The outcome of the forthcoming general and regional elections will be determined largely by the way young people vote, according to APNU leader David Granger, who says the main opposition is considering the possibility of a young person as its prime ministerial candidate.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Granger said the ruling PPP/C has treated the large youth population with disdain, including ignoring young people’s legitimate aspirations for a coherent national youth policy that would give them hope for the future.
Granger said although young people are “inevitably” the nation’s future, they are facing “monumental challenges,” and particularly the PPP/C’s failures in education and employment. He pointed to the large number of school drop outs, the unavailability of new job opportunities, the huge prison population, of which youths comprise 75%, the spate of suicides and rise in teenage pregnancies.
“The PPP/C has sowed the seeds of disdain for young people’s concerns and will reap a bitter harvest at the next elections,” he said, while noting that government has failed to develop a new National Youth Policy, which it has “brazenly, annually and cynically” been announcing. He said the result has been that most young people continue to face a disheartening jobless future. Granger expressed confidence that young people will not vote for the present administration given its failures and will instead turn to APNU because the partnership will improve the standard of education, ensure their personal safety and introduce a genuine national youth policy that will guarantee “a good life for all.”
While announcing February 20 as the formal launch date of APNU’s elections campaign, Granger also said the possibility of a youth prime ministerial candidate is being “actively considered” by the coalition. He also said APNU has not chosen a presidential candidate and when it happens it will be announced. “The process has not started. We had an APNU Executive Council two days ago and we will launch formally, on February 20, the APNU campaign and some announcement would be made at that date if not sometime earlier,” he said.
Granger noted that there is a formula being used which gives representation to geographical areas, gender, competence, occupation and age.
“So we have a range of considerations which may be applied in the selection of candidates. There are no absolute yardsticks, there are not absolute criteria,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), the youth arm of APNU’s main constituent PNCR, Ryan Belgrave described young people as the forgotten majority, while encouraging them to respect their votes. “Respect enough not to waste it and as you respect your vote encourage others to respect both yours and theirs…,” he said.
According to Belgrave, the GYSM is actively using social media to get its message out to young people. He said two Fridays ago the “Respect my vote” campaign was launched. “Remember your vote is your voice. Use it to speak out,” he stressed, while adding that traditional and non-traditional means are being used to reach the youths. He said they have been going to popular hangout spots and knocking on doors in their efforts to engage the youth. “Change will not come by bench warming or wishful thinking…,” he noted.
Granger added that the participation of young people is an important element of the electoral process. He said APNU believes the government’s failure to hold local government elections for over 20 years has contributed to the lack of experience some youths face with politics. He said that these elections should be a “training school” for young people. “Once that is taken away from them, we find that there is a gap between national politics and what takes place at the community level… that gap could have been bridged if there were frequent elections being held every three years as required by the law,” he said.
Additionally, he noted the need for more voter education.
Granger was asked about the translation of APNU’s messages so that Amerindian youths can learn about them and he said such an issue is out of the coalition’s control. However, reporters were later told that the coalition does have a plan for certain areas both on the coast and hinterland where there are naturalised Brazilians and persons from other different backgrounds.
Belgrave later said that the youth arm has been using caravans to further boost their efforts to reach the youths.
Asked what methods are being used to reach those youths who have no access to social media, GYSM Executive Member Nia Phil-Gonsalves said the plan of action would include visiting the University of Guyana campus, the Cyril Potter College and villages where in some instances tents with information on voting will be set up.
