Bill on electoral reforms before Cabinet, says Mao

KAMPALA - The Bill that seeks to reform the country’s electoral laws ahead of the 2026 general election has been tabled before Cabinet for consideration, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, has said. 

He told New Vision Monday (April 7) that one of the “most important reforms” is making biometric identification of voters mandatory at polling stations. 

“Cabinet has the Bill for consideration to make the Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVS) mandatory. That is the most important reform. We will keep updating you,” Mao said before hanging up. 

The BVVS is aimed at improving the integrity of the electoral process through authentication of voter identity and the Electoral Commission (EC) has been using it since 2016. 

However, where the biometric machines would fail to work, the EC would revert to the national voters’ register to identify voters, and those in the register would be allowed to cast their vote. 

The system uses fingerprints to match voter details, which helps the election officer to confirm that the voter is on the roll at that particular polling station. 

The Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, said his office has been supporting Mao’s team to fine-tune some of the proposed amendments to existing electoral laws. 

“There were several amendments, including those that are administrative, those that are creating offences, and those that are structural. But I need to know what they have now come up with. The person who is taking the lead on that is the minister of justice [Mao],” he said.

Proposed reforms 

• Making biometric identification of voters mandatory at polling stations 

• Restoring two five-year term limits for the president and imposing the same for Members of Parliament on affirmative action tickets such as women and workers’ representatives 

• Proportional representation and public vetting of appointees to the Cabinet, Electoral Commission and court

Byabakama on BVVS 

While appearing before the legal and parliamentary affairs committee on Thursday, EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama assured lawmakers that the BVVS would be employed in the 2026 general election. 

“I want to assure you that we shall have a biometric system, depending on what the law will say. The proposal is that we make it mandatory, but that will have to be enshrined in the law. Because the current legal framework says the current Electoral Commission may use technology. That’s why we have been using a voter verification machine or kit at every polling station since 2016,” he said. 

The aforementioned system employs unique biological traits such as fingerprints, facial recognition and, in some instances, iris scans. The technology is designed to eliminate ghost voters, multiple voting and ensure that only registered voters can participate in an election. 

In this context, it would mean that voters would be mandated to authenticate their identity before they are allowed to cast their votes. 

Byabakama noted that the 36,000 rugged tablets they received from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics to facilitate the process were found to be technologically inefficient, with many retaining power for only seven hours even when not in use. 

This, he said, now necessitates the EC to procure their own biometric kits to ensure a smooth process.

Dr Sarah Bireete, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, said they have waited for the reforms for a long time.

Details of reforms 

In September last year, Mao offered a sneak peek into a draft of constitutional and electoral reforms he was set to present to Cabinet. 

He told New Vision that the reforms included restoring two five-year term limits for the president and imposing the same for MPs on affirmative action tickets such as women and workers’ representatives. 

They also included proportional representation and public vetting of appointees to the Cabinet, EC and court. 

Mao said no one is opposed to the restoration of presidential term limits in the Constitution, which were removed in 2005. 

“No one is opposed to it. It had been approved [by the 10th Parliament]; it’s the [Constitutional] court which threw it out [in July 2018],” he said. 

By the majority judgement, the Constitutional Court declared as null and void the amendment to the Constitution restoring the presidential term limits and upheld the one of removing the age limit. 

On imposing term limits on MPs under affirmative action, which experts say has been successful in terms of creating a platform for women in leadership and education, Mao said the 1995 Constitution already caters for it. 

“It is built in the Constitution. The Constitution says every 10 years, we should be reviewing provisions that provide for affirmative action,” Mao said. 

As the Constitution becomes 30 years old this year, Mao called on Ugandans to pick lessons. 

The minister, who is also the president of the Democratic Party (DP), said they do not even need to think too much about the issue of term limits. 

“We just have to listen to Ugandans and I think Ugandans have made it very clear,” he said. 

On the appointment of the EC and judicial officers, Mao said the bottom line is subjecting these officials to scrutiny to solve “a lot of problems”.

The minister also believes citizens want to have more to say on those who are appointed to public offices. 

“It has its risks because there are people who may come with malicious reports and ruin people’s characters and so on, but also it will force people who feel that the public scrutiny will disqualify them to politely decline the nomination,” he noted.

Mao argued that Uganda has very good laws. “What we need is to focus more on a culture of constitutionalism so that we respect the laws and they are enforced without fear or favour.” 

However, Byabakama has since warned against any amendment to the existing electoral laws ahead of the 2026 elections, saying it would have financial implications. 

The ministerial policy statement for the 2025/26 fiscal year presented before Parliament last Thursday showed that the EC has been allocated sh594.9b, leaving a funding gap of sh179.7b

NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu said EC should not be appointed by an individual.

What stakeholders say 

Wilfred Niwagaba, the Ndorwa East MP and shadow Attorney General, laughed off the proposal to make biometric identification of voters mandatory. 

“You can’t call that an electoral reform. Just get to know that the Government has never had the will to have reforms that are meaningful. I can only tell the political actors to prepare to participate in the 2026 elections based on the current existing law,” he said. 

His Kira Municipality counterpart, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, however, welcomed some of the proposed reforms. 

“The proposals are good, but they don’t deal with governance issues. You need the goodwill of the incumbent [President Yoweri Museveni] and his team. So, I welcome those proposals and I hope Museveni will embrace them,” he said. 

Ssemujju argued that the framers of the Constitution captured the spirit of term limits by way of a preamble, adding that it was made to address a history “characterised by political and constitutional instability”. 

Dr Sarah Bireete, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, said they have waited for the reforms for a long time. 

“Honourable Mao has been saying the Bill is before Cabinet for the last one year. Why are they telling the public things they are unable to implement? So, it is a lack of political will. Even when the EC [officials] appeared before Parliament [last week]; you would see that there is no serious preparedness for elections because there is no voter education,” she said. 

Prof. Mwabutsya Ndebesa, a political historian, said the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is likely to agree to restoration of presidential term limits. 

“I think that is the view of NRM; to restore term limits of 10 years and I think it had mooted that idea when it wanted to trade it off with the removal of the age limit in 2017 because it would not disrupt President Museveni’s wish to remain in power,” he said.

Robert Kyagulanyi 

National Unity Platform party president Robert Kyagulanyi last week said the main electoral reform needed is to ensure that the Electoral Commission leadership is not appointed by a single individual.

“Without that reform, all other electoral reforms are useless,” he said while appearing on a local TV talk-show on April 1.