YIAGA Africa, a civil society in Abuja in partnership with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have commenced a nationwide Youth Development meeting in a bid to mainstream the participation of young people and other marginalized groups in the electoral process. The Youth Consultation Meetings which provide a safe and collaborative space for youth to contribute to the development of the INEC Youth Strategy kicked off early this month with over 400 young people cutting across various states in Nigeria.
Each of the meetings brought together INEC staff responsible for youth programs and civic/voter education, young people in political parties, youth led and oriented civil society organizations with focus on youth political participation, media organizations (traditional and new media) and young persons with disabilities to share their experiences and perceptions based on their engagements with political processes and the role young people can play throughout the electoral cycle.
The INEC Youth Strategy meetings in the states kicked off with discussion on the importance of a youth strategy, a review of youth and elections in Nigeria and interactive sessions to identify youth issues in the electoral process and entry points for youth engagement in the electoral process using the electoral cycle matrix.
In Kogi state, the Resident Electoral Commissioner Prof James Apam, assured YIAGA and all the young people involved in the Strategy Development Process that INEC Kogi State will fully implement the Youth Strategy
Similarly, YIAGA Africa’s Senior Program Officer, Ibrahim Faruk said, one of the key responsibilities of electoral management bodies such as INEC is promoting participation of marginalized groups. “It is applauding therefore, that INEC is planning to increase participation of marginalized groups in the political and electoral processes through strategic policies”, he said.
Faruk said, while young people constitute the largest demography in the general population and the voting population, the election management body has taken a giant step with the Youth strategy consultation to address youth participation in a systematic manner. This according to him is the first time INEC will systematically address the participation of young people throughout the electoral process.
It could be recalled that, YIAGA AFRICA and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously held an Inception Strategy Development Meeting from January 31st – February 1st 2018 in Abuja which had participants from youth led organizations across the country, as well as people with disability (PWD) and INEC officials, all contributing to the development of the strategy.
