By Our Reporter,
KAMPALA
The Democratic Party has raised concerns over the government’s rushed initiative to register 3 million youth ahead of next elections, questioning the timing and transparency of the process.
Last week, government announced that they were going to register three million youth aged 16 with no national IDs to make them eligible to vote in the 2026 election. Gen. David Muhoozi, State minister for internal affairs made the revelation while appearing before the parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs at Parliament on August 15, 2024. He said, “within the next two months, government will focus on the 16-year-olds and above, who are not on the register in order to ensure that we live within November 30 Electoral Commission set timeline.” The targeted youth are those who will be 18yrs in 2026 and have no National Identification Numbers.
Commenting on the government initiative on Tuesday, Charles Keno Musanyusa, Chairman of DP for Nakawa Division on likened the initiative to “putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg.” According to Musanyusa, the registration falls short of addressing the deeper issues affecting youth participation in the electoral process.
The party emphasized the need for transparency and independent oversight to prevent manipulation and ensure electoral integrity, citing the Electoral Commission Act, 1997, which mandates the Electoral Commission to conduct elections with integrity and transparency.
With 15.8 million IDs set to expire by August next year, DP argues that the ongoing delay in the renewal exercise has further complicated the issue. They have raised concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the youth registration process.
Nonetheless, the Democratic Party warned that a poorly organized attempt to register youth could be more harmful than a poorly organized election itself, highlighting the need for a thorough and transparent approach to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
