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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Approximately 75% of Kenya’s population is comprised of the youth and yet, this number is not reflected
in terms of their representation in Parliament. As of now, youth MPs constitute about 6.5% of Parliament’s
membership. It is important to ensure and to promote increased inclusion of youth in political processes
so as to ensure that they have greater participation in decision making roles which have large impact in
their lives.
The study has looked into other jurisdictions and how they ensure inclusion of youth in political processes,
specifically; South Africa, Nigeria, Britain and Canada. These countries have excellent structures that
support and promote the participation of youth in political processes. These practices, that include youth
quotas in national Parliaments and political parties and stricter campaign financing regulations, form the
basis of the best practices that Kenya should adopt.
One of the key findings from the research on the youth parliamentarians was that they do not receive
enough support from political parties and other stakeholders. This support is in terms of capacity and
resources. Additionally, the issue of flawed nominations arose, with various parties stating that nomination
processes in political parties were shambolic and unfair, causing many youth to avoid politics as a whole.
Further, youth leagues were not active and did not receive the required support from political parties. The
report also highlighted a number of barriers that hinder increased numbers of youth MPs including, the
effect of money, power and influence on who gets elected to Parliament, preference of political parties to
seasoned politicians and lack of a democratic culture during nominations.
In light of this, Mzalendo Trust recommends, among others, the amendment of the Elections Act 2013
to provide for a specified number of nomination slots for persons aged 35 and below, enhancement of
training and technical support provided to nominated MPs, strengthening of youth leagues/wings in
political parties, mobilization of cross-party support for review of nomination rules to ensure more youth
get into Parliament and to undertake civic education and awareness to youth on political engagement.
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CLAIMING THE SPACE: