Ugandans in diaspora locked out of national voters’ update

The general update of the national voters’ register has officially ended, with the Electoral commission (EC) ruling out another extension.

The exercise started on January 20, initially for 22 days, and was expected to end on February 10, before being extended by another week to February 17.

At the launch of the exercise in Kampala, EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, said the exercise was to give an opportunity to first-time Ugandan voters of 18 years and above to turn up at the various registration centres across the country and apply to register as voters.

It also aimed at giving opportunity to those who want to transfer their voting location from the previous polling station where they voted in 2021 to a new location where they are currently staying or where they come from.

However, the exercise was initially marred by a low turnout, lack of machines and sensitisation, limited number of registration kits and their breakdown, and lack of comprehensive sensitisation and apathy from the voters, among a raft of challenges.

During the seven-day extension, Justice Byabakama said their target was to register up to four million new voters.

Mr Julius Mucunguzi, the EC Spokesperson, says February 17 marked the end of the exercise which has also locked out several Ugandans in the diaspora.

“Ugandans in the diaspora, who are citizens and have been in the country, have been able to register and update their particulars because the law allows them to do so. The EC has, however, not been able to go abroad to register voters from there because there is no enabling law to that,” Mr Mucunguzi said on Monday.

He added: “The EC only acts when the law is in place, and once a law is put in place, the government provides the logistics and finances required to implement the law. The EC doesn’t keep a record of Ugandan citizens in the diaspora; that information is resident in the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).”

Asked if the EC plans to extend the exercise for the second time, Mr Mucunguzi said they have to cut off the exercise to be able to process the returns from the exercise, have a register for display as required by the law, and produce a register for use by stakeholders, including political parties.

“Remember, the first elections on the roadmap are of Special Interest Groups (youth, elderly, and Persons with Disabilities), whose nominations are going to be in June. The Commission is obligated to provide political parties with a clean register before that time.”

What next?

According to Mr Mucunguzi, the next step is to process the returns and make them ready for display.

“After the display of the outcomes of the update exercise which will be in April and May, a clean register will be made available.

“As the Commission has always stated, a credible National Voters Register is the foundation for a credible election. You can’t be a voter, candidate, agent or petitioner unless you are on the voters’ register,” Mr Mucunguzi said.

Adding: “The Commission appreciates the general public for coming out to support the exercise and to its staff at all levels for working in a “team no sleep” spirit every day from 8am to 6pm, with no weekends to ensure that no one is left behind.”

According to Justice Byabakama, at the time they started the registration, NIRA had received another 5,000 registration kits, but because of the strict timeline for the electoral process, the Commission could not wait for the NIRA officials to first configure the kits to carry out the voter registration. “You know we operate under a strict timeline and one activity leads to the other so we could not wait for them to program the kits because these are new machines. We had to continue with what we had and that’s what we are using in the meantime,” he told this publication on February 10.

During the initial 21 days, a total of 361,432 new voters and 292,021 applications for transfers were made.

In the last elections, a total of 18.1 million voters were registered. While the Commission had hoped to increase the numbers to 22 million voters, the figures fell short by the end of the initial registration day when the numbers only rose to 19.9 million voters. “The National Voters Register stands at 19,925,574.”

Last week, the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) Head of Media and Communications, Mr Faizo Muzeyi, rallied its party members countrywide to confirm their particulars or register during the update of the national voters’ exercise.

“It is a key activity that will make your decision matter in the 2025/2026 General Elections,” Mr Muzeyi said, adding that UPC has formally launched its national registration exercise of members at the grassroots across the country, starting with the Lango Sub-region, after which the team will proceed to Eastern, Central and Western Uganda.

“The Party appeals to all members to fully participate in this (registration of members) exercise and update their registration, while Party officials conducting this exercise are encouraged to be neutral and perform their duties diligently.

He added: “For members of the general public who would wish to officially become UPC members, now is the time to do so, including those who have not yet confirmed their particulars or registered in the ongoing general update of the voters’ register,” he added.

According to Muzeyi, these efforts, too, are geared toward preparations for the 2025/2026 General Elections.

The EC is established under Article 60 of the 1995 Constitution and is mandated under Article 61 of the same Constitution to conduct elections and referenda.

BACKGROUND

In June 2020, The High Court in Kampala ordered the government and the Electoral Commission to allow Ugandans in Diaspora and those in prison to participate in elections. Justice Lydia Mugambe issued the order based on a petition by lawyer Stephen Kalali. “Being a prisoner or in the diaspora does not take away one’s citizenship. It follows, therefore, that these statuses also do not take away the rights, like the right to vote, that results from one’s citizenship,’’ she said.