Campaign launched to boost youth, women’s political participation

AMMAN — Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah affirmed on Sunday that His Majesty King Abdullah and HRH Crown Prince Hussein encourage young people to take an active role in politics by participating in the electoral process, nominating candidates, and voting. 

Maaytah’s remarks came while inaugurating the National Campaign of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, which aims to encourage participation in municipal and governorate council elections in 2022, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Maaytah said that higher participation rates in elections will lead to better civic outcomes, and that people will be more likely to have their needs addressed through councils that represent them.  

He stressed the importance of youth and women’s participation in the electoral process and the need for them to hold positions in Parliament and elected councils. 

He also highlighted the importance of the Royal Committee’s recommendations to reduce the minimum candidate age to 25, which was approved by the House of Representatives in recent constitutional amendments.

Regional representative of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation Kristop W. Duwaerts said that there is a lot of interest in decentralisation, as citizens learn politics through local councils, and local government programmes directly impact people’s lives, according to Petra.

Haitham Taani, project director at the Arab World Centre for Democratic Development and Human Rights, stressed the need to support youth and women’s political participation.

The event included a discussion with Secretary General of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Khawaldeh on enhancing youth and female participation in elections.

During the session, participants presented proposals for motivating young people to engage in the political process, especially through the use of technology. 

Khawaldeh said the ministry will launch a campaign that includes more than 100 meetings with young people in various governorates, along with a campaign on social media to motivate youth to actively participate in upcoming elections.