Ezra Ambasiize, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws at Uganda Christian University has been elected the speaker of the youth parliament in the country.
The Parliament offers political and legislative space and serves as a creative advocacy vehicle that brings together young people in Uganda, as well as youth-focused organizations to amplify youth voices to lawmakers.
Ambasiize’s election took place under the watch of the Speaker of Uganda’s legislature, Jacob Oulanyah.
Ezra Ambasiize, after his election where he faced off and beat two other contenders, showed appreciation of the responsibility bestowed upon him.
“I take this opportunity to thank God and the entire youth fraternity for entrusting me with the mandate of serving as 4th Speaker [of the] National Youth Parliament,” Ambasiize tweeted a day after his triumph.
He beat off competition from two challengers, including Calvin Olupot, who also is a student from UCU.
Asked what his motivation for running for the position was, Ambasiize had this to say;
“There is a big mismatch between the number of representatives of the youth at national level of policy formulation and their numbers in the country,” Ambasiize said.
He hopes to amplify the youth voices and advocate the implementation of ideas put forward by the youth, as well as use his position as a launch pad into national politics.
After his election into office, Ambasiize went ahead to chair the youth parliamentary sitting that passed four motions to be sent to the National Parliament for debate. The motions called on the Ugandan Government to address issues of “spiraling teenage pregnancies” and the reproductive health challenges faced by the youth.
