The Role of Youth in Saint Lucia’s Political Parties: Beyond Tokenism?

by Rahym Augustin-Joseph

In recent times, as the main political parties in Saint Lucia, the UWP and the SLP, heighten their political campaigning in anticipation and preparation for the upcoming general elections, which are constitutionally due by July 2026, it is noteworthy that their comatose auxiliary body i.e., their Youth Wings or Arms, the Saint Lucia Labour Party Youth Organisation (SLPYO) and United Youth, whether through self-inflicted wounds or otherwise, have also amplified their otiose presence, through online political meetings on one end, and Annual General Meetings on the other.

Notwithstanding the expressions, it is always laudable when political parties provide ‘meaningful’ opportunities and the enabling environment for young people to be within their rank and file, but more importantly, to be engaged in nation-building, the enhancement of democracy, and lending their voices on matters of national importance. Put another way, it is laudable when young people are allowed to do their own thing!

As to whether they are doing their ‘own thing’ or being handcuffed by tokenism and stifled as part of our undemocratic two-party system is certainly a discussion for another piece. However, some of it will be featured here.

But it must be admitted that it is a particularly good sign for democracy when the younger population is actively involved, recognising that they make up the majority of the populations in the Commonwealth Caribbean, and by virtue of their age, they will inherit the future of our countries. As such, contrary to popular belief, young people must be actively included in co-creating their countries, by virtue of their age alone, in order to design the future that they want to live in.  

Further, in a region where there are so many aging populations and, concomitantly, a clamoring for fresh blood in the political system, young people must be included from birth. Moreover, in a society where there is so much rhetoric surrounding ‘what are the young people doing’ as they see young people solely as perpetrators and victims of crime and violence, young people who are busy engaging in nation-building and consolidation of democracy must always be lauded.

The words of the late Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, are therefore even more instructive when he noted that, “No- one is born a good citizen: no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.”

Although there is a wide cross-section of young people who are disinterested and disengaged from the political process because of its inability over time to deliver the promised results and its divisiveness, there are many young people who go against that grain and engage in traditional politics.

Dr. Terri-Ann Gilbert Roberts has problematised this by noting that “while the young person in the Caribbean is situated in a history of rebellion, they are still consumed by a political culture which is tended towards peaceful, structured, and traditional.  And as such, their engagement with the formal is still desirable.” They are still asking politely for a seat at the table as opposed to creating their tables in the streets. It is possibly for this reason they have a continued likeability with the prospects of National Youth Councils, Political Parties, Youth Parliaments, Youth Organisations and the notion that change of the system must come from ‘within.’

Many of these young people described above have been on display within the past few weeks on the political agendas and airings of the political parties. While the extent of the success of their approach— formal or non-formal—towards creating change is moot, this short piece is not minded to this question, but instead, is interested in not only highlighting how laudable their inclusion is—albeit some may argue that their inclusion is still tokenistic—but also offering some thoughts on whether and how they can be meaningfully engaged within the political party structure.

So, while I listen to the key players in the political parties share their political party messaging as they have been given on these platforms through online mediums, they must question and also ensure that their ideas and plans for the future of our country, from their political and philosophical orientation, are being meaningfully taken into consideration.  That they are not foolhardily obsessed with the overzealous clapping of their political leaders, who may be so impressed by their speeches, or contrarily, so impressed by the manner in which one can be so young but yet be so immersed in towing the party line and throwing mapwi for the other party. Instead, young people must understand that their meaningful contribution towards nation-building in the political or partisan arena can only occur if their well-reasoned views are utilised as the basis for future political plans of action and not stored on the online cloud.

As such, these key players should be cognisant that their role is not solely sharing of party philosophy—as important and noble as that may be as it will be key to their recruitment agenda—but also shaping it and engaging in critical review and debate with the philosophies and programmes of the opposing party, as well as those of their own party, in order to strengthen them. These key players must also revolt through their advocacy against our common approach of stopping programmes of opposing parties upon getting into power, but instead, offer nuanced solutions which can improve upon the existing programme as opposed to disbanding it altogether.  It means that young people, if they are to be seen as fresh and from a different political ilk, must avoid the common extremities in our politics, i.e., this “party has never, and can never,” stay far away from the personal vitriolic attacks, and deal with the issues. This may cause the unnecessary wrath of the political party but it is necessary for improving the development of our country.

