By Mulengera Reporters
The 2025/2026 General Elections Roadmap has formally entered its active phase with the commencement of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Committee elections, starting from the village level and scaling up to national representation.
To prepare for this significant electoral process, the Electoral Commission (EC) convened a National Stakeholders’ Workshop at Hotel Africana on Wednesday, bringing together key players from political parties, civil society, the media, security agencies, and SIGs themselves (namely Youth, Persons with Disabilities/PWDs, and Older Persons).
The workshop served as a national briefing and coordination platform aimed at deepening stakeholder understanding of their roles and responsibilities during this initial electoral phase.
The SIGs elections represent a constitutionally mandated effort under Article 32 of the 1995 Constitution to ensure affirmative action for marginalized groups through structured political representation and policy engagement.
The Electoral Commission has already concluded nominations for candidates vying for leadership roles in SIG Committees, a process that ran from Monday, 2nd June to Tuesday, 10th June 2025. These elections are now set to proceed across the country, beginning at the grassroots and progressing through parish, sub-county, district, and national levels.
The elected committees will serve several purposes, like selecting representatives for Local Government Councils and Parliament, monitoring and coordinating government programmes affecting their communities, and acting as liaison bodies between government and the groups they represent.
These elections are being guided by a revised electoral roadmap which was initially launched alongside the EC’s Strategic Plan in August 2023, and updated in July 2024.
According to the Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama,, several groundwork activities have already been implemented to facilitate a smooth election period.
These include the reorganization of polling stations to improve accessibility, demarcation of electoral areas for local councils, identification of PWDs on the National Voters Register, and recruitment of over 13,000 temporary electoral officials across sub-counties and parishes.
In addition, the EC has conducted a general update of the National Voters Register and special registers for SIGs, followed by a nationwide display exercise.
Stakeholder engagement and civic education have been ongoing, with the EC using both mainstream media and targeted community outreach to raise awareness. The Commission emphasized that a well-informed electorate and actively engaged stakeholders are essential to delivering a credible electoral process.
“This is not just a Commission exercise. The integrity of these elections depends on the collective commitment of all of us,” said Justice Simon Byabakama.
While urging stakeholders to maintain peaceful conduct throughout the electoral period, Byabakama highlighted the critical role these elections play in ensuring that underrepresented groups are not left behind in the governance process, further pointing out that participation in these elections feeds into the formation of electoral colleges that will determine representatives in Parliament and Local Government Councils under the SIGs structure.
Justice Byabakama noted that transparency, tolerance for divergent views, and respect for human rights will be crucial in strengthening public trust and safeguarding the integrity of Uganda’s elections.
The EC reiterated its commitment to professionalism and impartiality in the conduct of these elections, calling on all participants to uphold the same standards.
As Uganda moves toward its next General Elections, the SIGs elections represent not only a legal obligation but a foundation for inclusive governance. EC has called on all stakeholders to mobilize within their communities to encourage voter participation and adherence to electoral guidelines.
The full programme for the SIGs elections has been made publicly available on the EC’s official website and social media channels.
These elections mark the first concrete step in what will be a multi-year process culminating in the country’s general polls, and the Commission hopes the experience of the SIGs phase will shape public perception and readiness for what lies ahead. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
