KAMPALA. The Electoral Commission has released a roadmap for village, parish and women council elections, setting the stage for the filling of 503,068 local leadership positions across Uganda.
Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, said the elections will cover LC1 chairpersons, LC2 chairpersons, local council committees and women council structures from village to national level.
The positions include 71,214 LC1 chairpersons and more than 12,000 LC2 chairpersons.
For women’s council committees, each of the 71,214 villages will elect five officials. These are the chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, publicity secretary and finance secretary.
This means 356,070 women will be elected to village women committee positions countrywide.
“The EC is going to fill 503,068 offices for LC1, LC2, and women’s council committees from village to national level,” Justice Byabakama said.
Roadmap Runs From July to August
Justice Byabakama released the election roadmap on Monday, June 22, 2026.
The programme will run from July 6 to August 10. The key activities include registration, display of registers, nominations, campaigns and polling.
“The EC has issued comprehensive guidelines to enable stakeholders to participate in the entire electoral programme, which is progressive in nature, that is, from the village to the parish (in the case of administrative units) and from village to national level, in the case of women councils and committees,” Justice Byabakama said.
“The EC, therefore, urges all aspiring candidates and stakeholders to acquaint themselves with the relevant laws and guidelines to appreciate their respective roles and responsibilities before, during and after these elections,” he added.
The government last week released Shs56b to support the LC elections. The process was reactivated in February after former Local Government minister Raphael Magyezi announced the return of the polls.
Voter Registration to Start on July 6
The roadmap will begin with the compilation of village and women’s registers from July 6 to July 10.
Village election officials appointed by the Electoral Commission will conduct the registration.
Justice Byabakama said a person must meet several requirements to appear on the Village Council General Register.
“A person must fulfil the following requirements for them to be registered in the Village Council (General) Register – be a citizen of Uganda, who is ordinarily resident in the Village of registration, 18 years and above at the time of registration, and must be willing to be a member of the Village Council,” he said.
For the village women’s council register, a person must be female, Ugandan, aged 18 years or above and ordinarily resident in the village of registration.
“A person appearing for registration shall be required to provide the following particulars to the Village Election Official: Names, National ID card, National ID number or National ID Application Number; Age, Gender; and Village of Residence,” Justice Byabakama said.
The display of the village register will take place from July 13 to July 14.
Nominations for the five village women committee positions will then run from July 15 to July 19.
Village Women Committee Polls Set for July 23
Justice Byabakama said the Electoral Commission has appointed Thursday, July 23, 2026, as polling day for village women committees.
“The Commission has appointed Thursday, July 23, 2026, as the polling day for the election of village women committees, which comprises five members. Polling shall take place in a public/open place within the village and shall be by lining up behind the nominated candidates or their representatives or their portraits or symbols, in accordance with Section 11(2) of the National Women Councils Act, CAP 113,” he said.
The voting method will therefore follow the lining-up system.
The EC said polling will take place in public or open spaces within the villages.
LC1 Campaigns to Run for Eight Days
Candidates for LC1 chairperson will campaign from July 20 to July 27.
Justice Byabakama said campaign meetings and public rallies must take place only between 7am and 6pm.
“The campaign meetings or public rallies shall be conducted only within the stipulated time, that is, from 7am until 6pm on each of the campaign days. The campaigns will take place and be limited to within the village of the candidates. No candidate is allowed to hold physical campaigns outside or beyond his or her village,” he said.
Polling for LC1 chairpersons will take place on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Justice Byabakama said each village will serve as a polling station for the election.
“Polling for the election of village (LC I) chairperson will take place on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in the 71,214 villages where the position is contested, throughout Uganda. Please note that for the purpose of this election, each village is a polling station. Voting will be conducted in a public/open place within the village, and shall start at 7am and end at 4pm,” he said.
The EC roadmap for LC2 chairpersons will run from July 29 to August 10.
Political Parties React to Roadmap
The roadmap drew mixed reactions from political parties.
Ms Rosemary Nansubuga Seninde, the National Resistance Movement director of mobilisation, cadre identification, recruitment and placement, said the ruling party was ready.
“As a party, we have always been prepared because we already have an established structure which will enable us to win the polls with a landslide,” she said.
Mr Fred Ebil, the Uganda Peoples Congress secretary general, also expressed confidence.
“Internally, we had released our own roadmap for elections from village chairperson to district level, and as I speak, our candidates are only waiting for the EC to release a roadmap and we hit the road running,” he said.
However, the National Unity Platform raised concerns over the political environment.
Mr David Lewis Rubongoya, the NUP secretary general, said the elections come amid challenges affecting opposition mobilisation.
“We have seen abductions, torture, and other challenges like clamping down on our finances; all these affect the election. Even the July period given by the EC is too short, but we shall do our best to win the polls,” he said.
Ms Alice Alaso, the acting national coordinator of the Alliance for National Transformation, said the EC should engage political parties directly.
“As ANT, we are waiting for that roadmap so that we start the process because the EC has, for a long time, been announcing these polls only for them to cancel. The EC should start engaging us directly instead of us hearing about them on social media,” she said.
EC Urges Parties to Choose Flag Bearers
Justice Byabakama asked political parties and organisations to start their internal processes early.
“The EC appeals to all political parties and organisations to study this electoral programme and undertake the necessary preparations, including the election of flag bearers, in time to comply with the guidelines and requirements for each level for this electoral process,” he said.
Polls Return After Repeated Delays
The LC1 and LC2 elections have been postponed several times due to funding constraints.
Uganda last held the polls in 2018. Before that, the previous elections had been held in 2001.
After the terms expired, the EC planned to hold fresh elections in 2023. However, funding challenges delayed the process.
With Cabinet and parliamentary backing, Mr Magyezi extended the terms of LC1 and LC2 chairpersons six times.
The extensions came in July and December 2023, June and December 2024, June 2025, and the latest extension.
The extensions were issued through statutory instruments under the Local Government Act.
However, repeated delays drew concern from legal experts and opposition figures. They questioned the legality of office bearers’ actions and warned about the effect on grassroots democracy.
Justice Byabakama said the EC recognised the long wait.
“We know that this programme has been long awaited, and we want to appreciate Ugandans for the patience you have exhibited up to now. I also thank the government for ensuring the mandate of the holders of the LC positions has been kept alive in accordance with the relevant laws to ensure there is no leadership vacuum at any given time,” he said.