«Electoral Issues», episode three: youth's role in strengthening the democratic process

Continuing its constant activity in spreading democratic concepts within Palestinian society since its founding in 2007, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, in cooperation with the Central Elections Commission, carried out the third radio episode of the “Electoral Issues” programme, titled “Youth's role in strengthening the democratic process”, on the local Zaman radio — within the project “Toward a society more aware of its electoral rights” and the project “Partnership with civil-society institutions / phase two 2021”, funded by the European Union.

The episode's guest, Mr Yahya Qaoud, researcher and trainer in the issues of democracy, said elections are the only means of guaranteeing youth's arrival at decision-making centres in Palestine, pointing out that raising the rate of women's participation from 23 to 29 per cent counts as an achievement.

He explained that the United Nations considers the youth category to range between 18 and 29 years, but the laws of elections and parties consider youth to be those under 40 — noting that the share of those under 40 years was negligible in the legislative elections of 1996 or 2006.

He added: “The problem is that Palestinian youth are deprived of practising elections during their university studies and after them”.

Qaoud continued: “Youth hold an important role in change; therefore I look at the educational meetings civil-society institutions carry out in the universities to acquaint university students with their electoral rights with all positivity, because their demand for elections is a means of pressure on the decision-maker to hold the elections”.

According to the researcher, the best way of planting the culture of elections and convincing a person of the necessity of resorting to the democratic option for change is teaching them that at school and university — pointing out that the culture of the generation deprived of elections for 15 years is exceedingly slight on the elections issue, and that civil-society institutions are the only party carrying out electoral awareness.

Qaoud noted that civil society began two years ago carrying out a student parliament in the schools to plant democracy in their souls from childhood.

He stressed the importance of civil society's role in spreading the culture of democracy in Palestinian society amid the suspension of the elections because of the division.