Youth Underrepresentation In Elective Positions And Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections In Ekiti State, Nigeria
Oluwabanji A. Akele, Festus O. Ajayi, Oluwatosin C. Akele
Keywords: Election, Nigeria, youth, youth political participation, youth underrepresentation
Abstract
Given the importance of young people in the electoral process, political scientists and election stakeholders have made youth involvement in politics, particularly in Africa, a top priority. In this sense, running for
electoral office is one of the main ways that young people are expected to actively participate in politics. It is however ironic that the low number
of young people running for public office is still low and consistent with
low representation as found in previous general elections since 1999. The overarching objective of this study is to determine the level of youth
representation in elective positions in the 2023 General Elections in Ekiti
State, Nigeria. The study adopted the mixed methods (quantitative and
qualitative) to gather data. Primary data were collected through survey
questionnaires and in-depth interviews, while secondary data were
gathered from relevant journals, newspapers, and internet sources.
Quantitative data were analysed utilising tables and simple percentages, while the qualitative data were content-analysed using discourse
analysis. The main finding of the study revealed that the level of youth representation in elective positions in the General Elections in Ekiti State
was very low. It was further revealed that several factors were responsible for youth underrepresentation in elective positions, with high cost of nomination forms and highly monetized party primaries as the
main factors. Consequently, the study among others, recommends curbing of charging of excessive fees for consideration as a youth candidate in party primary elections.
Author Biography
Oluwabanji A. Akele
Department of Liberal Studies, the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Email: [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4598- 36932
Festus O. Ajayi
Directorate of Administration, the Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Email: [email protected]
Oluwatosin C. Akele
Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Email: [email protected]