Proposed Adjustments – Voting Age

Mr Speaker, I think it is time to consider reworking the Electoral Act to adjust the voting age in Namibia.

Where do I even begin? The idea that young people are not capable of making important decisions is just downright ludicrous.

I mean, sure, they can barely decide on which video game to play or what to eat for dinner, but come on, we’re talking about the future of a country here.

That’s not hard at all as they play games where they build mega cities and entire civilisations.

I move that we allow kids just entering puberty to vote.

I’m sorry if I made you burst out laughing.

I have seen these youngsters make their beds, make sandwiches and do their homework, which is more than I can say for some honourables.

But apparently some people out there think young people are too wet behind the ears, naive and inexperienced to vote.

“What do they know?” some of you would ask.

They’ve only been alive for a few decades, right? They haven’t seen enough of this cruel world to make decisions about their own future.

That’s why we need the old folks to step in and tell them what to do.

Huh?

But wait a minute, aren’t the old folks at the end of the road?

Let’s face it, they’ve lived their lives and they’re staring into a cul de sac at Kleine Kuppe.

So why should they get to decide how wide or narrow the road ahead should be?

I mean, I’m sure they have their own interests at heart, like where to be buried, the choice between Nambob and Angels, a service at Elcin or at Universal Church, and they should very well focus on that.

Young people will still live with the consequences of their decisions. Shouldn’t they have a say in what happens next?

But let’s get back to the idea that young people are too immature to vote.

I mean, have you ever seen a teenager trying to parallel park?

It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion, I agree.

But adults are letting trains run on rotten rails with their heads buried in the soil.

Let’s not judge someone’s ability to vote based on their ability to park a car.

That would be ridiculous.

And let’s not forget about the middle-aged folks who always seem to get excluded from the conversation.

They’re not young enough to be considered naive and inexperienced, but they’re not old enough to be considered wise and experienced.

They’re just in the middle. Here, but not here. Yes, you!

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a valuable perspective to offer.

They’ve lived long enough to see the consequences of past decisions, and they have a stake in the future, too.

Give them each a double vote to balance it out.

Ask a 40-year-old what I am talking about.

One last thing before I forget.

I move that the elderly who have shown true patriotism and sacrificed everything for this country be allowed to vote posthumous.

It is imperative for them to ensure that the opposition parties do not turn the graveyards into factories to create employment.

They may not live forever, but since they liberated this thing, let them cast their votes a good 10 elections ahead and tender their votes at the ECN in sealed envelopes.

These will only be opened at each designated election in full view of opposition party observers.

So, why should the voting age be adjusted again?

Because when it comes down to it, I am not well in my head.

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