Vote - before youth influence dwindles even more
Overwhelm the polls with youth ballots
The voting youth, aged between 18 and 35, has been shrinking since 2014 and is expected to continue this trend for the next few years. This is a call for the youth to turn up in numbers on 27 November to ensure they are represented in government.
The percentage of the Namibian population that eligible youth voters (those aged between 18 and 35) represent, started at 25.6% in 1989 at the first democratic election of the newly independent Namibia. It peaked in 2014 at 28.8% but has since dropped to 27.3% this year, according to the statistics visualisation website populationpyramid.net which gathers its information from national census data published through the years by different countries. In 2029 the projected percentage of the population that the voting youth represents will drop to 25.7% - barely above where it started in 1989.
The median age of the population is also slowly on the rise, according to the statistics website worldometer. It started at 16.8 years in 1989 and saw the largest increase for five years to 20.2 years in 2014 and reached 21.1 years in 2024. The median age shows that there are exactly as many people above that age as there are below that age, explains Petrus Iiyambo, a statistics lecturer at the University of Namibia.
A higher median age means fewer youth, while a lower median age suggests more youth.
Youth’s influence dwindles
These two trends illustrate a decrease in voting power that the youth population represents - mostly because former youth voters are ageing out of the range considered to be youth faster than they are replaced.
Iiyambo says these demographic shifts are not something to worry about. “There are many factors that can cause a rise in the median age,” he explains. “The main reason is an increase in life expectancy. Older people are living longer, possibly due to improvement in the healthcare system.”
There is nothing that an individual can do to change these demographic trends. However, what they can do is vote. De Wet Siluka, spokesperson for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) urges every youth voter that has registered to show up on 27 November at the designated polling stations and cast their vote in this year’s presidential election.
The position of these polling stations can be viewed on the ECN website or by scanning the QR code.
Vote
Lukas Kandere (29), an English teacher from Maurits Devenish Private School, also urges the youth to vote. “As young people, we should be part of making history. It is not only your right to elect a government but also your duty. As young people, we offer fresh and diverse perspectives.”
It is important to cast your vote in the 2024 Namibian elections - especially since the voting youth has to represent those not yet old enough to vote as well.