By: Jeremiah Nutsugah
The countdown to the District-Level elections is on; however, some youth are oblivious that voters will go to the polls to elect Assembly Members and Unit Committee Members for electoral areas on December 19, 2023.
About 90% of the websites and Facebook pages of the country’s 261 Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), with a core mandate to ensure citizen participation in local governance, were yet to have any information or message on the district-level elections.
In an interview with some youth in Accra, they expressed a lack of interest in the upcoming district elections.
Alfred Opare Aryee stated that he didn’t even know there was a district election to elect assembly members and unit committee, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t even waste his precious time to go stand in a queue to vote for anyone, accusing politicians of allegedly engaging in fraud.
On expectations from the government, he stated that for the youth to participate in elections, the government should make a deliberate attempt to solve unemployment and should execute their promises.
Einstein, another youth, echoed similar sentiments, attributing his lack of interest to politicians prioritising personal gains over the welfare of the people. He also noted the dearth of advertisements or publicity to educate the public about the district elections, suggesting a widespread lack of awareness.
He said he expects the government to stop corruption, communicate with the youth, and provide job opportunities for them.
Another youth, Charles Ebli, underscored the overshadowing effect of national elections on the district polls and the growing concern about the low voter turnout for district-level elections.
“Nothing can make me go and vote for this politician who has no good intentions for the youth. They should solve the problem of unemployment.”
District-level elections, designed to empower communities by electing representatives who can effectively communicate local concerns to the government, are experiencing an unsettling decline in youth participation. Despite their potential impact on local governance decisions, these elections struggle to capture the attention of the youth.
While local-level elections present the most practicable opportunity for youth to participate actively in selecting their local representatives to the various metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies and contribute to local government decision-making, this has rather sparked a lack of interest from the youth.
Consistently, the turnout figures have been fluctuating, most of the time producing less than half of the turnout in presidential and parliamentary elections.
An illustrative example of this apathy unfolded at the Nii Boi Town 1 polling station in the Okaikoi North Constituency, where the expected turnout of 788 voters fell drastically short. The disheartening reality of less than half the expected voters casting their ballots paints a concerning picture of diminishing interest in local-level participation.
As Ghana navigates the complex intersection of national and local politics, the challenge becomes not only to ensure the vitality of democracy at the highest levels but also to rekindle the flame of civic engagement at the grassroots, where the voices of the youth hold the potential to shape the path of local governance.
