The Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) has assured African states that it will conduct free and fair elections in 2026 with utmost transparency and neutrality.

This was revealed during the end of the Electoral Integrity Africa Summit at the Onomo Hotel, with the aim of enhancing the integrity of elections across the continent.

During the summit, Dr. Simba Ssali Kayunga, a Commissioner at EC, stressed the importance of voter education to avoid voter turnout decline, which is a major challenge world-wide.

“It’s not only in Africa where voter turn-up is a challenge; it is all over the world, including in the developed countries, and this could be attributed to frustrations as a result of unfulfilled promises by the politicians,” Dr. Kayunga said.

In attendance, the European representative, Gilliam Charitrain, noted that integrity is a key component in holding a free and fair election.

“When we speak of integrity in elections, we are actually talking about transparency, neutrality, unfair media coverage, voter’s bribery, and commercialization of elections. These are some of the key aspects observed as major setbacks for a free and fair election in Africa,” Charitrain said.

The chief executive officer of the Alliance for Financial Monitoring (ACFIM), Henry Muguzi, revealed that the summit marked a significant step in addressing the challenges facing Africa’s electoral processes.

“This summit builds on a series of critical dialogues on democracy and electoral integrity,” Muguzi said.

The Electoral Integrity Africa Summit emphasizes the importance of democracy, neutrality, transparency in African elections, and other stakeholders.