Young people constitute an important electoral constituency, yet their presence as voters does not necessarily mean that they are meaningfully incorporated into political communication. This study examines how two Indonesian television talk shows, Mata Najwa and Rosi, construct opportunities for youth participation and how political candidates perform their engagement with young voters. Both programmes produced special episodes featuring candidates contesting the 2018 West Java gubernatorial election but differed in how they structured interactions between candidates and young audiences. Using qualitative comparative performance analysis, the study draws on Goffman’s concepts of participation framework, footing and face-work to examine participant positioning and candidate performances during political interaction. The findings reveal contrasting approaches to youth political engagement. Rosi largely centred its interactions on candidates responding to face-threatening situations and managing their public image. Mata Najwa, by contrast, incorporated young people more directly into its participation structure and encouraged more informal, entertainment-oriented candidate performances. The findings suggest that addressing young people as the intended audience does not necessarily result in their direct involvement in political interaction. More importantly, the study demonstrates how participation framework, shifts in footing and candidate performance shape the interactional processes through which engagement with young voters is performed in televised political discussion.
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