STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION, ON THE EXTENSION OF THE GENERAL UPDATE OF THE NATIONAL VOTERS REGISTER.
On behalf of the Commission, I welcome you to this press conference, whose aim is to appraise the Country on the progress of the update exercise of the National Voters Register, which is supposed to conclude today, and also inform the public on the way forward.
On Monday, 20th January 2025, the Electoral Commission commenced the General Update Exercise of the National Voters Register and informed the country that today, Monday 10th February 2025, marks the conclusion of the said exercise.
The Update Exercise is conducted in compliance with Article 61 (1)(e) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, and Section 20 of the Electoral Commission Act (Cap 176).
As we have stated before, the purpose of the Update Exercise is to:
1. Enable eligible Ugandan citizens of 18 years and above, who are not yet registered as voters, to do so;
2. Enable registered voters who wish to transfer to new voting locations, to apply for such transfer;
3. Enable registered voters to check and confirm that their particulars are correct and appear on the Voters Register at the voting locations that they indicated during registration; and,
4. Enable students who were registered by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) while at school and have since attained the age of 18 years to present their particulars, that is, the National Identification Number (NIN), for updating and assignment of a polling station within their parish of residence or origin.
Since the commencement of the Update Exercise on 20th January, 2025, Members of the Commission, Management and staff have been in the field, in the different regions of the country, supervising the exercise, monitoring progress, listening to stakeholders, taking stock of emerging issues and getting a practical feel and appreciation of the challenges faced and the solutions being applied to address them—and to ultimately inform decision making.
From the field, we have noticed with satisfaction, the enthusiasm with which Ugandans have embraced the Update Exercise, and the support a wide range of stakeholders are providing to our staff to ensure the success of the Update Exercise of the National Voters Register.
I want to take this moment to also thank our staff in the field who are working tirelessly, every day from Monday to Monday, including on weekends, braving the sun and rain to execute the mandate of the Commission of registering voters and compiling the National Voters Register.
During this period, we have also interacted with, and received feedback from several stakeholders, including political leaders, the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, members of the press, civil society organizations, youth groups, and members of the public. These engagements and interactions have given us valuable information on the Update Exercise.
In the 21 days since the start of the exercise, commendable progress has been made in registering new voters, effecting transfers for those who wish to change their voting locations and facilitating those who come to check for the correctness of their particulars, both at the update centres and by visiting the Electoral Commission website (http://ec.or.ug/register).
However, we have also received reports and observed ourselves some challenges that have affected the pace of the Update Exercise, notably, the limited number of registration kits from NIRA and their occasional breakdowns due to old age. As we mentioned at the last Press Conference, the challenge of the kits has slowed down the pace of registration and update, causing delays in attending to people in a speedy way.
The Commission notes, as we already informed the country, that a limited number of kits obtained from NIRA were deployed in the Update Exercise for registration of voters on a rotational basis in order to reach would-be voters. To date, update centres throughout the country are still characterised by high numbers of applicants lining up to register as voters or updating their particulars. Cases of machine breakdowns slowing down the Update Exercise due to frequent malfunctioning have also been reported.
In spite of the challenges faced since the commencement of the update exercise, as of today, 361,432 new voters have been added to the National Voters Register while 292,021 applications for transfers have been made. This figure does not include the learners who were registered by NIRA and whose data is still being processed.
As you are aware, 18,103,603 (eighteen million one hundred and three thousand six hundred and three) voters were registered for the 2020/2021 General Elections. Since then, the Voters Register has been updated through voter registration exercises in electoral areas where the Commission has conducted Parliamentary and Local Government Council by-elections.
Further, the Voters Register has been continuously updated by extracting the voting particulars of citizens who have been registered by the NIRA and verified as citizens and have provided a preferred polling station (either parish of origin or parish of residence).
As of today, the National Voters Register stands at 19,925,574 (nineteen million nine hundred twenty-five thousand five hundred and seventy-four) voters.
As you may have heard, and been reporting, some key stakeholders in the electoral process have requested that more time be given to the Update Exercise for a comprehensive coverage of eligible citizens who should be registered for purposes of voting.
The Commission, taking into account its observations in the field and assessment, as well as appeals from stakeholders, among other reasons, has decided, therefore, to extend the Update Exercise for seven (7) days, starting Tuesday 11th and ending Monday 17th February 2025, after which there will be no further extension.
During the extension, the exercise will continue to be conducted at update stations starting from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, every day, including weekends.
Please note that the purpose of this extension is to provide an opportunity for eligible persons who have not been able to registered between 20th January 2025 and 10th February 2025 to do so. For emphasis, we wish inform the public to note the following;
a) This is not a fresh registration of voters but an exercise to enable Ugandan citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and above and who have not yet registered to do so, to participate in the elections;
b) A registered voter who wishes to transfer to new voting locations shall be able to do so during this period. Such a voter who wishes to transfer to a new voting location must present confirmation that he/she originates from or is, at the time of transfer application, a resident of the Parish of that (new) voting location. Such applicants should ensure they have details of their previous voting location;
c) The Commission has availed the National Voters’ Register for each polling station at the Update center in each parish, so that existing voters check and confirm their registration status, that is, whether their particulars are well-captured;
d) At the same time, registered voters can also verify their voting details from the Electoral Commission website: https://ec.or.ug/register.
It should be noted that during the ongoing Update Exercise, the National Voters Register is being updated and the statistics on voters are bound to change. The Commission will, therefore, issue subsequent statistics at key milestones of the 2025/2026 General Elections Roadmap; such as at the forthcoming Display Exercise of the National Voters Exercise slated for April-May 2025.
In conclusion, The Electoral Commission appeals to all eligible persons who are not yet registered as voters, and those who wish to apply for transfer of their voting locations to use the opportunity provided by this extension to do so to participate in the 2025/2026 General Elections.
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