Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, the Chairperson, Electoral Commission
Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, the Chairperson, Electoral Commission, on Friday updated the country on the ongoing general update of The National Voters’ Register, revealing that the exercise is on course as planned.
Progress of the Exercise
On Monday, 20th January 2025, the Electoral Commission commenced the exercise of the General Update of the National Voters Register. This is done in compliance with Article 61 (1)(e) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, and Section 20 of the Electoral Commission Act (Cap 176).
Addressing the media at the EC offices in Industrial Area, Justice Byabakama, emphasised that the purpose of this general update exercise is to enable eligible Ugandan citizens of 18 years and above, who are not yet registered as voters, to do so.
He said the person intending to register as a voter is required to turn up in person at an update centre in his/her parish of residence or origin, to provide his/her details, have their photograph taken, and the signature and fingerprints captured.
The exercise is also meant to enable registered voters who wish to transfer to new voting locations, to apply for such transfer. A voter who wishes to transfer to a new voting location must present confirmation that he/she originates from or is, at the time of application for transfer, a resident of the Parish of that (new) voting location. Such applicants are required to present details of their previous voting location.
“A person who wishes to apply for transfer of his or her voting location is free to present himself/herself at any of the update centres,” said Byabakama, adding that during this exercise, registered voters are able to check and confirm that their particulars are correct and that they appear on the Voters Register at the voting locations that they indicated during registration.
The exercise will further enable registered voters to confirm the accuracy of their particulars on the Voters Register and correct any error(s) that may be identified in their details on the Register. To facilitate this confirmation, he said, the Commission is availing the Register of each polling station at each update station within the respective Parish/Ward.
At the same time, registered voters can also verify their voting details from the Electoral Commission website: https://ec.or.ug/register.
For clarity, Byabakama said, registered voters may only make necessary corrections regarding spelling mistakes, gender, and a mismatch of the photograph, as the case may be.
“Such voters will not be able to make changes to their age/date of birth or include (new) additional names,” he said.
He added that this exercise will also enable students who were registered by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) at school during the learners project, and have since attained the age of 18 years to present their particulars, that is, the National Identification Number (NIN), for updating and assignment of a polling station within their parish of residence or origin.
The General Update of the National Voters Register is being conducted at update stations throughout Uganda every day, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, including weekends.
During this exercise, the Commission is compiling and updating the Voters Registers for Special Interest Groups, namely:
- The National Youths Voters Register for election of Youth Councils and Committees;
- The National PWDs Voters Register for the election of PWD Councils and Committees;
- The National Older Persons Voters Register for election of Older Persons Councils and Committees.
Byabakama informed Ugandans that the cut- off date for this exercise is 10th February 2025.
“The Commission would like to appeal to eligible citizens to use this opportunity to register as to exercise their fundamental right, enshrined in Article 59 of the Constitution to vote and elect their leaders,” said Byabakama, adding: “As we have always emphasized, the only way a citizen can vote, contest an elective position, support the nomination of a candidate, become an agent of a candidate, or bring a petition on any election-related matter, is first and foremost to be a registered voter appearing on the National Voters Register. This explains the importance of the update exercise.”
Management of emerging issues
He said the Commission is cognizant of the challenges that have been identified in these first days of the exercise, which include the following:
Adequacy and functionality of the registration kits
Concerning the adequacy of kits allocated for the exercise, the Commission is conducting the exercise using kits provided by the National Identification and Registration Authorities (NIRA). The total number of kits deployed for this exercise is 2,703 kits. Our need was 5,000 kits. The distribution has been made based on the sub counties, except for Kampala Capital, Wakiso, and Mukono districts, which have been allocated additional kits per ward/parish.
He says their update officials and supervisors are providing a schedule on the rotation and movement of the kits, and informing the people of when and where the kit will be on a particular day to ensure coverage of the target population. The update teams are supported by technical teams (trouble-shooters) that respond to machine issues, e.g. malfunctions, as and when they arise.
Some technical problems (faulty machines) have been reported in some stations. The equipment being used was first procured for the 2014/2015 mass enrolment (registration) exercise, under the National Security Information System (NSIS) Project, the predecessor of NIRA. This explains the reported cases of breakdowns. Our teams are on standby to respond to any reported malfunction.
The Commission has established a system for receiving and handling complaints arising out of the exercise. This includes establishment of a Query/Complaints Desk at the Electoral Commission Headquarters, that receives and responds to complaints and emerging issues.
The role of security agencies during the registration exercise
There has been concern about the requirement for a recommendation from the Gombolola Internal Security Officer (GISO) and the District Internal Security Officer (DISO) to facilitate the application for registration. We wish to guide that this applies to first-time applicants, and is based on the need to verify citizenship. Please note that only verified citizens qualify to be on the Voters Register and the agency responsible for ascertaining citizenship is NIRA.
The Electoral Commission has engaged the leadership of Uganda Police and the sister security agencies to facilitate the new applicants with such letters to complete their applications.
Concerning the turnout for the exercise
There has been concern about the number of persons turning out for the update exercise, which has been described as low.
However, Byabakama says “the statistics we are receiving indicate that the exercise is on course as per the objectives and the target applicants.
We wish to inform the country that this is not a mass registration of all eligible voters, as the majority of Ugandan voting population is already on the Register,” he said, adding: “It is also important to note that a considerable number of voters have been checking and confirming their particulars using our online portal (www.ec.or.ug/register), hence there is no need to have long queues at update centres.”
The Commission is confident that with the mechanisms put in place to address them, and with the heightened awareness created by our teams that are based at the parish level who are mobilising the communities on the operational plans, regarding venues and time and requirements for completing the exercise, we will be able to complete this exercise successfully in the time allocated.
Preparations for Parliamentary and Local Government Council By-elections in Kawempe Division North
Byabakama said the Commission, on 15th January, 2025, received notification from the Clerk to Parliament about the vacancy for the Directly Elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe Division North, following the death of Hon. Ssegirinya Muhammad on 9th January 2025.
As provided under the Law, the Commission will conduct a by-election in Kawempe Division North for the Member of Parliament, and will also use the occasion to conduct a by-election for the Directly Elected Councillor for Kazo-Angola Ward, Kawempe Division.
The Commission has already approved the program which will be shared with all stakeholders on 27th January 2025. The media will be invited to this stakeholders meeting.
Conclusion
“The Commission would like to thank all stakeholders—political parties, civil society groups, the media, religious leaders, cultural leaders, LC 1 Chairpersons and all opinion leaders at all levels for the support they are providing to the General Update exercise. We call on them to continue with this support to enable the country compile a credible and clean National Voters Register,” said Byabakama.
