EC urged to probe source of unending ballot stuffing

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KAMPALA - The Electoral Commission (EC) has been urged to investigate the "unending issue of ballot stuffing" in Uganda elections.

Disability affairs state minister Hellen Grace Assamo says doing so will make elections freer and help restore public confidence in the entity.

"Every time, especially during the byelection, there has been a lot of ballot stuffing. Where do they (those who rig) get the ballots, if it is not from you, the Electoral Commission? You need to guide us: Do some of your staff sell them and they go and do them in Nasser Road?" she said.

She added: "All byelections, including where there is a case (in Oyam). Tell us where ballot stuffing comes from so we can know?"

She was speaking during the launch of EC's strategic plan for 2022-2023, 2026-2027 and the road map for 2025-2026 elections in Kampala on Wednesday.

The road map is projected to cost Uganda a total of shillings 1.38 trillion (almost double what the government used in 2021) to implement over its duration.

According to the breakdown, presidential, parliamentary and local government elections will cost a total of shillings 1.2 trillion, while special interest groups from the village to the district level will cost a combined shillings 146.8 billion.

According to EC, the rise in the cost is attributed to the projected increase in voter population, and hence a number of polling stations. The entity says the new budget has put into account an increase in the number of elective offices and candidates, an increase in the number of administrative units, as well as continuous improvements or reforms in the electoral process among others.

Highlights road map

• The commission says the general update of voters’ registers in each parish will run January 3-24, 2025, while the nomination of candidates at both national and local government levels runs from July 14, 2025 to December 12, 2025.
• The commission is expected to run the nomination of candidates for president between October 2 and 3, 2025, in line with the Presidential Elections Act.
• According to the roadmap, polling for presidential, parliamentary and local government councils will be held between January 12 and February 9, 2026.
• Compilation of youth, persons with disabilities, older person workers, Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), and professional bodies voters’ register is expected to be held between the January 3-24, 2025.
• Additionally, the deadline for the resignation of public servants intending to contest is between August 2, 2024 and June 13, 2025.