Today, youth across Uganda are heading to the polls to elect their parish-level committees, a vital step in strengthening youth representation and leadership in the country.
These elections are taking place simultaneously in 10,595 parishes, running from 9 AM to 4 PM.
The Electoral Commission has reminded participants to maintain peace and uphold the integrity of the electoral process throughout the day.
Julius Mucunguzi, spokesperson for the Electoral Commission, clarified the eligibility criteria for voters in these elections: only those youth who were successfully elected to the village-level youth committees qualify to vote.
“This means that the youth committees at the village level within a parish are going to meet within the parish and elect among themselves the nine committee members that sit at the parish level. Any youth who is not a member of the village youth committee has nothing to do with this election and they’re not expected to show up. Only those that are on the village youth committees are expected to turn up to form themselves into an electoral college at the parish and elect among themselves the nine members that form their committee,” Mucunguzi explained.
He further noted that the list of candidates is already finalized, following a successful nomination process for the various positions.
“This particular election is for lining up; voters will line up behind the candidate of their choice or the candidate’s picture or poster or symbol or behind the agent of the candidate,” Mucunguzi added.
The Electoral Commission has issued a firm appeal to all participants to conduct themselves peacefully, respect the law, and follow established electoral guidelines.
“As the Commission has always said, elections are not a war, elections are not a do or die affair. We should treat and conduct ourselves in a manner that is peaceful and gives the dignity of the election and the dignity of the people of Uganda that desired characteristic. We don’t want to see any involvement in any form of violence during these committee elections,” Mucunguzi emphasized.
He made a special call to the youth to avoid any form of violence or confrontation during the elections.
“This a special appeal to the youth to desist from being drawn into violent acts or acts of confrontation among themselves because belonging to one political party or supporting one candidate doesn’t turn the other people or the other youth in another camp into enemies. It simply means that you’ve different choices but you should and are expected to remain civil and respectful of each other and united in purpose even in your diversity,” he said.
The Electoral Commission hopes that these elections will be conducted smoothly, reflecting the maturity and democratic spirit of Uganda’s youth.
