ELECTION watchdog Election Resource Centre (ERC) has called on civil society organisations to provide youths with platforms to advocate for easy entry into the political arena.
ERC recently launched a study titled: The Nature of Youth Participation in Electoral and Political Processes in Zimbabwe.
In the report, ERC said there was a drastic fall in the level of participation of youth in public processes after elections.
ERC said voter education programmes needed to target young first-time voters, especially those in the 18-20 year age range, and in particular those from low-income communities.
“There is need to support youths with platforms to advocate for more easy entry to the political arena so that youth issues can be prioritised and the political landscape can be one which they can identify with and where they see themselves represented.
“(We also need to) provide platforms for youths to engage with the political and public policy process at local and national levels to ensure youth voices and inputs are incorporated,” ERC said.
The centre said youth voices and ideas should be part of the day-to-day decision-making and planning in between election cycles.
The watchdog, however, revealed that compared to previous years, there was a significant rise in the number of youths who expressed a desire to vote.