projectvote263@gmail.com
+263 719 622 044
projectvote263@gmail.com
+263 719 622 044
In Zimbabwe, the youth population is significant with the last census in Zimbabwe showing that an estimated 4,702 046 people were aged 15–34 years in 2012, constituting 36 percent of the national population. According to the Research Advocacy Unit (RAU) and the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC), in 2018 Zimbabwe had approximately 4.1 million youth between the ages of 18 to 35 who were eligible to register to vote but only 2 501 000 (61%) were registered to vote and only 38% were able to cast their votes on election day; approximately 1 520 000. This means 2 580 000 million young people did not vote in 2018 and 1 599 000 were not registered to vote. ZIMSTATS also estimates that there will be around 1.5 million youth who will be 18 years and above by 2023 who were not yet eligible to vote in 2018. There is close to 3 million young people who can potentially register to vote by 2023 and make a decisive impact on the harmonized election in 2023.
Characterized by violence, corruption, lack of civic education, general voter fatigue and other such malpractices, voting has not been popular amongst youths. Zimbabwe is holding the harmonized elections in 2023 and young people’s access to timely and relevant information on voter education, registration and voting has been constrained due to a restrictive and controlled media environment in Zimbabwe. The information deficiency has promoted apathy and passive engagement and participation of young people in electoral processes, limiting their agency to influence the electoral outcome. Currently, there is a lack of interest and enthusiasm amongst young men and women in the electoral process. Project Vote 263 seeks to promote inclusive youth participation in electoral processes through
Project Vote 263 seeks to increase the number of young people who are registered as voters and who will ultimately cast their ballots in Zimbabwe’s electoral processes namely general and by-elections. Project Vote 263 has embarked on a voter mobilization and education drive throughout the country using both physical and online methods to mobilize young people to register to vote. In addition to social media, Project Vote 263 conducts door to doors, sports tournaments, roadshows, musical galas and bus shuttles to mobilize and transport young people to register to vote.
An active citizen is a bedrock of a sustainable democracy. However, although Zimbabwe has a significant high youth demography, young people are not adequately participating in electoral affairs owing to a lack of civic and voter education. In a bid to improve youth turnout in electoral process and create a political society that is informed and engaged, Project Vote 263 conducts civic and voter education throughout the country to improve civic awareness.
Young people under the age of 35 make up about 67, 7% of the 16 million Zimbabwean populace. Despite this huge demographic superiority however, young people are underrepresented in public office. In the 2018 harmonized elections, only five (5) young people under the age of 35 years were directly elected into parliament. This is despite the fact that section 20 of the constitution of Zimbabwe promotes youth participation in politics. It is against this background that Project Vote 263 seeks to capacitate more young people to run for public office. Project Vote 263 provides training on campaigning, fundraising and effective organizing to young people who wants to run for public office. It also provides technical assistance such as campaign financing, campaign material and legal assistance in as far as resources permits.
Project Vote 263 is a leading national, non-partisan and non-profit youth led organization formed as an initiative to foster and promote youth participation in governacance issues.
