The Judiciary has announced that for the first time in Uganda’s history, Presidential Election Petitions will now be filed electronically, allowing petitioners and lawyers to upload documents from anywhere in the country.
The introduction of the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS) in filing and handling presidential election petitions digitally was announced on Monday during a high-level training for Supreme Court Justices on Electoral Disputes Management in Jinja City.
The training, organised by the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), brought together Justices of the Supreme Court, the Electoral Commission, the Attorney General’s Chambers, Uganda Law Society, private practitioners, Information Technology (IT) specialists, and experts from Kenya, Zambia and Malawi.
‘Presidential petitions may come and we must be ready,’ Justice Mike Chibita, the Chairperson of the JTI Governing Council said.
Justice Chibita disclosed that the judiciary must be prepared for any outcome of next year’s presidential election.
‘There are new Justices on the Supreme Court who have never heard a presidential petition before. Even those of us who handled the previous one still have something to learn, especially now that filing will be electronic,’ Justice Chibita noted.
According to him, the electronic system will significantly cut costs, improve efficiency, and eliminate the need for bulky box files.
‘Instead of bringing seven copies in pickups full of documents, you scan once and upload. You can file even at night from home. The system is open 24/7,’ he added before assuring court users of data security, noting that the Judiciary has a full IT department working ‘day and night’ to protect confidential information.
‘We have a Principle Information Technology Officer and a Principle Information Management Officer, and their teams ensure there are no hackers and documents only reach authorized persons,” he said.
According to the judiciary, the system’s permissions are role-based, ensuring lawyers cannot assign themselves judges or hearing dates.
He argued that although rolling out the electronic system is expensive, the Judiciary is expanding it gradually.
The Judiciary’s Principle Information Management Officer, Mr Joseph Sinabulya, assured participants that the system will remain functional in the event of an internet shutdown.
‘We have a dedicated line to the National Data Centre. Even without the internet, courts can still access the system,’ Mr Sinabulya said, adding that users outside court premises would need to come physically if national internet access is restricted.
Electoral Case Management System was first rolled out on March 1, 2022 and has since been used to support a wide range of court processes.
‘It has supported many court matters since then, but this will be the first time it is applied to a presidential election petition, which only comes once every five years,’ Mr Sinabulya said.
Officially opening the training, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo emphasised the Supreme Court’s constitutional obligation under Article 104 to hear and determine Presidential Election Petitions as a court of first and final stage.
He reminded the Justices that this mandate, which no other institution in Uganda carries, demands the highest level of readiness, integrity and discipline.
‘The Supreme Court carries a solemn constitutional responsibility. Presidential petitions compress time, attract immense public scrutiny and raise deep questions of legitimacy. We must ensure that our preparedness matches the weight of our mandate,’ Justice Dollo said.
Justice Dollo added that the country is moving into a period that will test institutional capacity at the highest level.
‘Uganda is heading into an important constitutional moment. These petitions come with their own challenges, very tight timelines, high public attention, and key questions about the legitimacy of the election,’ he said.
He reflected on lessons drawn from previous presidential petitions, noting how they have shaped the Court’s evolving approach.
‘In 2001, the key concerns included the failure to publish polling stations and persistent problems with voters’ registers. By 2016, the challenges had expanded to irregularities involving technology, delays in delivering voting materials, media bias, pre-ticking of ballots, and the misuse of state resources,” he said.
He explained that the Court’s approach has changed over the years from focusing mainly on technicalities to looking at the entire electoral environment.
‘An election petition should not only check whether the law was followed,’ he said, ‘but also whether the environment allowed people to freely and fairly express their will.’
As Uganda prepares for the January 15, 2026, presidential election, the Judiciary’s move to electronic filing marks a historic step in improving transparency, efficiency, and readiness for election disputes.