Written by: Naseef Muallem
The issue of youth political participation has occupied the forefront of the media and social media platforms since the start of the so-called Arab Spring, in general, and the Egyptian revolution in 2011, in particular. Since then, everyone in the Arab world has been talking about the importance of the role of youth in political work, as they represent the largest proportion of the population at a time when they do not enjoy the minimum level of representation in decision-making positions and processes. We, as Palestinians, like everyone else, have begun to discuss the importance of change and the role of youth in this process, as they have an interest in creating the world or state that they dream of. This popular Palestinian position came in light of the Arab Spring, the failure of the political leaders to end the division, the failure to achieve their political agenda after the issuance of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence and the demand for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through the implementation of international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause, particularly Resolutions 242, 338 and 194.
Although these have been demanded for more than a decade, we have not seen any practical examples. For more than ten years, young people have not held any senior positions, whether governmental or non-governmental, or within their political parties, trade unions and/or federations. Recently, during the preparations for the general elections that were postponed, we noticed that the majority of the electoral lists did not include young candidates at the top of the lists; rather, they came mostly at the bottom of the lists or in positions that are not guaranteed to succeed. The question that arises now is: Why did most of the electoral lists do not include youth, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of voters are young people? The Central Election Commission indicated on its online portal that more than 70% of voters are youth. I believe that there are several reasons for this phenomenon represented by the high percentage of youth and their low or no political participation, as the following:
- The Absence of Internal Democracy in Palestinian Political Parties: Unfortunately, there are not any laws and regulations that concern political parties in Palestine, and therefore there is an absence of follow-up and partisan accountability mechanisms. There is also the absence of primary elections before any electoral process occurs, resulting in the absence of internal democracy and constitutional articles regarding parties that indicate the number of electoral rounds, the age, and professional or gender quotas. All this allowed our historical political leaders to maintain their leadership positions despite only some practices of democracy, such as holding political party conferences and internal elections. Regarding the absence of democracy, I mean the absence of daily democratic life within political parties and not only during the holding of conferences every four to five years or more. The majority of those who control and govern these parties are veterans, and it is rare to find a youth group in leadership positions.
- Unemployment and Poverty Amongst the Youth Sector: After taking a careful and detailed look at those who suffer from unemployment, it can be indicated that youth are the main group who are unemployed. Therefore, the biggest concern of Palestinian youth is finding work or a source of livelihood, not being active in political institutions as it is voluntary and doesn’t have any financial benefit.
- The Nature of the Palestinian Society: Despite the results achieved by the first intifada in terms of creating youth leaders, who achieved tangible political results, these achievements disappeared due to the results of the political work after the Oslo Accords. This created a division in the Palestinian society, in addition to the decline in the rule of law, which left a vacuum that the traditional leaders filled.
- The Absence of Transforming Youth’s National Role into a Political Role: No two people disagree that young people have the most influential national role. However, this sacred role did not reflect itself by representing them politically, as we rarely hear about them from other youth leadership, only from traditional leaders.
- The Absence of Youth in Political Media: This type of media is absent due to state ownership of Palestinian media, and the Arab media’s lack of interest in youth because it may open the eyes of youth to their political roles. Therefore, the struggles, activities, pains, dreams and aspirations of young people remain buried in their empty pockets.
What to Do? Peaceful and democratic struggle by calling for the holding of presidential and legislative elections, elections for local bodies and participating in the democratic process as men and women candidates and not only as voters. The presence of young men and women in political work makes them policymakers, of which their policies and plans will focus on resolving unemployment and poverty. The traditional saying: “Find work first, engage in political work later” proved to be a failure not only in Palestine, but in most countries of the world, as solutions to youth’s dilemmas are made when they are decision-makers.
