A consignment of 60,000 biometric voter verification machines arrived in the country on Monday, marking a major step in preparations for Uganda’s January 15, 2026, General Election. Justice Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson, who led officials to receive the equipment, said the machines will verify voters using fingerprints and facial recognition, particularly for those whose fingerprints cannot be captured. The consignment, part of 109,142 units procured from Simi Valley Company, is expected to enhance the credibility of the 2026 polls.
Justice Byabakama said each polling station will receive two machines to ensure efficiency and reduce disruptions such as those experienced in 2016 and 2021.
‘The new devices are designed to function efficiently even under difficult conditions. We are going to embark on extensive training and voter education to ensure both polling officials and the public understand how the kit works,’ he said, adding that the remaining units will arrive in the country by the end of November.
How the machines work
The EC will demonstrate how the biometric machines work at a later date, but according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), biometrics involves ‘the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioural characteristics, especially as a means of verifying and identifying an individual.’ These characteristics include fingerprints, palm prints, iris and retina scans, voice patterns, and DNA profiles.
When applied in elections, biometric voter registration and ID systems help detect duplicate registrants, confirm voter identity and eligibility, and prevent multiple voting or identity theft. Uganda first applied biometric verification during the 2016 polls, using the Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVS) to authenticate voters via fingerprints. The national voter register was compiled using biometric data extracted from the National Identification and Registration Authority (Nira).
However, that initial rollout was marred by an Internet outage on polling day, forcing officials to revert to manual verification. Justice Byabakama said lessons from previous challenges informed the latest procurement.’In areas with limited access to electricity, these machines have a power bank which will keep them on, and we procured two per polling station, so in case one breaks down, the other continues to be used and the voting continues,’ he said.
Timing questioned
The procurement comes amid renewed debate over electoral integrity. Some political actors have linked the move to persistent allegations of vote rigging in past elections. President Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the National Unity Platform (NUP) rigged the 2021 elections. Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony for the late Gen Aronda Nyakayirima in Kampala on September 12 last year, Mr Museveni accused NUP of stealing up to one million of his votes.
He did not provide evidence but challenged NUP to take him to court. Mr Museveni was announced as the winner of the 2021 elections with 6.01 million votes against NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi’s 3.6 million. However, in Buganda Sub-region, Mr Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, defeated the incumbent by 614,677 votes, garnering 1,453,535 votes to Mr Museveni’s 838,858. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) also lost several parliamentary seats.
The NUP victory made it the largest Opposition party in Parliament with 57 MPs. Mr Museveni later repeated his claims in March this year after NUP’s Elias Nalukoola defeated the NRM’s Faridah Nambi in the Kawempe North by-election. The President directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to probe alleged ballot stuffing and result manipulation.
While addressing a religious event at Kololo on May 25, Mr Museveni insisted that voting should be halted wherever biometric machines fail. Political players and analysts have questioned the timing of the EC’s procurement of the machines, and the short window for testing and training. Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) spokesperson John Kikonyogo said the machines should have been acquired much earlier.
‘Some of us did study engineering, so we know how machines misbehave. That is why we needed these machines to be procured early and even used as pilot studies in the by-elections we had, like in Kawempe North,’ he said. ‘But as we speak, we don’t know how the machine works, how many people it can handle in a minute, yet some polling stations have more than 900 voters,’ he added Dr Juma Kakuba Sultan, a lecturer of Political Science at Kyambogo University, acknowledged that technology enhances credibility but warned about operational lapses.
‘The use of technology is important since it helps in ensuring accuracy and people do not question the election results. But since we saw some faulty machines in previous elections, we needed to understand the efficiency and effectiveness of these and the competency of the people who are going to use them, so I doubt they will deliver a credible election,’ he said.
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) secretary general Fred Ebil said his party supports technology that promotes transparency but is concerned about implementation. ‘UPC welcomes any initiative that aims at eliminating vote rigging that has undermined the credibility of the elections, but our concerns are in areas where there is poor Internet and no electricity,’ he said.
EC defends the rollout
EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi dismissed concerns about timing, saying three months is sufficient for training and deployment. ‘The Commission believes the three months are enough to train its staff, who will use these machines, so there is no need to worry. We shall roll out a massive media campaign and teach Ugandans how these machines work, and I want to assure the country that they will be deployed and work effectively,’ he said.
The procurement coincides with Parliament’s pending debate on proposed amendments to the Electoral Commission Act. Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has proposed changes to Section 12(1) to formally authorise the EC’s use of biometric systems in managing elections. Mr Mao told this publication in July that his proposal is part of broader electoral reforms aimed at eliminating ballot stuffing, ghost voters, and double voting.
‘We have been using these biometric machines in previous elections, but the only change coming is to make it compulsory, and in these amendments, we shall leave no option of excluding the biometric verification,’ he said. ‘The committee chaired by [Kinkizi East MP and ICT minister] Dr Chris Baryomunsi will soon report to the Cabinet, and then we will go to Parliament,’ he added. Mr Mao said the new law will create offences for election officials who preside over discrepancies between ballot counts and biometric records.
The EC maintains that the new biometric voter registration and verification systems will streamline the electoral process, reduce fraud, and ensure every registered voter can cast their ballot once – and only once. By linking biometric voter data to each individual’s unique fingerprints and facial features, the system will allow faster verification and help eliminate duplicate registrations, thereby improving the integrity of Uganda’s elections. Justice Byabakama said the Commission’s goal is to make the 2026 elections more transparent and efficient.
BACKGROUND
In the 2021 General Election, the Electoral Commission deployed the Biometric Voter Verification Systemto to identify voters at polling stations. However, the system encountered widespread technical and logistical challenges on polling day. Many machines failed to start or froze midway, forcing presiding officers to revert to manual voter verification. In several districts, especially rural areas, polling opened late because devices could not connect to the network or recognise fingerprints. The Electoral Commission attributed the failures to a nationwide Internet shutdown ordered for ‘security reasons.’