The increasing commercialisation of Uganda’s politics has impacted on the quality of leaders we have in the country and sparked electoral violence, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Simon Byabakama has said.
Byabakama, addressing a media breakfast meeting, said there needs to be laws to regulate campaign financing in Uganda.
“Why has democracy become a commodity for sale? We need a law that compels candidates to state sources of campaign funds and how they plan to spend the money. What happened to these proposals?” Byabakama queried.
He said the EC is concerned about the commercialization of elections in Uganda, which he said often leads to violence.
Byabakama noted that in 2021, the National Consultative Forum came up with a draft law to regulate campaign financing but this legislation was not taken up by Parliament.
He emphasized the importance of peaceful elections, highlighting that elections are a constitutional right.
Byabakama said they had made adjustments in the 2026 election roadmap following delays in release of funds from government to facilitate EC activities, which will affect some of their processes.
