Ballot papers to be scanned twice on election day, says EC boss

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Ballot papers will be scanned twice on election day to combat any voter fraud, Uganda's Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, has said.

He said this on Thursday (January 8) before flagging off the first batch of voting materials to the 146 district offices across the country at their warehouse in Ntinda, Kampala.

Ugandans will descend on polling stations across the country next Thursday (January 15) to elect their next President and Members of Parliament.

After voting, the presiding officer will break the seal on the ballot box and pour its contents on a black polyethene bag (kaveera) laid on the ground in the presence of the agents of the candidates. 

“Before they count, each ballot paper will be scanned again with this [biometric voters verification] machine. Any ballot paper which will not be identified or recognised by this machine will be put aside,” Byabakama told reporters.

Trucks set off during dispatch of first batch of voting materials at the commission’s warehouse in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb, on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

“So, those of you who want to go and ballot stuff zibasanze (will be in trouble) because this (biometric) machine will identify ballot papers which have not been properly issued to the legitimate voter. It is only those which are verified as valid in that context that will be counted."

A voter will present his or her national ID or voter location slip when they arrive for voting, and if they do not have either, the presiding officer will help confirm their details on the hard copy of the national voters register.

“The voter should come with either the voter location slip or the national ID, but in case the voter does not have them, but he or she is a registered voter, we shall now use the hard copy register to check whether they are on the register,” said the EC boss.

After the presiding officer confirms the voter’s name, they will use the biometric voter verification machine to verify their identity by scanning their fingerprints or their face.

After verification, the presiding officer will scan the ballot papers (for President, Woman MP and directly elected MP) and issue them to the voter, who will then move on to elect their preferred candidates.

A voter will mark a candidate of their choice, for each elective position, using either a tick or thumbprint, before folding the ballot paper as directed and inserting it into the ballot box for the respective elective position.

The polling assistant will mark their finger to show that they have voted. 

According to the EC, polling stations will open at 7:00am and close at 4:00pm.