The National Unity Platform (NUP) has demanded an immediate audit and clean-up of the National Voters Register, citing widespread and systemic voter duplication ahead of the January 15 general elections.
In a letter dated December 31, 2025, addressed to Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, the opposition party alleges that tens of thousands of voters appear more than once on the register, raising serious concerns about the integrity, accuracy, and credibility of the electoral roll.
The complaint, signed by NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, follows a December 28 statement by the EC dismissing claims of voter register manipulation as isolated incidents. “Contrary to the Commission’s claims, the irregularities identified are neither isolated nor speculative,” Rubongoya wrote, stating that the party had documented more than 1,500 cases of duplicate registrations in Kampala Central Division alone.
According to NUP, an analysis of the tentative voters register issued to its presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, following his nomination in September 2025, revealed duplicate entries bearing identical personal details, including names, gender, dates of birth, villages, and parishes, with differences only in voter numbers or, in some cases, polling stations.
“By application of logic, probability, data integrity standards, or any stretch of imagination, such entries cannot reasonably be explained as distinct individuals,” the letter states.
NUP further challenges the EC’s reliance on privacy laws to justify withholding details or downplaying the alleged irregularities, arguing that public interest must prevail where electoral integrity is at stake. The party cites Article 43(1) of the 1995 Constitution, which limits the exercise of individual rights where such exercise prejudices the public interest.
“Where credible evidence points to systemic irregularities, the public interest in a transparent and credible electoral process outweighs selective invocation of privacy laws,” Rubongoya said, warning that failure to act could render the elections legally indefensible. Under Articles 60 and 61 of the Constitution, as well as the Electoral Commission Act, the EC is mandated to compile, maintain, revise, and update the National Voters Register.
While the Commission has repeatedly assured the public that the Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVS) will safeguard the vote on polling day, NUP has dismissed those assurances as insufficient.
“Biometric verification may mitigate some risks, but it cannot cure foundational flaws in a compromised National Voters Register,” the party said, warning that reliance on a flawed register would undermine the credibility of the entire electoral process.
The EC has stated that it has procured 109,142 Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVKs), all of which have been delivered, and that it has conducted nationwide mock trials involving journalists, political candidates, Members of Parliament, and ordinary voters.
According to Commission data, 21,681,491 voters are registered for the 2026 elections, comprising 47 per cent men and 53 per cent women. The EC has also confirmed that ballot papers for both presidential and parliamentary races have already arrived, and that 83,597 candidates have been nominated to contest 45,505 elective positions.
Polling is scheduled to take place between January 15 and February 6, 2026, across 146 districts nationwide. The dispute unfolds amid heightened political tension ahead of the polls, which are expected to pit long-serving President Yoweri Museveni against Kyagulanyi and other challengers.
Uganda’s past elections, particularly the 2021 polls, which were marred by violence, arrests, and internet shutdowns, have drawn sustained domestic and international scrutiny, placing renewed focus on the credibility of the voters’ register.
NUP is now demanding an immediate, transparent, and independent audit of the register, including the deletion of all duplicated and multiply registered voters before polling day.
By the time of publication, the Electoral Commission had not publicly responded to the specific allegations, although its registry stamp confirms receipt of the complaint on December 31, 2025.
****URN****