With barely two weeks to the general elections, the Ghanaian youth is being urged to elevate their voice in holding political parties accountable by interrogating their manifestoes and campaign promises.

This comes on the heels of a study conducted by Youth Bridge Foundation which found a majority of the Ghanaian youth are unaware of their role to drive development in the country.

The youth-focused group is advising the millions of young electorates to scrutinize the proposed policies of parties and candidates and ensure the implementation of the same when voted into power.

Ahead of the December polls, political parties and candidates are promising various policies and initiatives to tackle challenges confronting the country, particularly for the youth in Ghana. 

Spanning education to employment and digital skills, the Ghanaian youth are anxious for solutions to their concerns which successive governments have failed to deliver over the years

But the failure of the political leaders is partly attributable to the youth not holding them to account.

Over 18 million voters are expected to cast their ballots in the December general election, with the youth forming a majority of the numbers.

This emphasizes the crucial role the youth play in determining the next crop of leaders for the country.

In a survey conducted by the Youth Bridge Foundation, discovered the policies of the political parties indeed reflected the aspirations of the youth.

However, most of the young people are not sensitized on what they essentially need from the parties to demand accountability.

“One of the challenges we identified was the youth doesn’t have the capacity to interrogate the manifestoes or even the understanding to engage political parties. So accountability on the side of the youth is low,”expert consultant for the project, Alexander Nimo Wiredu, said.

The Youth Bridge Foundation with support from STAR-Ghana Foundation, organized a three-day workshop to empower the youth to elevate accountability. 

“Some of the first-time voters say they don’t see need to vote because it wouldn’t have any impact on their lives. But that is wrong. Some of them also feel their voices aren’t heard. That’s why this training is here to help them elevate their voices,” Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at Youth Bridge Foundation, Emmanuella Manchaya Kalari, said.

The event, funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, brought together over 30 participants, including students, persons with disability and youth representatives to deliberate and understand the elements in holding the government to account.

The youth are demanding inclusivity in governance and political decision-making.