EC chief Byabakama speaks out on voter verification machine glitch

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Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama has attributed the widespread failure of Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVK) to technical challenges. However, he says the machines failure should not disfranchise Ugandans of their constitutional right to vote.

Speaking amid growing concern from political actors, civil society and voters across the country, Justice Byabakama acknowledged that the biometric voter verification kits failed to function in many polling stations, despite earlier assurances that the machines would be fully operational on polling day.

“It is true that we assured the nation that these machines would be functional. We made every effort. The machines were dispatched and deployed to polling stations. However, for technical reasons that we are still verifying, they did not function as expected in many areas,” he said.

The failures, he noted Thursday (January 15) were not isolated to Kampala or specific locations, but were reported across the country, including Karamoja, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Uganda.

Despite the setback, the EC chairperson emphasised that the Commission’s overriding priority was to prevent voter disenfranchisement.

“Our major focus as a Commission is to ensure that the people of Uganda are not denied their right to vote,” he said. “We cannot put the people’s choice on hold simply because of challenges with machines.”

Not only legal mechanism

Byabakama explained that while biometric verification is an important tool for voter identification, it is not the sole legal mechanism for voting. The voters’ register, he stressed, remains the primary and legally recognised document for identifying voters.

“Every voter whose name appears on the voters’ register is entitled to vote. The biometric kit is meant to conclude the identification process, but the actual act of voting is done using the ballot paper,” he said.

He assured the public that voters whose names appear on the manual register would continue to receive ballot papers and cast their votes, even in the absence of functioning biometric machines.

Safeguards are in place

Addressing fears of potential fraud, Byabakama said safeguards are in place to prevent double voting, adding that the Commission would ensure that no voter returns to vote more than once.

Responding to complaints from candidates and polling agents who were reportedly blocked from accessing polling stations with copies of the voters’ register, Byabakama said such actions are unlawful.

“Polling agents are provided for under the law and are entitled to carry registers issued by their candidates. Anyone who attempts to deny an agent access on that basis is wrong, and the Commission will address such incidents,” he said.

Byabakama promised to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the machine failures. He, however said that accountability would come later.

“The issue now is not the reputation of the Commission or its members. The real question is whether the people of Uganda have been allowed to exercise their constitutional right to choose their leaders, he said.

“As we speak, voters are casting their ballots, ballot papers are being issued, and the process is continuing. What matters most is that Ugandans are able to exercise their free will and choose their leaders,” he added.

He said the Electoral Commission has since issued directives to all its officials nationwide to ensure that voting continues uninterrupted and that all eligible voters are allowed to cast their ballots.