Muntu presses EC to release voters’ register to weed out ghost voters

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With only 10 days left to the general elections on January 15, 2026, Alliance for National Transformation presidential candidate Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu has called on the Electoral Commission to release the updated voters’ register ahead of polling day to enable the removal of ghost voters.

Muntu’s demand comes amid concerns about the integrity of the national voters’ register, with National Unity Platform candidate Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi and other opposition parties questioning the increase in the number of registered voters.

Addressing voters at Kangulumira town council in Kayunga district on Sunday, January 4, 2026, Muntu faulted the Electoral Commission for failing to provide the updated voters’ register, saying this had hindered opposition parties from scrutinising newly created polling stations ahead of the elections.

“All presidential candidates and political parties are by law required to access the voters’ registers, verify them and do investigations, including identifying ghost voters at each polling station to guard against rigging and multiple voting,” Muntu said.

“The issue of ghost voters is not new in Uganda's electoral history. I went on Friday at the EC headquarters to pick them, but was not able to get the registers, yet the law prescribes that we should be getting them two weeks to the voting day, but I do not know what is happening,” he added.

Muntu stressed the need for transparency and accountability in the electoral process, urging the Electoral Commission to ensure that the voters’ register is accurate and free of irregularities, including ghost voters and voter suppression.

According to Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi, the national voters’ register has risen to 21.6 million voters, with 3.5 million new additions.

However, Muntu insisted that the register contains inaccuracies. “We want the registers to start doing our own investigations before voting day.”

Referring to Kenya’s past elections, Muntu said biometric voter verification machines had been used to manipulate the voting process, hence the need for access to the voters’ register to ensure that results tallied at official centres reflect votes cast at polling stations.

“What they told me at the EC is that those machines operate offline and that they shall not be used to transmit results to the electoral commission tally centres, but our agents shall be relying on the Declaration of Results Forms (DR Forms),” he said.

Responding to the concerns, Mucunguzi said the increase in registered voters resulted from individuals who expressed interest in voting during the National Identification and Registration Authority registration exercise.

“There is no cause for alarm. The electoral commission will soon print out the new voters' register and inform all the candidates to come and pick their copies. Muntu came when they were not ready for picking, but they are available for all candidates, not Muntu alone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Justice Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission chairperson, dismissed claims by Kyagulanyi that opposition candidates had not received the voters’ register, saying presidential candidates were given soft copies immediately after nomination.

“This claim is entirely incorrect and misleading. The commission remains committed to conducting the 2026 general elections in a transparent, professional and credible manner,” Byabakama said.

Muntu’s call for the voters’ register forms part of his broader campaign for electoral transparency and accountability.

The former army commander has repeatedly raised concerns about voter intimidation and suppression, calling for peaceful and credible elections.