Nicaragua Survey Explores Youth Support of Democratic Process
When Nicaragua holds national elections on November 5, 2006, approximately 50% of the electorate will be under the age of 25. To understand the political attitudes of young Nicaraguans and identify factors inhibiting or promoting youth participation in political processes, NDI and its partners conducted a Democracy Survey.
At a September 29 forum on Democratic Culture in Nicaragua 2005: Youth Participation, the findings of the survey were released. They include:
One out of three Nicaraguans between 16 and 25 does not have a valid ID necessary to vote.
Of the 44 percent of young people that say they didn't vote during the last municipal elections, half was because they had no valid ID. Youth were about three times more likely than their older counterparts to provide this reason for not voting.
More young Nicaraguans are interested in politics than older voters.
Almost half of all respondents (46%) distrust the Supreme Electoral Council.
The national study was conducted by the Central American University (UCA) the election observation organization Ethics and Transparency (ET) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). Conference participants included Luis Serra, Director of UCA's Department of Social Sciences; Dr. Neil Nevitte, NDI's Senior Elections Adviser and Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto; and Jim Swigert, NDI's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The study was drawn from a national sample of 1,500 individuals that included a boosted sample of 200 youth between the ages of 16 and 25 from the general population and 200 youth who are active in civic associations. Taking into account the substantial number of voters under the age of 25, the findings suggest that at least 14% of electorate could be disenfranchised due to lack of an identity card.
The results have been released at public conferences throughout the country, including Managua, Juigalpa, Estelí, Masaya, Jinotega, León, Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas and Bluefields. The findings have also been shared with government and election officials, as well as political party representatives.
NDI and its Nicaraguan partners plan to carry out a systematic follow-up study of the obstacles preventing young people from obtaining the ID cards necessary to vote and a baseline audit of the voter registry lists. These complementary efforts will not only provide an early spot check on the voter registration process, but will also enhance prospects for voter participation by providing information on how to obtain an ID card, verify that registered voters are on the voters' list, and advocate for measures to protect citizens' rights to participate in the electoral process.
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