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The Electoral Commission of Uganda projects that 22 million Ugandans will be registered to vote in the 2026 general elections, up from 18 million in 2021. This increase is attributed to the growing number of citizens reaching the voting age of 18. The update process for the National Voters Register will take place from January 3 to January 24, 2025.

The Electoral Commission projects the number of registered voters in the 2026 general elections to be at least 22 million. This will be an increase from 18 million that registered to vote in the 2021 polls.

The Commission Chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, says this is because the number of Ugandans turning the eligible voting age is rapidly increasing.

“People continue to grow and become 18 years and above. Now we are told those who are below 18 are almost 50%. By the time we come to 2026, some of these people will have turned 18. Since 2021, so many Ugandans have turned 18, and these therefore are eligible voters.

provided they express their interest and register as voters. So, the voting population is expected to go up. Actually, the projection is 22 or 24 [million]. Last time it was 18 million, now the projection is about 22 million,” said Byabakama in an interaction with the media recently.

According to the population census results released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in June, the country’s demographic profile remains youthful, with 50.5% of the population under 18 years old. The Youth (18–30 years) make 22.7%.

The Commission is optimistic that, prior to the conclusion of the update process for the National Voters Register ahead of the 2026 elections, all young Ugandans who have reached the age of 18 will have completed their voter registration.

According to the Commission roadmap for the 2026 general elections, update of the national voter register in each parish across the country will be conducted from 3rd January to 24th January 2025.

The increase in the number of voters will also trigger an increase in the number of polling stations.

“That means the number of polling stations will go up as well because, in our planning, we project that the polling station should not exceed 900 voters in the rural areas. In the urban centers where you have a big density of voters, [the polling station should not exceed] 1,200,” Byabakama said.

This, Justice Byabakama said, also explains the rise in the cost of elections.

“The rise in the electoral budget; some stakeholders are asking, your budgets keep going up, why? It’s because of these cost drivers. One of the things we have been pointing out, for instance, in 2021, what was the cost of a liter of fuel? What is the cost of fuel now? That drives the cost of elections.”

The projected cost for Uganda’s 2026 general elections is estimated to be 1.3 trillion shillings. This represents a significant increase of 60% compared to the 868 billion shillings that were spent on the previous elections held in 2021.

The Commission has realized an overall increase in the budget allocation from 53.38 billion shillings in FY 2016/17 to 671.618 billion in FY 2020/21. The increasing trend in the budget allocation topped in FY 2020/21 to fund General Elections of 2020/21.

The Commission resource enhancements have largely been in the form of supplementary funding to cater for by-elections and phased funding of the 2020/2021 General Elections Roadmap, thus a sharp increase in the budget for FY 2020/2021.

The total funding requirements for the 5 years, including the 2025/2026 general elections, are estimated at 2.54 trillion shillings.