Barely a month into the presidential campaigns, civil society organisations under the National NGO Forum have called upon the government and security forces to provide a level playing field for the ongoing campaigns.
During a dialogue under the theme ‘Towards a Peaceful Election’, the CSOs said that while there is relative calm at the moment, if not handled carefully, the situation can easily degenerate into open confrontations.
Ms Mariam Wangadya, the chairperson of Uganda Human Rights Commission, said an election is not merely a calendar event, but is a mirror, which reflects the soul of a nation.
‘It reflects the nation’s maturity, nation’s anxieties, hopes, and ultimately the depth of the nation’s respect for human dignity,’ Ms Wangadya said.
She added: ‘And without trust, even a technically perfect election can feel illegitimate. As you all might know, elections are not upheld by ballot boxes. They are upheld by the belief that every citizen matters equally and that people can go to an election without fear.’
Ms Wangadya further said the commission will not stand during this period as simply as an observer, but as a constitutional guardian.
‘Our mandate is anchored in the conviction that every Ugandan, regardless of region, age, gender, ability, orientation, identity, belief, or status, must never feel invisible in their own country and democratic processes. Free and fair elections are not just about procedure. They are about rights, duties, responsibilities, and peaceful inclusion before, during, and after they vote,’ she said.
She said the commission has been and will continue to engage monthly with security heads, not to react to a crisis, but to prevent them.
She said the commission has conducted hotspot mapping nationwide to identify districts and communities most vulnerable to potential violence, misinformation, and rights violations in the context of the 2026 elections.
‘In August, we led a stakeholder review of Uganda’s Universal Periodic Review human rights commitments, ensuring that electoral actions remain aligned with international obligations. Our regional deployments are ongoing, working alongside security, local leaders, civil society organisations, and cultural institutions to reinforce preventive dialogue, not post-conflict response,’ she said.
She also said they have started adding real-time monitoring of the election environment, and ‘I can say confidently a peaceful 2026 is possible if all of us choose responsibility over recklessness.’
Speaking at the same dialogue, Mr Moses Isooba, the executive director of the National NGO Forum, said different actors must respect their line of duty and ensure that human rights are respected during the campaigns and after.
He said elections and human rights are not separate journeys, but on the same roads, and that you cannot reach one without walking the other.
‘A vote cast in fear is not a vote at all. A campaign silenced by violence is not a campaign. It is perhaps a surrender. When we speak of free and fair elections, we are speaking of dignity. When we speak of human rights, we are speaking of the very air that Democrats must breathe to survive,’ he said.
He said there are already a lot of positives to pick inspirations from, especially the ongoing presidential campaigns in many parts of the country have unfolded with a measure of calmness that must not be taken for granted.
The Electoral Commission chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, promised a clean election and cautioned that only voters verified through the scientific biometric system will be allowed to vote in the forthcoming general elections.
He said the commission has, in the past, grappled with the cases of multiple voting and that this time, this will not happen because the biometric machines will not give room for such to happen.
‘We are going to make some adjustments in the way elections are conducted at polling stations. We have acquired a new biometric voter verification system. The concept is almost similar to what we used in 2011-2016,’ Justice Byabakama said.
‘The difference now is that for you to be given a ballot paper, you must be biometrically identified and verified. If your thumbprint cannot be read, then your facial features will be used. We must make sure that every ballot issued to a voter is confirmed to have been issued to a verified voter, and that’s the ballot that will go into the box,’ Justice Byabakama added.