not only voting, but becoming involved in politics and putting themselves forward as candidates.

“As a first-time voter I was extremely excited to wake up early and finally be able to cast my vote. Despite challenges, I continued to remember that this is me playing my part in making sure I choose a leader that I know will represent me. Over the years, young people have become more and more interested in politics and they have come to understand that politics will directly impact them and their lives, so it is important for them to become actively involved within politics in our country,” he said.

Kavanga said different political parties have started to create space within their structures for the youth, alongside efforts from the government to create a space for young people to move into the political sphere.

“This, however, remains minimal, and we need more opportunities for our youth to really make a difference. I believe in co-leadership, where we have our youth and older individuals that work together towards the same goal.”

This is a sentiment shared by Ndapwa Alweendo, a youth and gender in democracy advocate who participated in a discussion on the elections broadcast of NBC.

“We see a lot more of our youth demanding access to spaces where political and policy decisions are being made, and I think listening to and acknowledging their voices and really integrating them in the political process is extremely important. Without involving our youth within politics, we won’t have that continuity within the political sphere, because they are the leaders of tomorrow,” said Alweendo.

“What young people are really looking for is someone who acknowledges their concerns, listens to them and takes action. Young people are looking for political leaders who are willing to stand up, even against their own colleagues and party members and really speak up for what the people of Namibia want,” Alweendo added.

Even though Kavanga stressed the importance of creating space for the youth to make a difference, he also emphasises that one does not need titles and ranks to be a leader.

“You can show your leadership through taking ownership and taking charge within your community. Covid-19 has shown me the importance of our councillors in our communities as they are the bread and butter of our community. They link us to the government, and this encouraged me as a young person to take to the polling stations and cast my vote. We have seen a rise in our independent candidates of which many are our youth who have not necessarily made it into political parties but believe in their own leadership capabilities,” he added.

ECN chairperson Notemba Tjipueja was pleased with the number of voters turning up on election day.

“We are very happy with our voter turnout this year, and with an almost 50% of our electorate taking to the polls to vote in our regional and local authority elections, we see people are becoming more interested and invested in our elections,” Tjipueja said.

Tjipueja stressed the importance of accountability and the responsibilities of each elected councillor.

“We want to congratulate each of our elected councillors and want to encourage them to work on their mandate and really be able to produce for the people at the grassroot level. We want to encourage them to focus on grassroot-level issues and invest in development on both local authority and regional levels so we can see development throughout the nation.”