National Youth Development trust joins the world in commemorating
World Youth Day for Democracy. Of striking importance this year has been the
pro-activeness of youths in democratic transformation of their society’s world
over. Over 4,000 Egyptian youth protested brutal violence by their government,
police, and security officials. Such a protest contributed to the ultimate
ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak.
Similarly in southern Africa youths played a critical role in the
recently held presidential elections in Zambia. The positive participation of
youths in these elections became a determining factor in the democratic
transition of the country. Such benchmarks deserve recognition on this
particular day.
It cannot be doubted that youths are the potential change makers
in all efforts to achieve democratic transition in Zimbabwe, just like they
have been on the forefront of all revolutions and democratic transitions that
have taken place globally this year. However, there is still a lot to be done
in Zimbabwe to create an environment that will allow for democratic processes.
A lot remains unaddressed in terms of electoral universal suffrage of youths in
Zimbabwe. Nearly 72 % of the youths in Zimbabwe are not registered voters owing
to the unfavorable political environment, skewed nature of the country’s
politics and the violence that has characterized elections in Zimbabwe since
1980. Selective application of the law, lack of rule of law and draconian
pieces of legislature are all contributing to the suppression of youth
participation in critical processes in Zimbabwe.
On this day, the
National Youth development trust reaffirms its commitment in ensuring greater
youth participation in all democratic processes. We also challenge the leaders of Zimbabwe to create an
environment conducive enough for young people to play their part in the
struggle for democratic transition. We also encourage them to channel the
potential and energy of young people to positive use.
No comments:
Post a Comment