2026 Polls: Over 50 clerics protest lack of facilitation

KAMPALA - More than 50 clerics drawn from different religious denominations have protested what they describe as poor handling of the 2026 general elections monitoring exercise by the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), citing a lack of facilitation and restrictive operational guidelines.

In a written complaint seen by New Vision Online, the clerics, who are part of IRCU’s election observer programme, say they are dissatisfied with being required to work as volunteers without facilitation and being confined to observing only their respective polling stations.

“On behalf of over 50 clerics, I am writing to express our dissatisfaction regarding how IRCU is handling the 2026 national elections,” reads part of the letter.  The General Election is set for January 15, 2026.

“We are being told that our work should not be facilitated and that we should monitor elections only at our polling stations. This, we believe, is against the norms of election observation.”

The clerics argue that restricting observers to their home polling stations compromises neutrality and personal safety, especially in communities where their political leanings may be known.

“Confining an observer to his or her polling station—where their political affiliation and preferences might be well known—exposes them to suspicion and intimidation,” the letter adds. 

“Not everyone is good at hiding their political leanings.”

A whistleblower cleric, who said he was speaking on behalf of his colleagues within the Council, made the remarks during an exclusive interview with this publication at Vision Group headquarters in Kampala on today, January 8, 2026.

IRCU is a faith-based network organisation that mobilises religious leaders and communities to promote harmony, unity, peace, good governance and holistic human development through interfaith collaboration. Its mission includes advocating for peace, reconciliation and the empowerment of member bodies for the common good.

Financial constraints

When contacted for comment, IRCU secretary general Joshua Kitakule said the organisation is facing financial constraints and has not received any funding from the Government or donor partners to facilitate election monitoring this year.

“As they go about their daily work, our members receive information from their communities and share it with us,” Kitakule said. 

“Previously, we used to facilitate them because we had funding, but not this time around.”

He explained that due to limited resources, IRCU advised clerics to focus on monitoring their immediate communities.

“We have not received any facilitation from anybody—whether government or any donor partner—and they can cross-check that,” Kitakule emphasised.

According to him, about 300 IRCU members were accredited by the Electoral Commission (EC) to observe the 2026 elections.

Meanwhile, Bishop Africano Magyezi, the secretary general of the National Association of Born-Again Churches of Uganda, which is one of the religious bodies that recruits clerics into IRCU. said participation in the election observation exercise is entirely voluntary.

“If any cleric is disgruntled, they can pull out as an individual,” Bishop Magyezi said. 

“We are mandated as religious leaders to work for peace, and that is why we chose to use the existing structures and leadership we have across the country to do this work.”

He reiterated that IRCU has not received funding this year to support the exercise.
“We told people clearly that this is voluntary work. You can opt out if you choose. Nobody is forcing you,” Magyezi said. 

“We don’t have the money to facilitate them.”

According to Magyezi, each area has seven IRCU members assigned to election observation, and if one opts out, the remaining members can still carry out the task.

He also outlined how IRCU conducts its election observation.

“First of all, we ask our member organisations to nominate election observers,” he explained.

“They give us names from different regions, and we train them on what is required of them.”

He added that observers are trained using a standardised questionnaire highlighting key electoral issues to monitor.

“We have trained them on that questionnaire, and we want them to use it on polling day,” Magyezi said. “We are limiting ourselves to polling day because of resource constraints.”

The dispute comes at a time when civil society organisations and faith-based institutions are expected to play a critical role in promoting peaceful, transparent and credible elections ahead of the 2026 polls.