If young people are interested in championing political change, particularly those who aspire to political leadership, they must definitely understand that the public is looking for a more nuanced and effective political understanding and governance steeped in consultative and participatory approaches. For certain, it is not to replicate the vindictiveness and tribalism of our political culture.

But, young people must also understand and recognise that as mini-public officials, in order to deepen our democracy, their duty to the public is to ensure they are well-read, speaking from positions of strength and knowledge, and also be fully in tune with the political developments in our country and around the world.

Therefore, young people in the political parties must fight for these important things within the political party structure and in the country if they are to make meaningful contributions towards democratic governance in our country.

1. The freedom to form and share their own opinions on their political parties’ programmes, activities and initiatives. In turn, ensuring that their contributions be taken seriously in order to improve the political party programmes and overall governance of the country

2. Ensure that their participation is formalised in the political party structure at all levels, and ensure that in their participation, they advocate and develop strategies for the greater inclusion of young people in politics.

3. The freedom to be part of the critical dialogues taking place in our country and let their voices and positions be heard on these important matters.

4. The freedom to agree with Government policy, if in Opposition, and be given the leeway to critique in a constructive and meaningful way in order to improve the governance of our country. It is about understanding that, at times, this two-party system has forced us to believe that opposition is always a legitimate position.

5. Advocate and ensure that their contributions are recognized by the political party and their voices are heard and taken seriously in key decision-making processes and systems such as, but not limited to, candidate selection, manifesto creation and formulation, policy positions, initiatives, and activities. Young people must see themselves as not just confined to canvassing, wearing T-Shirts for numbers to be filled, editing the footnotes and colours on the manifestos and social media marketing, and defending party positions online by resharing the main political party propaganda as opposed to the creation of policy positions themselves. One only has to look at the Youth Arms in the United Kingdom to understand how this has been done, even contrary to political party mainstream ideas. But, even in circumstances when one has created a Youth Manifesto, as seen in the case of the Barbados Labour Party under Prime Minister Mia Mottley, young people in our political parties must be solely responsible for the canvassing of these ideas and holding their political officials accountable to these promises.

7. Ensure that they have some level of financial autonomy and independence within the party structure in order to conduct their own activities within the confines of the political party in order to ensure true empowerment of young people.

8. Engage disengaged youth, our communities and young people in other youth organisations in order to hear and integrate their thoughts and concerns about the political system. It is important that the youth arm ensure that the voices of those who have been silenced are represented in the corridors of power that they have access to, as opposed to utilising these corridors for their own personal and self-aggrandisement. They must ensure that they are not reinforcing, albeit subtly, the political victimisation and profiling they have learnt from the mainstream political party.

While this list above is not prescriptive, it is important that if young people are going to be the future, and some argue the present of the political system, and they have determined that the mainstream political parties are the avenue for change, then the current nature of our political parties and system must be challenged and changed by young people. If young people understand that while they are representatives of the political party, their wider constituent is young people the world over, then they would understand their need to be deliberately included in the decision-making processes and ensure their voices are taken seriously at all levels, not for tokenism but for meaningful engagement.

About Rahym Augustin-Joseph

Rahym Augustin-Joseph is the 2025 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar. He is a Saint Lucian and a 3rd Year Law Student at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. He previously graduated from the UWI Cave Hill Campus with a First-Class Honours BSc. Political Science and Law and served as the Valedictorian of the UWI Cave Hill Campus Graduation Exercise. He is an avid public speaker, debater, and mooter, having represented the UWI Cave Hill Campus in the CCJ International Law Moot, John J. Jackson Moot Court Competition, NMLS and HWLS Reunion Law Moot, and the UWI-China Law Moot Competition. He aspires to be an Attorney at Law and is interested in the intertwining of law and politics and how it can be utilised to improve Saint Lucia and the Caribbean.