Bunyoro Youth challenged on peaceful elections

Balam Barugahara, the state minister for gender, labour, and social development in charge of children and youth affairs while speaking during a multiparty youth dialogue organized by Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democray (NIMD) at Masindi Kolping hotel in Masindi municipality on Thursday stated that the youth have always been targeted by various political parties and individuals to cause chaos and violence before, during and after the elections noting that most of them have lost their lives due to useless protests.

He says the youth should initiate peaceful elections and distance themselves from political parties or individuals who convince them to engage in violence during elections, explaining that those are enemies of peace and development.

Barugahara says the government has initiated some empowerment programs that are critical in preventing manipulation of the country’s young population.

According to Barugahara, elections should be a celebration of democracy and not a source of division and the youth should not be lured into bad practices that could lead to unrest during and after the elections.

He says, the youth should set the agenda and get involved in the social economic transformation of the country by jealously embracing some of the key government programs such as the youth livelihood program (YLP), the Parish development model (PDM) and Emyooga, among others.

Barugahara challenged the youth to organise themselves into groups and networks that can connect them with available opportunities in the various parts of the country.

David Mugara, the Programme Manager at Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), explains that the youth, particularly those who have attained education, are well-positioned to influence decisions if they take advantage of their leadership potential, emphasizing that they (youth) have a critical role to play in peace building, especially during elections, in their communities and their institutions.

He says, the participation of youth in democratic processes, including elections, and how to ensure a peaceful election, is very crucial, emphasizing that they are the most energetic, and they can determine whether they will reject violence or not.

He further explains that Peaceful elections are a prerequisite for democracy and that leaders at all levels should rally the youth to shun violence during the entire electoral process.

Mugara says the youth are known to be key actors in electoral violence, largely because of unemployment, poverty, and the commercialisation of politics.

He says that as a result, many youths have become instruments of hate speech or violence because of money.

He elaborated that about seven past elections have been marred by unrest, and the majority of youth have been at the centre of causing the violence.

Mugara challenged the youth to properly use their social media platforms to preach peace, togetherness, and unity during and after the elections, elaborating that currently, various biased political messages are flooding social media platforms, particularly by some youth ahead of the elections which he says could cause havoc if not immediately addressed.

Masindi district Chairperson Cosmas Byaruhanga appealed to the youth not to allow themselves to be used to promote violence during the 2026 general elections.

He rallied the youth to focus on electing quality leaders who will cater to their concerns and demands once they ascend to power.

Martha Kihumuro, a youth from Fort-Portal, appealed to the government to offer tax exemption on businesses being operated by the youth to enable them to expand their businesses and fight unemployment.

Zakaria Ochan, a youth subscribing to the Democratic Party (DP) in Kiryandongo district, tasked the government to involve them (youth) in key decision-making making noting that in most cases they are not being involved and considered in any of the government programs.

Patricia Awuma, a youth from Masindi, challenged the government to address the problem of unemployment among the youth in the country.

She noted that unemployment drives the youth to poverty, desperation, and hopelessness, making some of them vulnerable to manipulation during the elections.

More than 200 youth and their leaders from various political parties, including the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), among others, attended the dialogue.