His Majesty King Abdullah II is interested in the role of young people in political and public life by participating in the electoral process and engaging them in the decision-making process, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Musa Maaitah, said.

Addressing the launching ceremony on Sunday of the activities of "National Campaign of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs to Stimulate Participation in the Municipal and Governorate Councils 2022," Maaitah said the "higher and more effective" turnout in elections would produce better electoral outcomes, which closely reflect the people’s concerns and needs, according to party program-driven foundations.

In addition, the minister pointed to the importance of youth- women participation in the electoral process and the need to get elected to win Parliament, municipal and governorate councils' seats.

The minister also called on young people to assume active roles within their communities, highlighting the importance of the recommendations of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System (RCMPS).

In this regard, he referred to reducing the candidacy age to 25 years, a step which was approved by the Lower House within the recent constitutional amendments.

Held in partnership with Arab World Center for Democracy Development & Human Rights (UNIHRD) and German Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), in the presence of a number of young women and men from all the Kingdom's governorates, participants forwarded visions and some inquiries on how to spur young people to engage in the political process and elections, in view of challenges.

For his part, the HSF Resident Representative, Kristof W. Duwaerts, said there is "remarkable" interest in decentralization, especially since citizens practice politics through local councils in their governorates at the national level.

Municipal elections are "important" because they directly affect people's lives, especially youth and women, through political programs, Duwaerts noted.

Duwaerts stressed the importance of active participation in political life by candidacy and voting, following up on their representatives' performance in the elected councils, and working to secure checks and balances.

Meanwhile, UNIHRD project director, Haitham Ta'ani, indicated the need to support youth and women and strengthen their role in political participation and party membership.

Ta'anni also stressed the importance of the youth role in political modernization, expressing the need to provide protection for their participation in political life.

In addition, Ta'anni called on youth to be a "strong" voice within programmatic parties, according to His Majesty King Abdullah II's visions.

//Petra// AG