EC reschedules LC I polls in over 1,100 villages after election disruptions

What the report says

The Observer reported that Uganda’s Electoral Commission has ordered fresh polling in 1,135 villages after disruptions affected Tuesday’s Local Council I elections. EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi told journalists on Wednesday that voting had been completed in 70,079 of the country’s 71,214 villages, which the commission put at a 98.4 percent completion rate.

According to the report, the affected villages experienced problems including violence, interference by residents, destruction of election materials and voters’ registers, disputes over village registers, and complaints from people whose names were missing. Byabakama said the overall exercise was largely peaceful and well attended, but acknowledged serious incidents in some areas. He also said the EC had received reports that some officials allowed people not listed on registers to vote using national identity cards, a practice he said was not authorised.

The commission said some repeat polls were already held on Wednesday, while others will take place after disputes are resolved. In villages where registers were destroyed, fresh voter registration is scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 30, 2026, with polling set for Saturday, August 1. Villages where registers survived but voting was disrupted are also due to vote on August 1. Separate arrangements were announced for villages where nominated candidates died, depending on whether one or more candidates remain.

Byabakama said election petitions had been received, though he did not give a number, and that claims of collusion by some election officials would be investigated. The LCI polls, Uganda’s first nationwide village-level elections since 2018, use the queue-voting method to choose village chairpersons, the lowest elected leaders in the local government structure.