The Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday night received a consignment of 193 sealed pallets containing more than 21.6 million presidential ballot papers ahead of the January 2026 General Election.
The ballots, which shall be cast on January 15, 2026, arrived at Entebbe International Airport on December 24 at around 9 pm aboard a chartered plane from Dubai. There are more than 21.6 million voters registered by the EC for the forthcoming polls.
EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama said that the arrival of the ballot papers is a great milestone and shows his commission’s readiness to organise the presidential, parliamentary, and local government polls.
‘Today we received the presidential ballot papers, and tomorrow, we shall receive the ones of Parliamentary.,’ Justice Bybakama said on Wednesday night.
There are eight presidential candidates, all representing different political parties. They include: Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Nathan Nandala Mafabi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Maj Gen (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), and Mubarak Munyagwa of the Common Man’s Party.
Others are: Frank Bulira Kabinga of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP), incumbent Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Elton John Mabirizi of the Conservative Party, and Robert Kasibante of the National Peasants Party (NPP).
The EC nominated 83,597 candidates to contest in 45,505 positions in presidential, parliamentary, and local government polls. More than 2,000 of these are in parliamentary candidates, eight are presidential and the rest are contestants for local government positions.
“We are moving these materials immediately to our designated warehouses,’ Justice Byabakama said, adding that the ballots will be stored under strict security arrangements. He emphasised that safeguarding the materials from the point of arrival through to polling day remains a top priority for the commission.
Addressing public concerns about the volume of ballot papers printed, the EC Chairperson clarified that the number exceeds the 21.6 million citizens currently on the national voters’ register by design. The surplus, he explained, is a legal requirement intended to ensure a smooth voting process.
By printing additional ballots, the commission aims to eliminate the risk of voters being turned away because of simple clerical or manual errors, thereby protecting the right of all registered Ugandans to participate in the democratic process.
As the representatives of Mr Museveni wholeheartedly welcomed the arrival of the ballots, his counterparts from ANT and NPP expressed reservations.
Mr Nelson Agaba from ANT said, ‘We asked the Commission to go with us to witness the printing and the arrival, but they only invited us to witness the arrival.’