Youth participation in political life is a fundamental pillar of any vibrant and self-renewing democracy. Young people are not merely a demographic reservoir; they bring fresh perspectives, a critical mindset, and the ability to break with traditional patterns of political practice. Without their effective inclusion in decision-making positions, the political class remains confined to the same faces, and the gap between the state and rising generations continues to widen. Such inclusion, however, cannot be achieved through slogans or symbolic frameworks alone; it requires bold public policies that ensure equal opportunities and free political participation from the logic of money and influence.
In this context, the stark contrast between the Moroccan and Mauritanian experiences in integrating youth into political representation reveals a clear difference between genuine empowerment in Morocco and purely formal empowerment, limited to consultative approaches, in Mauritania.
The Mauritanian Approach: Discursive Empowerment
In Mauritania, the National Youth Strategy (2024–2030) relies on consultative mechanisms, most notably the National Youth Consultation Framework, which produces representatives at both local and national levels, in addition to training programs aimed at strengthening citizenship and public participation.
Despite the importance of these initiatives in principle, they face a decisive shortcoming: the absence of direct financial support for young electoral candidates. As a result, youth participation in parliamentary elections remains dependent on their limited personal resources or on the backing of traditional political parties, leading to weak representation and an inability to exert real influence on decision-making balances.
The Moroccan Approach: Funding Up to 75% to Break Barriers
By contrast, Morocco has chosen to move from a logic of intentions to one of concrete action. The new draft organic law (October 2025) provides for coverage of up to 75% of campaign costs for young candidates under the age of 35, whether affiliated with political parties or running as independents, while lowering the threshold for eligibility for public funding to 2% of the vote.
This measure, alongside earlier mechanisms such as the national list, represents a qualitative step that grants young people genuine independence and opens the doors of Parliament to them without dependence on party financing or financial lobbies.
Why Is Financial Support a Democratic Necessity?
The Moroccan approach is based on a realistic logic: without financial support, young people are condemned to marginalization or exploitation. Electoral campaigns are inherently costly, involving advertising, travel, fieldwork, and public communication. Without state intervention to cover a substantial share of these expenses, young people remain mere figures in national strategies rather than real actors in the political arena.
Moreover, those who succeed in the absence of such support are often dependent on wealthy politicians or political parties that financed their campaigns, which leads to the reproduction of old elites and closes the door to genuine political renewal. In contrast, public funding—as in the Moroccan model—guarantees freedom of decision and independence, laying the foundations for a participatory democracy based on competence rather than dependence.
The comparison shows that the difference between the two experiences lies not in intentions, but in tools. If Mauritania seeks a genuine transition from symbolic empowerment to effective empowerment, the first step must be a legislative reform that links youth participation to public financial support and makes access to political representation an attainable right rather than a privilege governed by money or loyalty. Only then can we speak of true renewal of the political class, rather than its reproduction under younger names.
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