Claiming the space: The inclusion and participation of the youth in Kenya's 11th and 12th Parliaments

CHAPTER 2
MODELS ON YOUTH INCLUSION FROM SELECTED JURISDICTIONS
Political participation is considered a key component of democratic societies and entails, among
others, ensuring that all groups have a voice in influencing how decisions are made and implemented.
In most countries for instance, older men have for a long time enjoyed undue advantage when it comes
to exercising their civil and political rights, including to vote and to vie for election to office. Efforts have
therefore been made at global, regional and national level, to ensure that women, youth, persons with
disabilities, marginalized communities and disadvantaged groups are facilitated to participate in law,
policy and decision-making processes.
Youth representation and participation in political life has particularly become a priority globally, resulting
from the very low number of young parliamentarians, and bearing in mind that youth aged under 30
years account for more than half the world’s population. 13 It has been observed that the presence
of young MPs in the legislature shapes the degree to which they are able to be spokespersons for
other young people through, among others, the introduction of topics relevant to youth for debate
by parliaments. 14 This fosters positive attitudes among the youth towards government, increases
government responsiveness toward their demands, and helps enhance the overall participation of
young people in the political process. 15
13 Inter-Parliamentary Union (2018), Youth Participation in National Parliaments (Accessed at www.ipu.org)
14 Celis and Karen (2008), Gendering Representation, in ‘Politics, Gender, and Concepts’, ed. Gary Goertz and Amy Mazur. Cambridge:
CUP.
15 Stockemer & Sundstrom (2018), op cit
CLAIMING THE SPACE: 5