By Elson Browne-Low
Much has been said about young voters’ role in the May 11 general and regional elections, and as the recent student strike at the University of Guyana has demonstrated, young people have become frustrated with the hand that they are being dealt as Guyana moves forward.
I want, first, to acknowledge that I have my own political biases, I want to add, however, that youth participation in our electoral process is absolutely vital no matter their political leanings. That participation is vital for Guyana and it is vital for Guyana’s youth.
In virtually every major protest movement we observe the world over, young people are either the instigators or the primary active participants therein. Governments are wary of young people, and they should be wary of us because we keep them on their toes. It is unheard of that a major University strike in the shadow of perhaps the most important general elections of our time should not only receive comparatively little political attention but not be the eye of the storm, the political fulcrum of the day. What is going on?
I am not about to yell that young people need to go out and ‘show them’ who is ‘boss’ by voting for or against a particular party. Instead, I want to us to slow down, to take a deep breath and to realize what is really going on here. I visited Washington D.C. recently and while there I remember pausing in front of the Congress building, where a father was taking pictures of his young daughter in her pink leotard. She was standing on the steps twirling as he shot each photo and my first thought, a very Guyanese thought, was that they must have “lines,” because they were acting like they owned the place. Can you imagine anything of the kind at our Parliament buildings? It occurred to me eventually that they did indeed own the place.
Whatever the faults of America’s democracy, Americans take seriously the notion that the state belongs to the people,
This Guyana, the Guyana that is responsive to all of its people, the Guyana that teaches its young
people that their country belongs to them is like a dream you wish would go on and on. I believe that young people need to vote because this will bring our country closer to a culture of political accountability. Young people the world over put their energies and votes towards the key issues of the day so that politicians have no choice but to sit up and pay attention. Young people safeguard democracy.
The student protests at the University of Guyana were a gutsy and laudable start, but we can do even more, now, by voting on May 11, by taking a stand when that stand is critical.
I am currently studying abroad and every time I return home it seems like Guyana’s playlist is stuck on replay, the same narrative of “nothing much new” echoing as young people continue to seek opportunities that just aren’t there. We cannot, therefore, allow politicians, to anticipate our votes. We must vote in a manner that is consistent with our interests, our priorities, our concerns. In other words we must vote responsibly. To vote responsibly is to question our leaders and their plans; To vote responsibly is to ask the difficult and the relevant questions. s. Guyana will be better off for those responsible choices so too will our nation’s youth.
These elections are an opportunity; not just a chance to determine who governs but an opportunity to determine in whose interests they govern.
Elson Browne-Low is an old boy of Queen’s College, a political science and economics double major at Amherst College in Western Massachusetts, where he is currently the Chair of the Student body President’s Committee on Student Representation. He is a Roosevelt Institute Public Policy Fellowship winner and has written several articles about international affairs and United States politics for the Amherst Student. Additionally, he co-founded a non-profit in Guyana, the Benab Foundation, emphasizing youth voice in generating innovative ideas for Guyana’s development. He is also a very, very avid fan of the West Indies.
