• Youth from Al Baqa'a and Ain Al Basha call for fighting the vote-buying phenomenon and stress the importance of youth participation in political life.

With the participation of 80 young men and women from Al Baqa’a and Ain Al Basha, Al Quds Center for Political Studies held a dialogue session in the Baqa’a camp services committee hall, titled "Youth, Political Parties, and Elections: Opportunities Greater than Challenges".

Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi, Director-General of Al Quds Center for Political Studies, opened the dialogue by highlighting the launch of the candidacy application period for the parliamentary elections. He outlined the steps in this application process, explaining that it undergoes a review and thorough check before validation and the start of the electoral campaign. Al Rantawi then explained the mechanisms of voting at both the local and national constituency levels. He stressed the importance of electing a representative who serves the interests of citizens and meets their expectations, urging youth to avoid vote-buying. He emphasized that large participation in the elections can help limit the impact of dark money on the results. Al Rantawi then urged youth to join political parties, describing this as the highest form of public activism, and advised them to choose the party that best aligns with their ideological views.

Youth remarks and questions focused on the security obstacles to joining political parties and how citizens can hold their representatives accountable and oversee their performance. They encouraged one another to combat the vote-buying phenomenon. Participants emphasized the importance of women's representation in parliament and its role in achieving fairness for women.  

In response to their questions, Al Rantawi explained that political modernization offers opportunities to enhance youth political participation. This includes reforming legislation related to political and electoral participation, lowering the candidacy age to 25, and allocating a seat for youth at the top positions of national electoral lists. The legislation also criminalizes any actions taken against members of political parties because of their membership or activism. Additionally, political activism is now regulated within higher education institutions, allowing students to engage in political activities.

The general party list and the increase in the seats allocated to it in the House of Representatives over three electoral cycles, reaching up to 75% of the total seats, provide an opportunity to create a parliament based on multipartism. This, in turn, allows more opportunities for youth to participate and engage in political parties and to reach decision-making positions. Additionally, the general party list will help eliminate the phenomenon of service-oriented representatives and will enhance the legislative and oversight roles of deputies at the expense of narrow service-oriented functions. In terms of opportunities to enhance women's participation, this is represented by allocating advanced seats for women within the national list and increasing the number of seats designated for women at the local district level. As a result, the twentieth House of Representatives will have the highest membership of women among all previous parliaments.

The participants concluded the dialogue by emphasizing and urging one another to combat the negative phenomena of vote-buying and the importance of a strong turnout at the ballot boxes. They also called for holding training workshops on the mechanisms and scientific methodologies for monitoring and evaluating the performance of representatives in their electoral constituencies.