21st Annual Student Research Conference
The Role of Youth in Ghanaian Politics
Ryan T. Conway
Dr. John Quinn, Faculty Mentor
The most important elements aiding Ghanaian political parties in an electoral victory are effective organization, peaceful campaign methods of voter education, and campaign financing, particularly for the incentivization of activists (Debrah, 2006, 111,118). The youth play an integral role in supporting the major political parties in Ghana by serving as a valuable resource for the attainment of these elements. They serve as polling agents in urban and rural communities, they spearhead initiatives like house-to-house campaigns, they organize fundraisers and do little to drain campaign financing due to their largely voluntaristic spirit. Nonetheless, the youth can be shown to be consistently marginalized from participation in roles of state and political party leadership. Conducting a survey of Ghanaian youth one year prior to the 2008 presidential elections, we seek to test whether the issues prioritized by the youth find meaningful articulation in the electoral debates and party manifestoes preceding the elections.
Keywords: electoral politics, Africa, Ghana, democracy, political development
Topic(s):Political Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 25-4
Location: OP 2113
Time: 10:30