The Electoral Commission (EC) chairman, Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, has announced the extension of the voter’s registration update by seven more days to allow more eligible Ugandans to register and update their details ahead of the 2025/2026 General Elections.
The exercise, which was meant to be closed today, January 10, 2025, will now continue from Tuesday, February 11, to Monday, February 17, 2025, running daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, including weekends.
Speaking to the media, Byabakama explained that the main motive behind this extension was to address various issues and observations, including an appeal from stakeholders.
“The Commission, taking into account its observations in the field and assessment, as well as appeals from stakeholders, has decided to extend the update exercise for seven days. After this period, there will be no further extension,” Byabakama stated.
However, he emphasized that this is not a fresh registration of voters, but rather an exercise geared at enabling Ugandan citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and above, who have never registered as voters, to do so in order to participate in the 2026 general elections.
Since the adoption of the timeline for the exercise, several issues and challenges have been raised by different stakeholders, including MPs, who argued that the deadline should be extended, citing inconsistencies in the exercise, including Electoral Commission officials refusing to register people with National IDs, lack of network in some areas, and inadequate kits.
Byabakama appealed to the public to use this final extension, emphasizing that no further deadlines will be granted. He urged all eligible Ugandans to seize this opportunity and ensure they are ready to participate in the upcoming elections.
“The National Voters Register is being updated, and statistics on voters are bound to change. The Commission will continue to issue updates at key milestones of the 2025/2026 General Elections Roadmap,” he said.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has reported significant progress in the General Update Exercise of the National Voters Register, with 361,432 new voters added and 292,021 applications for transfer processed since the exercise began on January 20, 2025.
This brings the total number of registered voters in Uganda to 19,925,574 as of February 10, 2025.
The next critical phase in the electoral process will be the display of the National Voters Register, scheduled for April-May 2025.
