The Electoral Commission (EC) has officially concluded the nationwide Display of the National Voters’ Register in most polling stations across the country, marking a key milestone in preparations for the 2025/2026 General Elections.
The exercise, which commenced on April 25, 2025, ended yesterday, Thursday, May 15, in the majority of the country’s polling stations.
However, the Commission clarified that the process will continue until May 20 in 620 polling stations where the start was delayed due to technical hitches experienced during the production of the registers.
This phase of the electoral roadmap allowed registered voters to verify their particulars and report discrepancies such as the inclusion of deceased persons, minors, individuals registered in the wrong parish, or those appearing more than once on the register.
In addition to this, the EC displayed lists of Ugandan citizens of voting age who were verified by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) but had not yet indicated their polling stations.
This allowed for their assignment to specific polling locations.
Next Step: Display of Recommended Removals and Inclusions
Following the conclusion of the display, the Commission will embark on the next critical phase — the display of lists of persons recommended for deletion or inclusion by the Parish or Ward Tribunal. This will run for ten days, from May 16 to May 26, 2025, at all respective parish and ward headquarters.
“The purpose of this exercise is to enable any person who may have been wrongly recommended for deletion to object to the Parish or Ward Tribunal,” the Commission noted in a statement.
The Tribunals, appointed by area magistrates, consist of two elders (one male and one female) aged 60 and above, and three other members appointed in consultation with political parties and organisations participating in the elections.
These Tribunals are mandated to review objections, consider public input, and make final decisions regarding inclusion, deletion, or correction of entries on the register.
Preparing the Final Register
Upon completion of this process, the Electoral Commission will retrieve all returns from the field and incorporate the approved changes into the final National Voters’ Register, which will be used in the 2025/2026 General Elections.
The EC has reiterated that registered voters can continue to access and confirm their voting details online via the Commission’s official website: https://ec.or.ug/register.
Handling Complaints and Way Forward
All complaints related to the display exercise should be addressed to the Returning Officers in the respective Electoral Districts, in line with Article 61(1)(f) of the Constitution and Section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act (Cap 140).
The EC expressed gratitude to stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations, and the media, for mobilising the public to participate in the display exercise. It urged continued engagement in all remaining electoral activities as per the Roadmap for the 2025/2026 General Elections.
The final register is expected to be ready in time for the first cycle of elections — those of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs), namely Youth, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), and Older Persons — scheduled for June 2025.
