Youth Participation to Enhance Elections – Judge Esau Chulu

Youth Participation to Enhance Elections – Judge Esau Chulu
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Judge Esau Chulu, says the Commission has identified the need to effectively engage and encourage Zambian youths to participate in electoral activities such as voter registration.
Judge Chulu was speaking at the Seventeenth International Electoral Affairs Symposium held in Accra, Ghana which was held from the 27th to 30th January, 2019.
He said with the increased number of youths who use mobile devices the Commission would employ strategic initiatives from the 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan, such as the online voter registration system, which would be implemented parallel to the current voter registration system that requires human interface.
The Chairperson said youths yearned for quick response services due to living in a fast-paced environment with busy lifestyles that required the Commission to improve its registration modality.
“This age group mostly Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1990-2000, are the Commission’s targeted future voters and will account for 60% of eligible voters by 2021.’’
He said the Commission had recognised that young voters who are currently 16 years of age will be eligible to vote in 2021 and would adopt educative and voting strategies to guarantee their participation.
Judge Chulu urged youths to participate effectively in the electoral process in order to realise the “link between democracy, development, elections and human rights,” adding that this would deter youth involvement in crime as well as provide for a constructive and orderly young people.
The Symposium was convened by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, a body that promotes policy making and good governance through better interaction between Parliaments, Governments and other stakeholders in society.

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News Source: Mwebantu