This article discusses the political participation of youth in Mozambique’s
electoral processes, specifically the 2019 general elections. The results were
obtained through interaction (semi-structured interviews) with young
members and institutional representatives from four political parties, who
explained their views on youth and political participation during elections.
The interviews were conducted between April and September 2021 through
virtual platforms. We also carried out a detailed analysis of the manifestos
of three political parties. The study finds that Mozambican political parties
do not have a clear vision of young people’s aspirations, since the definition
of the ‘youth problem’ is dominated by adults. In addition, young people’s
issues have been generalised without considering the specific concept of what
it means to be young. However, in order to maintain the social and economic
benefits provided by their political parties, the same young people assume
that adults continue to be an example to follow in guiding the destiny of the
country.