by Ndalimpinga Iita

WINDHOEK, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The active involvement of youth in the upcoming local authority areas and regional council elections process has relished participation across Namibia.

The big novelty is that the majority of the political parties, and organisations nominated young candidates to contest in the upcoming elections.

At the far-flung village of Oshana region in northern Namibia, 32-year-old Shikongo Fanuel campaigned at a rally, appealing to opposition party followers to vote for him during upcoming local authority areas and regional council elections. The elections are slated for Nov. 25 this year.

"If elected into power, we shall make sure that the area receives necessary facilities, which are some of the areas that are neglected," Fanuel said on Tuesday.

In the Namibian capital Windhoek, 23-year-old Duminga Ndala, was recently nominated by an opposition party to contest in the upcoming elections.

Her campaign is oriented around the speedy provision of services, bringing development to the constituency as well as empowering dwellers, especially the youth.

Johanna Ileka, aged 32, was also nominated to represent a political party in the southern part of Namibia. The decision to actively get involved in politics was motivated by her passion for promoting gender parity and empowerment to ensure social progress at all levels.

Meanwhile, some youths are contesting under the independent candidate card, which gained popularity in the presidential elections last year.

Theo Mujoro, the chief electoral officer at the Electoral Commission of Namibia, said that the commission had registered 93 independent candidates who will participate in the upcoming regional council elections, an increase from five who contested the 2015 elections.

Elifas Nghitomoka, a community activist, is one of the youths registered as an independent candidate set to stand for elections in Windhoek.

"I am advocating for social justice and now is the time to fix our problems," he said.

Experts said that dominance by youth is multi-faceted.

Kondjeni Ntinda, a local expert in youth matters and a project manager at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said that it is hoped that participation of youthful candidates in the upcoming elections will boost voter turnout.

"If compared to the previous similar elections, voter turnout was low at 36 and 38 percent. We hope that young candidates will motivate more young people to cast their votes on Nov. 25," Ntinda said.

Sindiso Moyo, an assistant lecturer at the University of Namibia, said that the interest of young Namibians to serving as local councillors is motivated by the lack of employment opportunities.

Official data by the Namibia Statistics Agency show that the unemployment rate of Namibians between the ages of 15 and 34 years increased to 46 percent in 2018 from 43.4 percent in 2016.

There has been a shift in the mindset, with voters actively reading the manifesto, and for voters to make an informed decision.

"This is contrary to the norm whereby people mainly vote based their votes on personalities and not necessarily the manifesto and the party that the candidate represents which impacts," added Moyo.

Moreover, according to Maurius Kudumo, a political expert, the local authority areas and regional council elections are important.

"Residents will be voting for representatives that they can directly hold accountable," he said.

In the interim, besides the rallies, social media is one of their powerful tools with rally and campaign materials shared instantly on various virtual platforms.

"Social media has had more impact than traditional media. I can directly interact with people," said Fanuel.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia has in total, received 493 candidates nominations across 121 constituencies and 57 local authority areas. Enditem

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