There is a need to enhance youth engagement in elections and voting. The participants of the recently held Bhutan Democracy Forum raised this. Some of them said relevant agencies should provide more voter education to youth. According to the statistical information on Bhutan’s third parliamentary elections 2018, the least voter turnout in the Electronic Voting Machines for the National Council election was recorded in the age group of 18 to 24 years.
In 2018, the voter turnout recorded in the EVMs under the age category of 18-24 years was a little over 16,000. This, according to the statistical information on Bhutan’s third parliamentary elections 2018, is just about four per cent of the total registered voters.
According to Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, youths are unprepared and lack crucial knowledge regarding the democratic process.
“As soon as you turn eighteen, we assume that people know how to be part of that democratic process. And we assume they also know how to access and evaluate candidates and political parties. But from our interaction with many young people, we came to know that they are not engaged in this democratic process,” said Chencho Lhamu, the Executive Director of the Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy.
Among others, the forum saw discussions on educating young children on democracy right from school rather than waiting until they attain the age of 18.
“Especially in rural settings, schools are the main sources of information for young people. To encourage more youth participation in democracy and elections, schools should not wait until the children are of the age to vote. For instance, the importance of elections should be taught to them in their early learning stages,” said Ugyen Tshering, a Social Worker.
“When they turn eighteen and when they get that voter card, they don’t really have a good grounding in what their role is, and how they go about selecting the right candidate. So, I think educating the young people even before they become eligible to vote is very important,” added the BCMD’s Executive Director.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Tshering Zam
