In the grand scheme of Africa’s vision, young people play a significant role, and with a high number of young people in the continent, that narrative is relevant now more than ever. More than 65% of Africa’s population is currently under 24 years old, making Africa one of the youngest continents in the world. Africa is therefore readying itself to experience a dividend from its dominant demography within a few decades.
Following a clarion call by the youth during the 2021 African Governance Architecture (AGA) Regional Youth Consultations, the AGA under the auspices of the AGA Youth Engagement Strategy spearheaded the development of a Comprehensive Guide and Facilitator and Participants Manuals on Youth Participation in Political and Electoral Processes in Africa. The Guide and accompanying Manuals were developed in collaboration with the Common Market for East and Southern Africa Secretariat (COMESA) with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation- SDC. The manuals underwent a painstaking research, review, and validation process with the full involvement of youth leaders and experts across the five regions of the continent.
Meaningfully engaging young people entails allowing youth to be part of formulating the political discourse to contribute to bringing in new priorities that are distinctive and valuable. As a reflection of a functioning democracy, regular, credible, and transparent elections are key. Electoral processes in Africa are intricate and have resulted in more bloodshed than peaceful transition of power. Undoubtedly, an effective way to Silence the Guns is to meaningfully engage youth in various democratic institutions. Youth have a stake in all components of the electoral cycle such as political parties, Electoral Management Bodies, and Civil Society, including community and faith-based organizations, the government, and the media.
Objectives of the guide:
This guide’s overall objective is to develop the capacity of youth groups within and outside traditional political spaces. Specifically, the guide must:
a) Create youth’s awareness and understanding of the nexus between elections and democracy and the dividend of their participation in electoral processes.
b) Enhance the young people’s advocacy and lobbying skills for their engagement efforts with various electoral stakeholders, including election management bodies (EMBs), political parties and candidates, governments, legislative and other statutory bodies, civil society, media, communities, and development partners.
c) Provide a comparative perspective on lessons learned across the continent on the engagement of young people in democratic governance; and,
d) Increase and sustain youth participative value in electoral processes.
The guide provides lessons and best practices based on youth participation in political and electoral processes on the African continent. While this guide is a tool for all countries on the continent, the users should adopt the suggested planning and implementation strategies to the local situation because of the historical, political, cultural, and socio-economic peculiarities in each country that require tailor-made strategies.
The guide consists of the following ten (10) chapters:
Chapter 1: Understanding Youth participation in political and electoral processes
Chapter 2: The Continental and Regional Architecture for the Promotion of Youth Participation in Africa
Chapter 3: Factors Inhibiting Youth Participation
Chapter 4: Forms of Youth Participation
Chapter 5: Youth Participation in the Electoral Cycle
Chapter 6: Youth Access to Information in Political and Electoral Processes
Chapter 7: Breaking Barriers for Youth Participation
Chapter 8: Leadership
Chapter 9: Advocacy
Chapter 10: Communication and Engagement