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2026 polls: Electoral Commission names nomination, poll dates
What you need to know:
- The Commission is set to commence the demarcation of electoral areas for the 2025-2026 local government council elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has unveiled the revised electoral roadmap, outlining the timelines for nominations and the conduct of national polls ahead of the 2026 elections.
According to the roadmap, the general polls for the presidential, parliamentary, and Local Governments will be held between January 12 and February 9, 2026, with nominations scheduled from September 17, 2023 to October 3, 2025, for all elective positions.
The Commission also announced the demarcation and reorganisation of polling stations.
A total of 1.9 million positions will be contested in the General Election, with an additional 485,475 positions for women’s councils.
Furthermore, 940,000 positions will be available for administrative units, bringing the total number of elective positions to 3.3 million, up from 2.9 million in the previous elections.
EC chairperson, justice Simon Byabakama appears at Parliament in 2023. PHOTO/FILE
During the launch, Justice Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission chairperson, stated that the process is being implemented under Article 181 of the Constitution, which mandates the Commission to demarcate electoral areas for the Local Council elections to form local Government councils.
Byabakama emphasised that these efforts aim to ensure the smooth conduct of the 2026 general elections.
“The Commission, in compliance with the Local Government Act, is set to commence the demarcation of electoral areas for the 2025-2026 local government council elections. This exercise aims to clearly define the areas of representation for directly elected councillors, women councillors, and councillors representing special interest groups,” Justice Byabakama explained. He noted that while the demarcation should have been completed, it was postponed due to issues beyond the Commission’s control.
The demarcation will occur in cities and districts where administrative units were created after the 2021 elections.
Regarding the reorganisation of polling stations, Justice Byabakama explained that the exercise aims to ensure manageable voter numbers per station and easy accessibility, including adequate spacing.
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The creation of new administrative units necessitated the reorganisation after the 2021 elections and an increase in the voter population.
The reorganisation will involve shifting, renaming, creating, and merging polling stations to reduce distance to stations, reduce overcrowding, cater for newly created parishes, and relocate to more appropriate venues. The number of polling stations is expected to increase from 34,000 to over 40,000, an addition of more than 6,000 stations.
Additionally, the Electoral Commission has revised the population quotas for local council units across the country. For instance, for an area to qualify as a sub-county or town/municipal division, it must have a population of 30,000. For Kampala Capital City Authority and other cities, the population quota has been raised from 50,000 to 100,000 to qualify as a city division.
A city division or municipality now requires a minimum population of 15,000 forward status, up from 6,000, while a parish must have a minimum of 12,000 people, up from 10,000. Town councils and municipal wards have also seen their minimum population requirements raised from 3,000 to 7,000.
KEY DATES
1) Nomination of village Special Interest Group Committee Candidates, June 2, 2025.
2) Nomination of parliamentary candidates, latest by September 17, 2025.
3) Nomination of local council candidates, latest by the third week of September 2025.
4) Nomination of presidential candidates to end by October 3, 2025.
5) Campaigns to commence on the second week of October 2025.
Resignation of public officers who want to contest for election;
6) Local government positions, Saturday, August 2, 2025
7) Presidential candidates, Wednesday, October 1, 2025
8) Parliamentary candidates, Friday, June 13, 2025.
9) An updated National Voter Register to be ready by end of May 2025.
9) Display of voters register between April 18, 2025 and May 8, 2025.
10) Poling period for presidential, parliamentary and local councils starts Monday, January 12, 2026 and ends on Monday February 9, 2026.
