Democratic Front wants review of LC village boundaries ahead of elections
The call was made during a press briefing at the party's offices in Lungujja, Kitunzi, Lubaga division on July 3, 2026, by DF executive chairperson Henry Lubowa, national chairperson Samuel Lubega Mukaku and secretary general Mike Mabikke.
Mukaku Lubega, the chairperson of the Democratic Front Party, addressing a press conference regarding the forthcoming Local Council and Women Council elections at their office in Rubaga Division, on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya)
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The Democratic Front (DF) has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to push for the demarcation of Local Council (LC) villages to reflect population growth recorded in the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, arguing that outdated administrative boundaries are denying rapidly growing communities fair representation and equitable access to government resources.
The call was made during a press briefing at the party's offices in Lungujja, Kitunzi, Lubaga division on July 3, 2026, by DF executive chairperson Henry Lubowa, national chairperson Samuel Lubega Mukaku and secretary general Mike Mabikke.
Mukaku cited Wakimese village in Kyengera, Wakiso district, which he said has more than 10,000 registered voters but was not divided into smaller electoral units during the recent presidential, parliamentary and Local Council elections.
According to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, Uganda's population stands at about 45.9 million, up from 34.6 million recorded in the 2014 census, representing an annual growth rate of 3.03 per cent and a population density of 174 people per square kilometre.
The EC has scheduled polling for Women Council elections on July 23, 2026, while LC1 and LC2 elections will be held between Monday, July 6 and Friday, July 10, 2026.
Mukaku argued that areas with rapidly growing populations should be subdivided into additional villages so that government planning, service delivery and funding allocations correspond with the actual population.
“Demarcating rapidly growing villages into separate administrative units is a practical strategy to ensure equitable government funding. By formally splitting high-population areas, allowing per-capita resource allocation, budget allocation, infrastructure development, and electoral representation to match actual community needs.”
He said that as Uganda conducts LC and Women Council elections, the DF is appealing to the EC to consider creating additional villages in densely populated areas to enable voters to fully exercise their constitutional rights.
Mukaku further argued that government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga and Operation Wealth Creation do not adequately reflect population differences between densely populated urban areas and smaller rural villages.
He cited Kampala, with an estimated population of about 1.86 million people, saying some smaller villages outside the city receive comparatively higher allocations under PDM and Emyooga despite having significantly smaller populations.
EC responds
“The responsibility of creating LCs is vested in the Ministry of Local Government, not the Electoral Commission.”
He explained that the process begins with the existing LC1 council, where two-thirds of council members must approve the proposal and record the resolution in official minutes.
The proposal is then forwarded through the parish representatives to the LC III council for consideration before proceeding to the LC5 council.
“If the item makes it to the agenda, they discuss and pass it; then they cascade it to the next level, which is LC5 council. If the item gets the blessing, they submit to the Commissioner in the Ministry of Local Government with all attachments, resolutions and reasons for creation. When the ministry agrees, then they write to the EC to include those details into the database."
Mucunguzi said the EC's mandate is to organise, conduct and supervise regular, free and fair elections and referenda, while the creation of administrative units remains the responsibility of local governments and the Ministry of Local Government.
“EC’s Mission is to organise, conduct and supervise regular, free and fair elections and referenda through citizen participation, stakeholder engagement and information sharing to enhance democracy and good governance with a Goal to promote participatory democracy and good governance.”