Activista National Coordinator
By Landing Ceesay
Activista, The Gambia, a youth-led civil society organization survey revealed that 77% of young people said the country is heading in the wrong direction.
“Majority of the youth that participated in the survey think the country is heading in the wrong direction. More than two-thirds (77%) say the country is going in the wrong direction, while 12% say the country is going in the right direction. The finding of this survey is in line with the Afrobarometer survey which shows that a majority of Gambians think the country is heading in the wrong direction,” the survey revealed.
It further revealed that a large majority of youth (91%) believe that they can use their power as voters to choose leaders who will help improve their lives. while only 14% agree very strongly that things will not get better in the future no matter whom they vote for. This shows a solid belief in the power of their votes.
“During the last national election, 57% of the youth respondents said they voted. 32% said they did not vote, while 10% say they were too young to vote. Whether they have been contacted by a party representative during the last election, only 19% of the youth respondents said yes, while 80% said no. Similarly, only very few youths work for political candidates. 13% of the respondents said they worked for a candidate. However, almost four out of 10 (37%) of the respondents said they attended a campaign rally.
“Asked how often are young people treated unfairly in the country by the government due to their economic status, 54% of respondents say young people are “Always or Often” treated unfairly in the country. Young people are confronted with the problem of unemployment as well as not being well represented in the decision-making process of the country,” Activista, The Gambia survey revealed.
According to Activista the Gambia, the online survey collected responses from 232 respondents between the ages of 18-35 distributed across various regions of the Gambia as well as the Diaspora. A questionnaire was developed through google forms and the link was widely shared through email, social media (Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter) to be filled by the targeted groups.
Activista The Gambia is a youth-led civil society organization working to promote the rights of young men and women through empowerment, campaign and solidarity. Activista provides unique opportunities for youth to engage in meaningful activities supporting their empowerment and development.
The Gambia is heading to the polls on December 4, to elect a president. This will be the first post Yahya Jammeh era election following his defeat in the 2016 presidential election Adama Barrow under the Coalition ticket.
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