Under the patronage of the Crown Prince... Launch of the Arab Youth Network in Elections

23 Aug 2022
On behalf of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Speaker of the Senate Faisal Al Fayez on Tuesday sponsored the launch of the Arab Network for Youth in Elections, organized by the Independent Electoral Commission in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Electoral Administrations.
Al-Fayez said in a speech: "First of all, I convey to you the greetings of His Highness the Crown Prince, and his blessing on the launch of the "Arab Network for Youth in Elections", which is the first of its kind in our Arab region.
Since assuming his constitutional powers, His Majesty King Abdullah II has raised the slogan of reform in all fields, provided the reform process with strong political will, and established a clear vision for it and the future of democracy in Jordan.
In this regard, he reviewed some of these achievements, including the first constitutional amendment under His Majesty in 2011, which resulted in the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Council, and the amendments worked to fortify the parliament and the judiciary, in addition to the establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission to supervise the parliamentary elections in various stages, and approved many legislation to strengthen the system of integrity and transparency, popular participation and public freedoms.
Al-Fayez pointed out that His Majesty the King pays great attention to the young men and women of the country, believing in their ability to bring about positive change, in order to build a Jordan capable of facing challenges, pointing out that youth are the pillar of the nation, its present and future, the means of development and its goal, and they are the title of a strong and pioneering society.
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission, Moussa Maaiteh, said in his opening speech that we must unleash the energies of young people, as the present and the future have become governed by their aspirations, and are subject to opening horizons for them to formulate reality, create hope and fortify societies with immunity and force.
He added that young people today are armed with various sciences after benefiting from the communication and information revolution in the era of globalization, which enabled them to access knowledge, stressing that political life without youth levers will be emptied of passion, conscience and dynamics of action and movement, as young people are the inspiration for the movement of collective consciousness, and we are required to support their access to decision-making centers.
We must realize that our Arab societies still have the elements of strength, he said, as the common culture, the headlines of the economic challenge, the indicators, and proportions of education, may enable us to shape a decent future for our young sons and daughters.
During the launch ceremony, the President of the General Assembly of the Arab Organization of Electoral Administrations, the Chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Somalia, Halima Ismail, said that the launch of this network will contribute to the development of the political capacities of many of our youth and their involvement in political and electoral work.
She stressed the importance of youth in the growth and prosperity of nations, as they had been and continue to be a central and fundamental pillar in nation-building and progress.
For her part, UNDP Representative in Jordan Rand Abulhasan said that elections for UNDP are the cornerstone of our overall work in the field of democratic governance and peacebuilding and fall within the 2030 Agenda especially in SDG 16, where they contribute significantly to the achievement of the peace agenda. However, to achieve these goals, youth participation must be an essential component of efforts and not secondary.