23 Sep 2013

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) democracy youth club debate competitions are meant to enhance democracy education in young people so that they become better citizens.

Speaking at the one-day IEC democracy youth club debate competition in Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School on September 21, IEC principal public relations officer, Mr Osupile Maroba, said educating young people before reaching the voting age was a welcome development.

By so doing, he explained that young people appreciated what participatory democracy was all about.He said the ministry of education should consider introducing subjects in electoral democracy as part of the school syllabus.

Mr Maroba stated that the youth were critical stakeholders as far as democracy was concerned, adding that they were also the ones faced with many problems. He therefore said the competitions were not all about winning but about sharing information on voter education and how to manage life.

Earlier in his welcoming remarks, principal elections officer, Mr Leshe Toteng said the debate was first of its kind in Gaborone region and encouraged young people to take them seriously. He said the debate was meant to improve and sustain democracy and voter education amongst young people.

Mr Toteng further stated that with the democracy youth club debate competitions, the IEC hoped the youth would be able to lure other youth for better participation in the coming 2014 general elections. Each participating school brought eight students and two patrons and there were knock out rounds and finals for both junior and secondary schools respectively.

The senior category saw Mogoditshane senior secondary school beating Molefhi secondary school in the finals and walking away with a computer while the junior category saw Diratsame junior secondary school from Moshupa beating Ledumadumane  junior secondary school and also winning a computer.

The topic debated in the senior category was ‘democratic institutions flourish when all group of people are represented.’ Molefhi senior secondary school debated against the motion while Mogoditshane senior secondary school supported it. The motion for the junior category was ‘Liberal democracy is the best form of governance for every country’ which Ledumadumane junior secondary school was against while Diratsami JSS supported.

The best debater in the senior category was Pearl Moshebashebi of Mogoditshane senior while Vincent Matthys of Diratsame JSS emerged the overall best debater in the junior category. The debates were also held in other parts of the country such as Kasane, Francistown, Selibe-Phikwe and Palapye under the theme ‘Sustaining democracy in Botswana through democracy youth clubs’ using the world school type of debating. Ends