EC Stands for Electoral Commission
Frequently Asked Questions
The function of EC are:
1. Organising, conducting and supervising various elections and referenda;
2. Compiling, maintaining, revising and updating:
a) The National Voters’ Register on a continuous basis
b) The various registers for Special Interest Groups
3. Producing and issuing voters’ cards;
4. Compiling and updating the various Voters’ Registers for Special Interest Groups and Administrative units;
5. Developing effective civic education programmes related to elections;
6. Reviewing all electoral laws in order to come up with appropriate recommendations on amendments;
7. Recruiting qualified personnel and training them in the management of elections;
8. Hearing and determining election complaints arising before and during polling; and
9. Demarcating of constituencies and electoral areas.
The commission is made up of 7 persons a chairperson, deputy vice person and 5 Commissioners
The National Returning Officer of Uganda is the Chairperson of Electoral Commission
All Registered Ugandan. In Uganda, all citizens of 18 years and above are eligible to register on the National Voters' Register.
The Electoral Commission has offices in all districts of Uganda, where registration takes place. Registration is done at the district headquarters by the Commissions' District Registrars.
The Commission also registers people at its head office in Kampala.
Eligible voters can register from either their place of residence or place of origin.
Note: Eligible voters should not register more than once. It is a punishable crime if one is found to have registered more than once!
The Electoral Commission uses the Photo-bearing register. This means that only people whose photos have been taken by the Commission can be sure that they have been registered.
Therefore it is very important during display periods to go to the Voter Roll/Register display centres where you registered from and Check to see that you are on the register. If you are not launch your query through the display officer with the details of your registration.
There is also an online link http://www.ec.or.ug/register which you can use to check for your registration details
Organizing an election or referendum is not just an event rather it is a process. This means that before any electoral activity starts, there is need for a lot of planning, budgeting and research, which takes a lot of time and resources. The Electoral Commission assesses and evaluates the cost and other implications of all the available options and presents them to government. So during the off-peak periods, the Commission does a lot of planning.
There are activities that are not pegged on elections, and will go on even when there are no elections. Key among such activities is continuous voter registration. The Commission has Registrars in all districts in Uganda, who register eligible voters at the district and Parish levels. Once the pictures and bio data of such eligible voters are captured, they are forwarded to the head office for integrating into the national database (photo-bearing register).
The Commission also conducts by-elections, in places where vacancies may occur. A by-election may occur when the holder of the office dies, resigns, or when a court of law nullifies the election result. A vacancy can occur at any time, and the Commission is required by law to organize a by-election, hence the need for a high level of preparedness.