Youth Challenge Vanuatu (YCV) has launched a ‘Bae Mi Vote’ Campaign on Facebook to encourage first time voters and young people who are members of the Youth Center Services (YCS) to vote in Thursday’s general election.
“The ‘Bae Mi Vote ’ campaign is a pledge that first time voters, who are members of the YCS made to cast their votes in the upcoming, it is part of our communication activities with the youth center to ensure our members are well informed to exercise their right to vote and are part of national activities and carry out their national duties,” said Lillyrose Welwel, YCV Public Relations Manager.
She added, “We tell young people to make sure you’re civically engaged and you vote for people that you want. We tell them that, Change doesn’t happen overnight, Change starts with you, and casting your vote for people who will deliver in your best interests will lead to the change you want”.
It is one of the reasons why YCV is rolling out this campaign.
Over 300 YCS members including the Ready for Work and Ready for Business participants gathered Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints to make their pledge to vote during the YCV, Youth Center Service induction.
Douglas Tamara from Transparency International Vanuatu spoke on the importance election and Voter Rights. Later the youths were divided to different groups to discuss “From wanem yumi ol yangfala i mas vote? (The importance of voting during an election?)
Ms Welwel added, “We encourage the young people to vote by telling them you may not care now, but you might in the next four years. While you can’t predict who or where you’ll be in four years, you can be sure that the political officials elected into office and the policies they implement will impact your life in the coming months and years.
Why not have a say? Speak up, make a choice, and take part in the election to protect your interests. In your first few years in the real world”.
The ‘Bae Mi Vote’ campaign will end on Wednesday, 18 March 2020.
According to the YCV statistics collected last year, out of 500 youths, 263 youths have no Electoral cards, 213 with no national ID, 303 were silent on both.
This year 2020, all registered YCV members possess a national ID and a huge number of first-time voters who were registered at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
Photo supplied Caption: Youths in Port Vila making their pledge to vote