Youth Seek Funding for Greater Election Participation
The Malawi Electoral Commission plans to further discount nomination fees for youth candidates in the forthcoming elections to attract more participation.
BLANTYRE, Malawi— The National Youth Council of Malawi is pushing for a basket fund supported by stakeholders to boost youth participation in election processes, citing financial constraints as a major barrier, writes Steven Godfrey Mkweteza.
"It's high time that the development partners join together to come up with a basket fund to support the youth in political leadership and other decision-making positions," said NYCOM Executive Director Rex Chapota on Monday during the National Youth Conversations Series 2.
Chapota observed that over the years, poor resources have discouraged Malawian youth from taking part in elections.
Despite being a key demographic, he said their involvement in polls and decision-making roles has been poor due to financial constraints among other factors.
"The youth will transform this nation into a middle-income economy; they ought to be thinkers par excellence who are ready to ask the hard questions, navigate where and how they ought to go in all spheres of life and act with speed and agency," Chapota said, adding that lack of support has turned some youth into "violence objects" during elections.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Electoral Commission plans to further discount nomination fees for youth candidates in the forthcoming elections to attract more participation.
Deputy CEO Harris Potani said despite a 30% cut last cycle, youth engagement was still lacking.
"We haven't been impressed with the participation of the youth in the elections processes so far. We have therefore decided to come up with a discounted nomination fee for youth in the upcoming elections in trying to woo many into leadership positions," Potani said. Revised fees will be announced in November.
Christie Banda, a youth representative, emphasized the need to develop youth-centric policies as outlined in the Malawi2063 Agenda to create an enabling environment for greater electoral participation by young people.