At just 19 years old, Proscovia Alengot Oromait was recently elected to
Ugandan Parliament, making her the youngest (and first teenage)
politician in all of Africa.
She had plans to go to college after graduating high school last year,
but those plans were derailed when her father, also a politician, died
in July. She decided to run for his spot as a Parliament member in their
local Usuk county, and ended up winning by a large margin, with almost
twice as many votes as the race's runner-up
Some, naturally have
questioned her age. But Oromait said in a local TV interview that age
shouldn't be a concern: "It does not matter. It's not age that works,
it's the brain and the knowledge that one has."
Oromait is not
the world's first teenage Parliament member. Sweden elected an
18-year-old in 2010, while Canada elected a 19-year-old in 2011.
Outside
of working on her father's campaigns, Oromait's experience comes from
school, where she headed the debate club, the school newsletter, and the
patriotism club. In Parliament, she says she'll focus on things like
improving roads and education.
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