Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Electoral Commission has confirmed that party primaries to select parliamentary flag bearers for the 2026 general elections will go ahead as scheduled on Thursday, July 17, despite concerns over incomplete voter registers in some parts of the country.
Addressing journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Kampala, NRM Electoral Commission chairperson Tanga Odoi reassured party members and candidates that the commission was ready for the vote.
He acknowledged existing logistical issues related to the registers but expressed confidence that these would be resolved in time.
“We still have a few in-house issues, but we believe that by Thursday all places will have the register,” Odoi said.
“Only registered members of the party will be allowed to vote.”
Primaries will take place in over 72,000 villages across Uganda, with voting scheduled to begin at 10am and end at 2pm.
In the Karamoja sub-region, where weather conditions can be unpredictable, voting will start earlier at 9am and end by 11am.
Recent speculation that the primaries could be postponed due to delayed register processing was flatly denied by Odoi, who maintained that the elections would proceed “come rain or shine.”
“We will vote—yes, the people are in the villages. Is the electoral commission prepared? Yes. We have documents that validate an election-ready process. DR [Declaration of Results] forms are ready, and our staff are ready to go,” he affirmed.
To curb electoral malpractice, the commission has printed and distributed specially coded declaration forms.
Each candidate is permitted to deploy no more than two agents per polling station to observe the vote and receive a copy of the results.
However, only district registrars will have the authority to officially declare winners.
“We shall take declaration forms from the villages, but the district registrars will be the ones declaring winners. If you tamper with any DR forms between the village and the district, you’ll be caught,” Odoi warned.
He further directed that voting must take place strictly at the village level, cautioning against any attempt to transport voters across locations.
With just days left to the polls, some party members remain uneasy over the readiness of the electoral process.
However, the commission says registers are already being dispatched, and all essential election materials, including ballots and forms, are in place.
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