BY RACHAEL PAKRWOTH & BOY FIDEL LEON
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, presided over the launch of the much-anticipated Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2022/2023-2026/2027 and Roadmap for the 2025/2026 General Elections.
The electoral roadmap event, held at Hotel Africana that marked a crucial step towards enhancing Uganda’s electoral process was launched by Rt. Hon. Prime minister Robinna Nabbanja.
“I implore all stakeholders to carefully examine all the timelines as outlined in the Roadmap, and work with the Electoral Commission to smoothly implement the electoral roadmap for 2025/2026 general elections,” said Rt. Hon. Prime Minister.
The comprehensive Strategic Plan, a result of meticulous research and extensive stakeholder consultation, aims to tackle the challenges that emerged during the 2020/2021 General Elections.
The Commission appeals to the Government to consider and approve the creation of new administrative units in a timely manner so that the electoral program and budget are not destabilized,” The EC Chairperson, Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon said.
Justice Byabakama highlighted the strengths of the previous election cycle, such as government commitment to funding and the use of technology, while also acknowledging the challenges that included delayed legislative amendments and inadequate voter education due to budget constraints.
The Chairperson underscored the Commission’s commitment to improve election management based on these lessons. “To us, every election provides lessons for the next one,” he affirmed, outlining the plan’s objective to foster inclusive citizen participation, strengthen stakeholder collaboration, ensure regular free and fair elections, enhance information sharing, and reinforce the institutional capacity of the Electoral Commission.
“Every stakeholder has a role to play in accordance with the Constitution. A free and fair election is a wholesome process that involves all stakeholders with the EC playing a lead role. The Uganda Electoral Commission is prepared to work with everybody to have free and fair elections.” Justice Byabakama added.
The minister of Justice and constitutional affairs Hon Norbert Mao was also in attendance and he traced the issue of civic education and the issues raised such as the need to enact laws to enable the elections.
“The EC has been lamenting about civic education. I would want us to focus on civic education. The citizens are the nursery beds for leaders because leaders are picked from citizens. We need to make sure our citizens have civic education” said Hon. Norbert Mao.
He also emphasized that the only way to move forward and keep the country together is through reconciliation in the different parts of the county saying, “ We need to reconcile, all parts of this country have bleed, many of us are under attack of the decisions we have made but we hope that people will eventually understand us.”
The Electoral Commission plans to spend a total budget of Shs1.3 trillion for the roadmap and the Rt. Hon Prime Minister Robinna Nabbanja affirmed her support for the cause saying, “The Office of the Prime Minister will make sure that the required funds are released to the Commission to smoothly execute the activities as outlined in the Roadmap for the next general election. “
The Roadmap to the 2025/2026 General Elections, extracted from the Strategic Goals, was introduced to ensure streamlined planning, coordination, and transparency in electoral activities. “The Roadmap is clearly a reminder to all stakeholders in the electoral process to start planning to ensure a smooth democratic process,” remarked the Chairperson. Of the Electoral Commission.
Justice Byabakama took the opportunity to urge the government to enact timely amendments to electoral laws and consider the creation of new administrative units without destabilizing electoral plans. He emphasized the need for well-planned preparation to maintain order throughout the democratic process.
The set off for all the electoral activities for Presidential, General Parliamentary, and Local Government Councils for the 2026 General Elections shall be between Monday 12th January 2026 to 10th February 2026.
