Campaigns to prop electoral participation of youths underway in Matobo

Tecla Ndlovu

The Matobo Youth Development Initiative has embarked on  electoral awareness initiatives targeted at youth in Matobo, Matabeleland South, ahead of the August 23 harmonised elections.

This comes hard on the heels of a study by the  Election Resource Centre (ERC) titled “Nature of Youth’s Participation in Electoral and Political Processes in Zimbabwe,”  which revealed that 93 percent of Zimbabwean youths have never participated in electoral policy formulation processes, while up to 81% of youth have never considered running for public office.

According to the study  more needs to be done by the government, Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders to ensure youths take part in electoral processes.

Speaking to Community Podium, the director of Matobo Youth Development Initiative, Descent Dube said engagements were on course to ensure youths participate in the upcoming elections.

“As an organization we are currently engaging young people in Matobo  to make informed decesions through ensuring that they access adequate information on the upcoming elections. We want to ensure they prioritize voting for candidates who will twckle the problems they are facing in their respective areas,” said Dube.

” Our goal is to also ensure they are at the forefront of decision making.  We believe electoral participation is one of their basic human rights. We are also prioritizing access to information because  we feel there is a gap in terms of the digital divide,  so we try to close that gap through community engagements,” he added. 

These campaigns by the youth organisation could prove crucial as most youths in the area fear partaking in electoral processes due to the violence that is usually associated with elections in Zimbabwe. During recently held 2022 by-elections, Matobo Ward 2 became a war zone when ruling party thugs ran amok, unleashing an orgy of violence. The violence triggered outrage as images of old women who were stripped naked by the thugs went viral.

One youth from Matobo’s ward 12, under Chief Bango Wisdom Nyathi  said participation in electoral processes remains scary. 

“Elections are so synonymous with violence, I would rather stay away even from voting because I fear being killed,” said Nyathi.

Dube concurred saying violence is part of the reasons youths shun electoral processes.

“Our political environment is very toxic which sometimes makes young people shy away from getting involved in political conversations, positions and also makes them pass up opportunities to lead.

“Of late our politics is not  seen as something which promotes development or democracy but instead has proved to be some sort of a survival of the fittest struggle. They are also seen as a platform for victimisation and discrimination so it’s very important to note that young people from rural areas are also  feeling the pinch when it comes to partaking in politics,” said Dube.