Julius Mucunguzi, Electoral Commission’s Head of Public Relations and Spokesperson
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Electoral Commission of Uganda has conducted several regional stakeholder workshops in preparation for the general update of the national voters register.
Conducted on January 10, 2025, the workshops took place across different regions, led by Commissioners and senior management staff of the Electoral Commission.
According to Press Statement from the Electoral Commission, the general update of the national voter’s register is scheduled to commence on January 20, 2025, and will end on February 10, 2025.
It emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement in ensuring a credible and transparent electoral process.
The workshops were aimed at bringing on board key stakeholders, including their ideas, opinions, concerns, and views, to ensure the success and impact of the general update exercise.
Julius Mucunguzi, the Head of Public Relations and Spokesperson of the Electoral Commission, said the training was supposed to lay ground for the update of the voter’s register.
“The exercise is critical. The national voters register is the bedrock of credible elections,” he said, adding that the process requires the participation and input of all stakeholders.
“We are conducting these regional workshops to ensure that all stakeholders are informed and engaged in the process.”
Mucunguzi added that updating of the register determines who can vote, be a candidate, or participate in the electoral process.
“The Electoral Commission is committed to ensuring that the electoral process is inclusive, transparent, and credible. Therefore, it is essential that we get the process of updating the register right,” he noted, adding that a free, fair, credible, and transparent election is a responsibility of all stakeholders.
Update exercise
Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, the Chairperson, Electoral Commission urged students of 18 years and above to take advantage and register or update their particulars during this exercise before they return to school.
Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, the Chairperson, Electoral Commission
“We additionally appeal to all stakeholders in the electoral process to participate in the general update exercise, following the guidelines that will be issued for the exercise,” he said in a statement dated Tuesday, December 24, 2024.
He said the update exercise will be conducted at update stations throughout Uganda, starting from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, on each of the appointed dates, including weekends.
The purpose of the update exercise is to:
- Enable eligible Ugandan citizens of 18 years and above, who are not yet registered as voters, to do so;
- Enable registered voters who wish to transfer to new voting locations, to apply for such transfer;
- 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,
- Enable students who were registered by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) 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.
