Electoral Commission receives 60,000 biometric voter verification kits

_________________

A consignment of 60,000 biometric voter verification kits have been received by Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama.

The kits procured from China, by Simi Valley Technologies Ltd, on behalf of the Government of Uganda, were delivered using a chartered aeroplane that touched down at Entebbe International Airport on Monday, October 27, 2025, night. Byabakama says there remains a balance of 49,142 kits out of the total of 109,142 procured.

"We are witnessing a very important milestone in our journey to the 2026 General Election. These kits are a very important factor in ensuring that we have credible, peaceful, free and fair elections because they are going to be used to verify and identify all eligible voters at every polling station," Byabakama said.

He commended the contractor for having delivered on time, and expressed optimism to have the remaining consignment delivered before the end of November as promised.

"The biometric kits contain special features, away from the ones that were used in the previous general elections of 2016 and 2021," the electoral commission chief added. He, however, did not divulge details of the said "special features" nor did he reveal where they will be kept up to the polling day. Meanwhile, Byabakama emphasised that no voter shall be given a ballot paper when s/he has not been biometrically verified.

Ron Kawamara, on behalf of the Simi Valley company, said each biometric voter verification kit comes with a power-bank for back-up, among other technological advancements that will enable the kits to continue functioning even in remote areas that do not have electricity and those with limited network connectivity.

Meanwhile, EC deputy spokesperson Paul Bukenya said a massive campaign is underway to sensitise Ugandans on the proper use of the newly acquired biometric voter verification kits.

"We assure the public that the kits are going to tremendously improve on the electoral processes, especially on the polling day," Bukenya added.

Justice Byabakama (centre) with commissioner Carol Beinamaryo and James Peter Emorut posing for a group photo infront the consignments of biometric voter verification kits at Entebbe airport on Monday night. (Credit: Julius Luwemba)

Byabakama, on the other hand, said different companies were identified to print the ballot papers.

"But these will come in at a later stage," he said.

Receiving the biometric voter verification kits, Byabakama was accompanied by other EC officials, including commissioner Carol Beinamaryo, James Peter Emorut, spokesperson Julius Muchunguzi and security officers.

Biometric voter verification kits are electronic devices used in elections to confirm a voter's identity by comparing their physical characteristics, such as fingerprints or facial features, to a pre-existing database.