The Electoral Commission has extended the deadline for new voters to register to February 17.
The exercise was supposed to conclude today but in a statement, Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, noted that appeals from various stakeholders and observations by some field staff had necessitated the move.
“During the extension, the exercise will continue to be conducted at update stations starting 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 register between 20th January 2025 and 10th February 2025 to do so,” Byabakama said.
He described the exercise as successful noting that as of today, 361,432 new voters have been added to the national voters register while 292,021 applications for transfers have been made. He said the total number of registered voters now stands at 19,925,574 (nineteen million nine hundred twenty-five thousand five hundred and seventy-four).
“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,” he said.
However, he said, EC had received reports and observed 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.
Who can participate in the exercise?
- Eligible Ugandan citizens of 18 years and above, who are not yet registered as voters, to do so;
- Voters who wish to transfer to new voting locations, to apply for such transfer;
- Registered voters who want 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,
- 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.
