Young voters could help dump corrupt politicians

Young people between 18 and 25 years old form an increasing percentage of the Panamanian ma voter registry with the power to exercise suffrage and help curb Panama’s endemic corruption.

Between the elections of 2009 and 2014, their share grew 5% and in May 2019 it is estimated that they will represent 20.5% of the electorate.

Figures from the Electoral Tribunal (TE) predict that in that age group about 566,416  will exercise their right to vote in the 2019 elections. Of this total, 370. 636 young people will vote for the first time, reports La Prensa

Abstention among young people has hovered between 30% and 35% in the last two elections, and the Electoral Tribunal and sectors of civil society are seeking to reduce these figures for 2019.

In the 2009 elections, for example, 444, 926 young people were registered to vote, and 299 469 went to the voting booths.

For the next elections, in 2014, of 467,168 registered only 328,226. voted.

Fighting corruption
Iván Aguilar, a student of the Technological University of Panama and member of Generation Movin said that

“There’s certainly a lot of young people upset about how the corrupt are taking the reins of the country, and social networks have played a fundamental role so that young people are more informed and see the vote  as very important, since it would be the way to convey to the traditional political class the disgust we have and a message that corruption will no longer be tolerated. “

But he acknowledged that there is a  large number of young people who are apathetic to everything and have no intention of exercising the vote, so the ET and activists will have to work hard to encourage a larger turnout of young citizens.

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