The Electoral Commission (EC) has extended the national voter registration exercise by seven days up to February 17, 2025.
The decision follows widespread appeals from political players and other stakeholders who raised concerns over challenges affecting the process.
While addressing the media on Monday afternoon, EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama cited the limited number of registration kits from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) as a major hindrance to the exercise.
He noted that the shortage of kits, coupled with frequent breakdowns due to old age, had slowed down the registration process.
“We have also received reports and observed some challenges that have affected the pace of the update exercise, notably, the limited number of registration kits from NIRA and their occasional breakdowns due to old age,” Byabakama said.
“As we mentioned in our last press conference, the challenge of the kits has slowed down the pace of registration and update, causing delays in attending to people in a speedy way.”
He further explained that due to the limited number of kits, the EC had to deploy them on a rotational basis across different update centers to ensure wider coverage.
However, despite these efforts, long queues of applicants seeking to register as voters or update their details have been reported nationwide.
“As of today, 361,432 new voters have been added to the National Voters Register, while 292,021 applications for transfers have been made,” Byabakama revealed.
He also noted that these figures do not include learners who were registered by NIRA, as their data is still being processed.
The Electoral Commission urged all unregistered citizens to take advantage of this period to ensure they participate in the upcoming elections.
Byabakama reaffirmed the EC’s commitment to ensuring an inclusive and transparent electoral process, despite the challenges encountered.
He called upon stakeholders to support the exercise and work together to address the remaining bottlenecks.
