Uganda Teen Wins Parliament Seat

Proscovia Oromait, 19, is youngest lawmaker in nation's history
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 18, 2012 12:44 PM CDT
Uganda Teens Wins Parliament Seat
In this photo taken Monday, Proscovia Oromait, 19, campaigns during a rally in Uganda. She has become the nation's youngest lawmaker.   (AP Photo)

A teenage girl fresh out of high school has won a seat in Uganda's parliament, adding to the ruling party's majority but embarrassing some who say her success lowers expectations of lawmakers in the East African country. Proscovia Oromait, 19, contested elections deep in eastern Uganda to fill the seat left vacant after her father's death. President Yoweri Museveni's ruling party had been desperate for a win there, having lost seven in eight parliamentary by-elections this year. The polls are widely seen as a test of Museveni's popularity, and some calculated that she would win with a sympathy vote. She is now Uganda's youngest lawmaker ever. (More Uganda stories.)

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