10,000 votes cast in the youth elections

04/03/2010

Picture of Stephanie Harb (left) Darren Tenkorang (right)

The borough’s new youth mayor and member of youth parliament have been announced during a colourful Ceremony on Friday 26 February at Lambeth Town Hall.

This year’s youth elections was the closest ever which meant a re-count of all votes took place a few hours before the formal announcement. Lambeth’s Chief Executive and returning officer for the borough, Derrick Anderson, declared the winners at the event.

Lambeth’s new youth mayor, Darren Tenkorang (pictured right), scooped the top post with 967 votes from young people who live, work and study in the borough. Young people between 11-19 voted online and at polling stations in 12 Lambeth schools.

Darren, 15, won a closely-fought campaign by just 28 votes. The second highest vote saw 16-year-old Sara Zouhir from Lambeth Academy announced as deputy youth mayor for Lambeth.

It was another close call for Lambeth’s next member of youth parliament (MYP). Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Harb (pictured left) beat fellow candidate, 14-year-old Daniel Longe by only 19 votes. Archbishop Tenninson’s School student Daniel is Lambeth’s Deputy MYP and will stand alongside Stephanie to organise events and projects, run campaigns and influence decision-makers on issues that matter most to young people in Lambeth.

Paul Boskett, Elections Outreach Officer from the UK Youth Parliament, attended the event. He said: “The Lambeth elections, in terms of youth participation, organisation and involvement were one of the best (if not) the best I have witnessed.”

Lambeth is one of only four London authorities, and only ten nationally, to have a directly elected youth mayor. The Lambeth Youth Mayor and their advisory panel will have an annual budget of £25,000 to help make the changes that young people want to see.

To gather support and votes for this years’ elections our budding politicians took to an open top bus to visit ten of the borough's youth clubs and play areas.

Candidates also developed personal manifestos and election videos explaining why they wanted to represent their peers and visited schools to speak directly to hundreds of students about their ideas for improving Lambeth.

The newly elected candidates will take on their posts from April 2010.