Chief Administrator of the Youth Leadership Parliament Japhet Kwaku Gyagri has opined that there are several reasons why some young people have no interest in our elections.
He asserted that the economic crisis and poor living conditions of the people, especially the youth, among other issues, will prevent them from participating in the elections.
The other point he also suggested was that the political parties may not be touching on realistic policies that can help transform the lives of the youth.
He said this on the sidelines of the Youth Civic Engagement organised for first-time voters in Gameshie, Ododiodoo constituency, Greater Accra by Act for Change in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with funding from the European Union.
The engagement, held on Thursday, November 28, 2024, was on the theme ”Empowering First-Time Voters in Ga Mashie to Actively Participate in Governance.”
Japhet Kwaku Gyagri indicated that there was the need for you people to have credible information on issues to help them make informed choices.
He underscored the need for the political parties and leaders to also engage the youth if they want them to understand their policies and initiatives.
“So this could be as a result of many things. It could be as a result of an economic crisis. The poor living conditions of the people and the challenges confronting the nation can influence the youth to stay away from voting. It could also be that the political parties are not hitting on the policies they want to roll out. Another factor could also be that the youth themselves are not interested, or they are interested but do not know where to get the information. Accessing the challenge is another challenge.”
He was sweeping in reference to the “YLP Digital and Innovations App,” which serves as a knowledge hub for civic rights and education.
He stated that the app has several features that allow youth to access information, a digital space for training, and brings youth closer to the digital space for interaction.
”So we upload credible information to the app so that anyone can access it. We can also submit any information on the app, which will be verified by the team to determine its credibility and authenticity. The app also allows us to take polls on national issues. The polls conducted through the app are not national elections. One unique feature of the app is that you can access or know the location of your polling station on the app, and it will direct you there so you know where to vote when you enter your voter card information. The app does not collect votes or declare results, but we can upload those certified and declared by the Electoral Commission. So, when you need the election results, you can access them through the app,” he explained.
He recommended political parties to ensure that youth are engaged.
“If you want the youth, you have to bring them onboard. Over the years, we have seen some youth involvement, but it is not to the percentage we want. We want them to intensify the involvement of the youth so that it would not be left out to a few people who show interest in the activities. The political parties have interest in those affiliated roles; they and the larger number of youth are left behind. And so they should look out for ways that they can capture the youth at the wider ranger so that whether they are actively involved in the politics or not, they can hear what they are saying. It will go along way to inform them on the next decision to take in terms of voting.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
