NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN: Promoting the rights of young people running for public office and leadership

YUSUF IBRAHIM NAYAYA

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Today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has ever known. Half of the global population is under the age of 25, and young people between the ages of 15-25 constitute one-fifth of this total. Yet, young people are starkly underrepresented in government and politics at virtually every level. One key factor contributing to low representation of young people in government and politics is an age of candidacy that is significantly higher than the legal voting age. This form of age discrimination is often met with other significant barriers, including social and cultural barriers and discrimination against young candidates. Efforts have been made around the world to promote the rights of young people running for public office and leadership positions by seeking to lower the legal age of candidacy. In 2007, a campaign entitled “How Old is Old Enough” lowered the age of candidacy requirement in England, Wales, and Scotland from 21 to 18, in line with the voting age.

In Turkey, young people lobbied the government to reduce the age of candidacy for Parliament from 30 to 25 years in 2006. In Nigeria, the Not Too Young to Run campaign has embarked on a mission to address age discrimination in candidacy for the legislative and executive branches, and serves as inspiration for the global campaign. Building off of the Not Too Young to Run campaign in Nigeria, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in partnership with IPU and UNDP will launch Not Too Young To Run (NTYTR), a global campaign focused on promoting the rights of young people running for public office and leadership positions.

The campaign will be officially launched at the United Nations Forum on Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law held at the Human Rights Council in Geneva from 21-22 November, 2016. The NTYTR campaign will be as an open source global campaign, designed to draw attention to the rights of young people running for public office. It will provide a platform with resources and content which may be utilized for nationally specific efforts.