The Electoral Commission has released its Strategic Plan 2022/2023-2026/2027 and the Roadmap for the 2025/2026 General Elections, with a calling upon government and parliament to appropriate adequate funds for the polls held every five years .
The Electoral Commission is projecting to use a total of Shs1.38 trillion in organizing the 2026 general elections.
Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, Chairperson, Electoral Commission released the detailed roadmap at an event presided over by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao.
According to the roadmap , verification of academic papers for presidential, parliamentary, and local government leaders will be held between 3rd July 2025 and 1st August 2025.
Compilation of youth, persons with disabilities, older person workers, Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), and professional bodies voters’ register is expected to be held between the 3rd and 24th of January 2025.
Additionally, the deadline for the resignation of public servants intending to contest is between 2nd August and 13th June 2025.
The commission says the general update of voters’ registers in each parish will run from 3rd to 24th January 2025 while nomination of candidates at both national and local government levels runs from 14th July 2025 to 12th December 2025.
“We expect the nomination of candidates for president to take place between 2nd October and 3rd October 2025. This is in line with the Presidential Elections Act,” Leornard Mulekwah the EC Secretary said.
According to the roadmap, polling for presidential, parliamentary, and local government councils will e held between 12th January and 9th February 2026.
“My appeal is that Government continues to provide adequate funding in a timely manner to enable the Commission to undertake its constitutional obligations. I reiterate our desire for Parliament to enact laws or amendments to electoral laws in time so as not to destabilize the Roadmap,” Byabakama said.
Justice Byabakama was grateful to government and the Ugandan people for the support they rendered during the 2020/2021 General Elections, which were held at the peak of the raving COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns .
“It is in this spirit that the Commission is launching the Strategic Plan and Roadmap we are here to witness. Following the conclusion of the 2020/2021 General Elections, the Commission conducted Post-Election Evaluation workshops across the Country with various key stakeholders in the electoral process. The stakeholders gave us their own honest assessments on how the electoral process and the conduct of the 2020/2021 General Elections were done,” he explained .
“The Commission further conducted its own self-assessment by engaging our own staff to give their opinions on the conduct of the last General Elections and subsequent by-elections. The recommendations from various election observer reports were keenly studied, as well as the recommendations from Court decisions. All this was done to improve our election management,” Byabakama stated.
