After partial results that point to a potential landslide victory for incumbent President Paul Kagame who run on an RPF-Inkotanyi ticket, one cannot but commend the enthusiasm and participation of first-time voters in rallies and after in elections. They were more than two million, and they made their voices heard and how important it was for them. Two in three Rwandans were born after the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. What’s the message? The youth’s contribution to the country is needed in the present and not the future. What is more is that there is willingness, and there is capability. Two in five voters were under 35. ALSO READ: Rwanda Decides: Polls for women, youth, and persons with disability MPs underway. Many young people today are the same age that the liberators of this country were, and one would wonder why young people who have a country and their rights before them would take an interest in politics. Unlike those who believe that the “youth is wasted on the young”, Rwandan youth are actually up to any task in development. On July 16, Rwanda held elections for parliamentary representatives of special interest groups; women, youth, and persons with disabilities, after the conclusion of the general presidential and parliamentary elections held on July 14 and 15. ALSO READ: Our youth volunteers are defying the narrative; we must support them We need to see youth run for more positions in parliament, not necessarily the two reserved for the youth. We need to see the enthusiasm and political awareness we witnessed during the campaign in our everyday life. Their participation should not stop at running for elective positions. Their enthusiasm that we saw during the campaign period and the vibrancy we saw on social media networks speak to the growing consciousness of the younger generation in the political affairs of our country. The turnout during the elections – which was 98 per cent according to figures from the National Electoral Commission – is an indication that the enthusiasm in the rallies wasn’t just for show, it means that that they properly understand their assignment at hand. After all, the future belongs to the youth. They should have a say and work towards the kind of Rwanda they want them and their children to live in. We can only urge them to do keep the momentum.
