Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Eva Abdulla, said that the youth must exercise their right to vote even if they cannot bring their most desirable candidate to power. She encouraged them to vote in order to prevent the election of a candidate they do not support.
At the closing ceremony of the Practice Parliament for Youth 2023 held yesterday, Deputy Speake Eva highlighted the significance of voting in the presidential election. She said that abstaining from voting due to a lack of suitable candidate is not a solution and rather, it is forgoing an important right.
"Those eligible to vote should vote and encourage others to vote as well. If you choose not to exercise this right, it means you are de facto giving your vote to someone else. It means relinquishing power to another for five years," Eva said.
"...I don't want to label it as the 'lesser of two evils.' As a politician, I see it as a matter of different people having different policies," she said.
Noting that those who reach the age of 18 will have the opportunity to vote in the upcoming presidential election in September, she said that this is a significant year for the youth. The voice of the youth should be heard in the presidential election, she said.
"The perception that young people are not engaged in politics is not how I see the youth of Maldives," Eva said.
Eva said that while the way today's youth engage in politics may be different, she believes that there has never been a time when young people are more politically active than now.
Eva acknowledged that in the past, expressing opinions often involved taking to the streets to bring about change. However, she said that nowadays there are many other ways for young people to voice their opinions and participate in political discourse.