Political parties in the country have been dared to adopt deliberate policies to increase youth representation in their ranks ahead of the September 16 2025 General Election.
The calls come against a background of Youth and Society (YAS) and Youth Decide Campaign, with support from United Nations Development Programme, developing the new National Youth Manifesto to succeed that of 2019-2024.
The 2019-24 National Youth Manifesto focused on 14 thematic areas youth stakeholders feel have been partially implemented due to factors such as a lack of public awareness and resource constraints, among others.
In an interview yesterday, Mzuzu Youth Caucus chairperson Gomezgani Nkhoma observed that key political party positions are not represented by youth members.
He said: “There is minimal participation of youths in key political positions. Political parties such as Malawi Congress Party [MCP] and UTM Party have the so-called youth directors who are above the 35-year age bracket required in the national youth manifesto.”
The revised National Youth Policy defines youths as persons aged between 10 and 35 years. However, the United Nations defines a youth as a person aged between 15 and 24.
Democratic Progressive Party spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said in an interview that they have a unique and deliberate policy which supports youth representation at all levels.
He said: “We have party structures at area, constituency, district and regional levels. At area level, for example, apart from men and women, we have 25 youth representatives which is a third of the structure.”
In an interview earlier this year, Youth Caucus in Parliament chairperson Baba Steve Malondera said ahead of the elections, he wants to see more capable and qualified youthful Malawians joining active politics.
“I want them to have access to campaign materials and serious financial support because politics has been monetised. If this is not done, the youth will not have a competitive edge,” he said.
Malondera, who is MCP director of youth, said he was not satisfied with the number of youthful parliamentarians in the current cohort and called for greater representation and an amplified voice in decision-making.
He said according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global organisation for national Parliaments, after the 2019 elections, only five lawmakers or 2.7 percent of Malawi’s 193-member National Assembly were aged 30 or below.
In an interview yesterday, political analyst Victor Chipofya faulted the youth for abdicating their roles in politics to the older generation.
He said the youth that fought for the country’s independence such as Kanyama Chiume and Aleke Banda, did not wait for leadership to be handed to them.
“Power is taken not given. The issue of leadership cannot be imposed on an individual. The fact that there are a few youth representatives shows that the youth are not aggressive enough,” he said.
According to the 2018 census, Malawi has a largely youthful population, with over 80 percent aged below 35 years.
In 2023, an Afrobarometer opinion poll revealed that despite being the majority of Malawi’s population, the youth are failing to ride on their numbers to advance their political agenda.
According to the perception survey, the agenda for the country’s youthful majority is dictated by priorities and wisdom of elders, resulting in limited political participation by the dominant age group.
