Uganda’s Electoral Commission has placed biometric voter verification at the centre of preparations for the 2026 General Elections, unveiling a nationwide rollout of technology designed to authenticate voters and protect the integrity of the ballot.
Speaking during an update on the election roadmap, Chairperson of Electoral Commission Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon said the Commission has acquired 109,142 Biometric Voter Verification Kits to be deployed at polling stations across the country during the 2025–2026 election cycle.
The kits use fingerprint and facial recognition technology to confirm voter identity against the register at each polling station. The system is intended to ensure that only registered voters cast ballots and that no voter votes more than once, reinforcing the one-person-one-vote principle.
“The technology will help us prevent multiple voting, impersonation and other electoral malpractices,” Byabakama said, noting that the Commission is training election officials at all levels to operate the equipment.
As part of efforts to build public confidence, the Commission has begun public demonstrations of the Biometric Voter Verification System. The demonstrations aim to familiarise stakeholders with polling-day procedures, explain how voters will be identified and verified, and clarify safeguards built into the system.
Alongside the biometric rollout, the Commission has started issuing Voter Location Slips to registered voters nationwide. The exercise, which runs from December 15, 2025, to January 13, 2026, is intended to help voters easily locate their polling stations on election day.
Each slip contains a voter’s photograph, personal details and polling location, as well as a unique barcode that will be scanned by the biometric machines at polling stations. The Commission said the slips respond to past complaints from voters who struggled to find their polling stations.
The Electoral Commission has also adjusted polling dates for elections of representatives of Special Interest Groups at parliamentary and local government levels to allow members to participate fully in both universal adult suffrage and their respective electoral college elections. The Commission stressed that all other election dates remain unchanged.
Byabakama urged voters to collect their Voter Location Slips in person from parish or ward supervisors and to keep them secure to avoid damage to the barcode.
He said the combined use of biometric verification and voter location slips is expected to enhance transparency, efficiency and credibility as Uganda moves closer to the 2026 General Elections.