‘Need for more youths in Parliament’

May 12, 2022 News

– public engagement critical, says IPU Secretary General

Kaieteur News – Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong, on Tuesday said there is need for greater public engagement regarding the work of the National Assembly and also called for increase participation of young people.

Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Chungong made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) training seminar for members of the twelfth parliament of Guyana being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) located at Liliendaal, Georgetown.
The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments. IPU empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development. “Another point that I would like to bring to your attention is the need for public engagement in the work of parliament,” Chungong said during his address. He then added that parliament can no longer afford to function as an “ivory tower,” but should be in collaboration with the public.
“This is what we have been advocating in the context of the recently published global parliamentary report, where we actually called on parliament to engage more with the people that they represent encouraging them to become more active participants in shaping their future,” he added.
As such, IPU Secretary General stated that his call is relevant, especially given the current context of “political polarisation.” He noted too that the IPU believes that in these times of uncertainty and anxiety, people are looking to their representatives in parliament to respond with actions that will lead to a better future and engaging them in this discussion is very important and critical to effective decision making and outcomes in parliaments. Another important point Chungong mentioned is the importance of having youth participation in parliament. In fact, the Secretary General said, “We need more young people in parliament if we want to rejuvenate the processes of democracy, if we want to make sure that parliament stay relevant and tuned to the interest of the younger generations.”
To this end, he shared that he is disheartened by the fact that 60 percent of the world’s population is made up of people under the age of 30, but when the parliamentary landscape is observed, only 2.6 percent of parliamentary membership globally comes from young people.
As such, he stated that this shows that there is a gross misrepresentation or under representation of young people in institutions of governance. This led to him making his case for an increase participation of young people in parliament.
Chungong also shared that strong democratic parliaments are inclusive parliament. He pointed out the importance for political participation of men and women together in the institutions of governance especially in parliament. This he stated is one of the major goals of the IPU, to achieve the full and effective participation of women in politics. “Ensure women are represented in parliamentary structures and processes, not only in Guyana but also other countries in the Region,” Chungong added.
As such, he encouraged the curbing away from sexism and similar incidences as much as possible. Additionally, the Secretary General also stated that the COVID pandemic had its impact on many but it was also an opportunity that unveiled the potential of digital technology for improving the way parliament does business.

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