Why Ugandans living abroad may not vote in 2026 elections
A woman casts her vote at Nabbingo Polling Station in Wakiso District during the 2021 elections. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Mr Muhindo said whereas Uganda has 38 embassies across the world, the embassies receive only a few Ugandan diaspora who have ventured to register.
Foreign Affairs ministry officials say Ugandans abroad are unlikely to vote in the 2026 polls unless government quickly forms a diaspora policy.
Mr Johnny Muhindo, the head of Diaspora Department in the ministry, said Uganda lags behind Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, which have policies, that simplify government’s approaches in handling diaspora issues.
He said the three countries have marked out their diasporas as one of their constituencies abroad.
Nonetheless, Mr Muhindo said: “The ministry has a draft diaspora policy, 2020, but it lacks several key elements. Since this policy will directly impact diaspora, they must actively participate in its formulation, providing direct input and taking ownership. We need to precisely identify where these individuals are located, who they are, and what skills they have gained during their time abroad.”
Mr Muhindo told Monitor in exclusive interview that the ministry estimates the number of Ugandans in the diaspora at 781,400 as of 2020. He said most of these are migrant workers.
“We need a diaspora policy to ensure this diaspora community feels they are genuine citizens of this country. This means they should be able to benefit from all the services provided such as access to national IDs, dual citizenship, and other programmes by the Ugandan government,’’ he said.
In 2020, Justice Ldyia Mugambe of the High Court in Kampala ruled that the Electoral commission must make arrangements for prisoners and Ugandan diaspora to vote, saying their continued disfranchisement was against the 1995 Constitution of Uganda.
Mr Muhindo said: “Currently, Ugandans abroad cannot vote because they lack national IDs and without these, they cannot acquire freehold land; instead, they have to lease because they are regarded as non-citizens.”
“The government is saying that by 2026, the diaspora should be able to vote, but the question is; which diaspora? Do we know exactly how many Ugandans are in the diaspora? Nobody can definitively claim to be aware of all Ugandans living in the diaspora. These diasporas also have no information on how to register and become voters, which is why mobilisation and sensitisation are urgently needed,” he said.
Mr Muhindo said whereas Uganda has 38 embassies across the world, the embassies receive only a few Ugandan diaspora who have ventured to register.
“We only hear about them when they have problems with the law or when they pass away. Our offices have been confronted on many occasions regarding Ugandans who die abroad, whom we are not aware of as a ministry because we don’t have any record of these individuals,” he said.
“We cannot take care of these individuals without a streamlined process or an instrument that enables us to address their problems. For example, if a Ugandan is killed overseas, what channels do we use to hold the perpetrator accountable? Do we have any legal instruments besides the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) we sign? Can you take legal action against an individual from an Arab country for killing a Ugandan abroad? There are currently no legal instruments in place,” Mr Muhindo added.
“Those people can treat our people the way they want, showing no respect. They can assign them any type of job and pay them any amount of money because there are no instruments that bind them because the government has not established guidelines on diaspora to protect these individuals.”
He urged the government to increase the budget to the Foreign Affairs ministry to enable them map and locate Ugandans living abroad.
Last week, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao said he is set to table before the cabinet a proposal to enable prisoners and Ugandans in the diaspora to vote in the 2026 and subsequent elections as directed by the High Court.
