"YOUTH IN POLITICS: ENUGU STATE'S 2023 ELECTION APPRAISAL"

ABSTRACT Political participation of young people is critical to the democratic stabilization in Nigeria and the 2023 general election in Enugu State provided a platform to understand the degree of youth participation. The research topic is how the topic of electoral malpractice and the Not Too Young To Run Bill help in engaging youths in politics. Constant abuse at the voting table like vote rigging, violence, technological issues has lost faith on the people and young voters and empowerment that comes with the symbolic bill of Not Too Young To Run is still not addressing the issues of a drained system based on political intrigues, economic ability and lack of access to decision making authorities. Even though some of the past researchers have dealt with the topic of youth participation in Nigerian politics, not many have examined the combined impacts of these two issues within the narrow context of the 2023 Enugu elections. The underlying theory in this study is the Civic Engagement Theory, and the research design was a qualitative research strategy based on the secondary data sources collected using INEC reports, scholarly writings, media materials, and legal texts. In this regard, findings indicate that the issue of electoral malpractice helped explain the apathy attitude of youth voters, and partially the Not Too Young bill did not make a significant practical difference since it faced structural constraints, whereas the OBIdient Movement successfully drove the interest back. To revive the confidence of the youth, INEC is advised to exercise tighter supervision, punish offenders in elections and use transparent voter systems like electronic transfer of results. Engaging youthful citizens in the future politics should also be addressed by government and political parties offering to support young aspirants through financial aid, direct mentorship, and less nomination cost to eliminate the structural problems and encourage the youth to engage in meaningful participation in the future elections.