Youth leaders and government officials have called on young people to embrace peaceful participation in politics as Uganda heads towards the 2025/2026 general elections.
The appeal was made during a multiparty youth dialogue in Lira City, organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Multiparty Youth Forum.
Gender Minister Betty Amongi said the dialogue was aimed at strengthening young people’s role in Uganda’s democratic processes.
“The dialogue is about participation of youth in democratic processes including elections and how to ensure a peaceful election. Youth now constitute over 70 percent of Uganda’s population. They are the most energetic, and they can determine whether they will reject violence or not. Peaceful elections are a prerequisite for democracy,” says Minister Amongi.
The Gender Minister said government has been using empowerment programs as a critical tool to preventing manipulation of the country’s young population.
“Participation in democracy requires that youth should be empowered. That is why we are telling them about programs under the Ministry, like the Youth Livelihood Program, Parish Development Model, and youth venture capital funds, and how they can access capital through our partners such as the European Union, UNDP and the banks,” she explained.
David Mugarra, Programme Manager at NIMD, said Lira was chosen for the dialogue because it is often considered an electoral hotspot.
“Young people are known to be key actors in electoral violence, largely because of unemployment, poverty, and the commercialization of politics. Many become instruments of hate speech or violence because of money. These discussions are meant to change mindsets and help youth see the bigger picture of protecting our country from violence," he said.
Mugarra while addressing more than 400 youth leaders in Lira City explained dangers of biased political messaging that he says has been flooding social media platforms ahead of the elections.
“There is a gap when it comes to voter education and civic education. Many times, the message young people receive comes from political actors themselves and that message often drives manipulation,” he said.
For their part, participants said the dialogue had given them new direction. Dicken Olule, Youth Chairperson of Lira City East Division (UPC), said the discussions had been impactful.
“I’m very happy to have this gathering. The dialogue has brought a lot of impacts and changes, especially in the lives of our youth,” he said.
Aguma Rafela Jovita, an NRM youth leader, said she was inspired by Minister Amongi’s personal testimony about taking risks and building networks.
“My takeaway from the dialogue is that I should be a risk-taker and be positive in everything I do as a youth. I should be a leader at my younger age and guide my peers to embrace opportunities instead of regretting poor choices in elections,” says Aguma.
The engagement was part of the TUONGEA – Let Us Talk project, which combines dialogue, entrepreneurship, and sports to foster unity and promote non-violence in elections.