None of my Ugandan Friends Vote

... Or at least most of them don't.

Over the last six months I've spoken to many young people both as friends and just in passing on matters of a political nature in Uganda. Many of them hesitate to talk to me about political issues or at times will reflect on Ugandan politics as a joke.

Some of my friends also claim to be apolitical which in their minds means not supporting a particular party rather than not being political. Those who fall into this category often have well developed personal philosophies and theories relating to politics in Uganda and are frustrated by human rights abuses and corruption.

In Northern Uganda I met more people who openly criticized the government which is likely related to their experiences with conflict and historical structures of violence and political struggles (Finnstrom, 2008). While I was sitting in an office in Lira my colleague looked at a calendar entitled "African Leaders" and said more like "African Dictators" after commenting about the restrictions placed on opposition parties in Uganda. After looking at about 10 of the leaders and suggesting three or four that I thought might be dictators (or at least be dictatoresque), he smirked and said "you missed a few."

Today when I asked one of my colleagues in Kampala what his aspirations were for his newborn daughter he said "she can be anything, although I hope she won't be a politician." When I asked why he said because of the uncertainty (read insecurity) associated with that kind of life.

Although their participation in political dialogue and their opinions differ rather dramatically the one thing that most of these people have in common is that none of them vote because they don't see the point in participating in a political system which always turns out the same way.

This stands in striking contrast to the experience that I had as a door to door canvasser on behalf of a politician during the Federal election last year in Ottawa. I would frequently knock on doors only to have a youth answer and tell me they did not plan to vote because they felt like their voices would not be heard.

This is the same sentiment but the settings are almost completely opposite. In Canada we have an open press that reports frequently and openly on politics even if with some bias whereas the Ugandan press is only relatively open and much of it is state controlled or sponsored. In Canada there is freedom of association and protest, where as in Uganda protestors are met with bullets and tear gas. In Canada there are many avenues for political participation in comparison with Uganda where there are relatively few. Finally, in Canada we have a free and fair electoral system (minus the recent harassing phone calls complained about by some voters).

As a very political individual, I find it hard to reconcile these two realities. I find it even more difficult to understand why young Canadians would choose not to vote or participate in the political process in other ways when there are so many young people around the world with the desire to influence their countries' political systems and economies who don't have the opportunity to do so.

Just some food for thought.