As presidential elections approach, engagement appears low among under-35s – but some see staying away from the polls as a form of protest
Civil society groups said they faced particular resistance to registering during engagement campaigns from newly eligible voters aged between 18 and 25. “Many young people are saying that they won’t be voting, that elections have not proved an effective way to cause change,” said Loise Mwakamba, from the parliamentary watchdog Mzalendo Trust., next week’s polling is set to be a close race.
Ruzuna Akoth, 33, who studies social justice and governance, points to this boycott to explain the youth opt-out. “When Raila did it, it was understood that staying away from the polls was a tactic towards getting issues addressed,” she said. Commentators note the entrenched beliefs around voting. “We live in a country where civic participation is reduced to voting. The exercise of voting is currently very extractive, where politicians only engage the population when they want [them] to vote,” said Caroline Mose, a cultural theorist. “One of the statements those who are not voting are trying to make is that civic participation needs to go beyond that.
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