The country's 53.8 per cent of youths, aged between 18 and 35, never voted in a general election while it is 76.4 per cent for people of twenty four or below.
Meanwhile, 69.4 per cent of the youths viewed that corruption and nepotism was working as the key obstacle for the country's development.
Citizen's Platform for SDG, Bangladesh (CPSDG) prepared the study titled "Youth Perspectives in the Current Context: Findings from an Enquiry" which was disclosed at the Youth Conference 2023, organised by the CPSDG, held at the Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh in the city.
The Platform conducted the survey, involving 5,075 young individuals aged between 18 and 35.
The survey focused on various aspects such as voting, political participation, policy awareness, freedom of expression, and youth representation concerns to gain insights into their perspectives on the country's development agenda.
Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), presented the research findings which said 89.4 per cent of surveyed youth were registered voters, but 53.8 per cent never voted in national elections. Above 76 per cent of the young people aged between 18 and 24 never voted in a general election, said the study, conducted on 5,000 youths in 2023.
Nearly 32.4 per cent of the youths showed interest in politics while 47 per cent were not, said the report.
Meanwhile, 69 per cent of them termed corruption and nepotism as the main barrier for development. A 46.5 per cent said lack of transparency and accountability as the key obstacle followed by prioritising the interests of vested groups at 32.6 per cent, and lack of institutional capacity at 28.1 per cent.
An online voting was also conducted among 1000 forum members participated on the day.
Majority (12 per cent) of them voted for eliminating digital security act which they think is a tool against freedom of expression.
Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convener of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh moderated the programme while
Lawmakers from ruling Awami League Ahsanul Islam Titu, Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Jatiyo Party lawmaker Adelur Rahman, BNP secretary for international affairs Shyama Obayed, economist Dr Mustafizur Rahman, Associate Prof at Chattogram University Moshfeka Aditi Haque also spoke among others.
Dr Debapriya said the population of Bangladesh is now around 170 million, with most of them being youth aged between 18 and 35. The number and proportion of this age group are increasing every decade, making it the largest potential workforce in Bangladesh, he said.
He highlighted the role of the youth in shaping the country's future.
Talking on the next general election of the country, Dr Debapriya expressed optimism about increased youth participation as well as expected that any concerns or doubts would drive off in the coming days. Awami League and Jatiyo Party lawmakers said they would adapt the study outcomes and the voices of the youths in their election manifesto.
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