Absent from voter outreach events.

Many voter outreach events lacked the presence of young people. (In the photo: The Hai Duong Provincial National Assembly Delegation meeting with voters before the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly)

Currently, at many meetings with constituents held by National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels, very few young people participate, or even none at all.

Too busy

Attending the meeting between the Hai Duong Provincial National Assembly Delegation and voters in Kim Thanh District before the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly in Phu Thai town at the end of September 2024, we observed that out of over 100 voters present, only the official from the Kim Thanh District Youth Union was a young voter. The remaining voters were mostly between 50 and 70 years old. Therefore, there were no complaints or suggestions addressed to the National Assembly representatives regarding youth or the younger generation.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh, Secretary of the Kim Thanh District Youth Union, the district currently has approximately 21,000 young people, accounting for 13% of the population. Most of these young people are currently studying or working. The number of young people participating in associations, organizations, cultural and sports activities, and community activities annually only accounts for just over 40% of the local youth population.

Cultural, sports, and community activities are mainly organized on weekends and evenings to attract young people's participation. "Young voters have to go to school or work, especially factory workers, who mostly commute to and from school in the morning, sometimes working overtime until late at night. Their working hours are continuous throughout the week, with some places only having Sundays off, so it's very difficult for young people to participate in meetings with National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels," Ms. Ánh shared.

A similar situation occurred at the meeting between the delegation of the 17th term of the Hai Duong Provincial People's Council and voters in Hai Duong City at Quang Trung ward at the end of June 2024. Young voters and youth union members were also absent from this meeting.

The majority of voters at these voter outreach events are elderly people.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Manh used to work at a company in the Lai Vu Industrial Park (Kim Thanh) and was the youngest voter in Tan Viet commune (Thanh Ha) to cast his ballot in the election for representatives to the 15th National Assembly and representatives to the People's Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 term.

He told reporters: "I find the outreach activities of National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels very practical, but from what I've seen in the media, I think the timing of these meetings is not flexible enough. Therefore, it's difficult to attract a large number of voters, especially young voters."

Although he learned about the activities of the National Assembly representatives from Hai Duong province and the People's Council representatives at all levels through the press and social media, and wanted to participate in voter outreach activities, Mr. Manh was unable to attend due to his shift work schedule, which only allowed him Sundays off each week.

Having never attended a meeting with elected representatives in Hai Duong, Nguyen Thi Hang, born in 1999 in Dai Hop commune (Tu Ky district), shared the same feelings of apprehension and hesitation.

"Even though I live and work locally, my weekday schedule is packed with work, both at the office and at home. On weekends, all I want is to sleep and rest to recharge," Ms. Hang honestly shared.

Lack of appeal to young voters.

The monotonous methods of voter outreach are also a reason why many young people are hesitant to participate.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Secretary of the District Youth Union and representative of the Tu Ky District People's Council for the 2021-2026 term, besides the reason that young voters are of school and working age and therefore find it difficult to arrange time to attend voter outreach meetings, another reason is that voters do not fully understand their responsibilities and obligations, leading to reluctance to interact, speak up, and participate in forums.

Conversely, on social media, many young people are enthusiastically discussing issues related to education, tourist destinations for check-ins, social welfare policies, etc. These concerns have not been conveyed to where they need to be, namely elected bodies and local governments.

There are issues that young people want to discuss, but older people don't at voter outreach meetings. At local voter outreach meetings, older voters often raise issues related to transportation, land, and government policies. Meanwhile, younger people have less time to observe the local situation firsthand and are not yet old enough to be overly concerned about these topics, making them difficult to understand and leading to frustration. Younger people are more interested in policies supporting education, job opportunities, social housing assistance, or marriage policies.

Engaging with and connecting with constituents is a crucial activity for National Assembly representatives and People's Council representatives at all levels. Effective constituent engagement contributes to addressing legitimate concerns, suggestions, aspirations, and grievances of voters.

Currently, the voter outreach activities of National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels lack appeal to young people. The way some representatives and local authorities explain and respond to voters' opinions is still hesitant, slow, and does not meet requirements, making it difficult to attract voters, especially young voters.

Mr. Luong Anh Te, Chairman of the Hai Duong Provincial Association of the Elderly, who has served for many years as a secretary in voter outreach meetings of National Assembly and Provincial People's Council representatives, believes that the main reason young voters are not enthusiastic about these meetings is that they are still largely 형식적인 (formalistic), with some localities "acting" according to a script. Voter outreach activities remain quite monotonous to this day.

"I've noticed that most voter outreach meetings follow a script where elected representatives gather at a single meeting point to announce the results of the National Assembly and People's Council sessions at all levels, and report on the resolution of petitions and suggestions from voters. Afterward, voters submit their suggestions and feedback. This monotonous format will make it difficult to attract voters, especially young voters," Mr. Te assessed.

Monotonous, unappealing, inflexible schedules, and limited contact points are current limitations that prevent many voter outreach meetings from attracting young people.

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The need to express oneself

HA VY

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/cu-tri-tre-dang-o-dau-bai-1-vang-bong-trong-cac-buoi-tiep-xuc-cu-tri-397940.html