KAMPALA. The Electoral Commission (EC) is seeking a supplementary budget of Shs469.5 billion to support critical preparatory activities for Uganda’s January 2026 general elections.
The needed money is for purchasing of upgraded biometric verification equipment and the management of an expanded polling station network.
The request was presented Monday by Richard Kamugisha, Acting Secretary to the Commission, during an appearance before Parliament’s Budget Committee, where he defended the supplementary schedule and outlined the Commission’s urgent financial needs.
According to documents submitted to the committee, the total supplementary financing requirement stands at Shs469.5 billion, on the assumption that an earlier allocation of Shs53.8 billion for the Biometric Voter Verification Kit (BVVK) system is approved.
Biometric technology tops budget needs
The largest expenditure item is Shs268.387 billion, which the Commission intends to use to acquire an improved Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVK).
This system will feature enhanced capabilities intended for real-time voter verification on polling day.
The EC said the investment is necessary because the existing equipment is outdated and cannot support the expanded technological demands of the 2026 elections.
The Commission is also requesting Shs19.603 billion for a new national de-duplication system, which will identify and remove multiple entries of the same individual from the voters’ register.
This system is required under the mandatory biometric verification process and is considered essential for cleaning the register ahead of the polls.
Expanded polling stations
The supplementary request is significantly influenced by the recent decision to split and create 15,256 additional polling stations, increasing the national total from 38,315 to 53,571.
This expansion introduces higher expenses for polling officials, logistics, and statutory publication requirements.
The EC estimates Shs1.197 billion for the splitting exercise, Shs2.4 billion for gazetting new polling stations, and Shs1.2 billion to publish polling station locations in the newspapers so that voters know where they are expected to cast their ballots.
Other operational requirements include Shs3.6 billion for printing additional National Voters Registers and voter location slips, Shs73.3 billion for increased payments to polling officials whose numbers have risen, Shs3.23 billion for their welfare, Shs6.3 billion for the Electronic Results Transmission and Dissemination System (ERTDS), and Shs185 million for producing more polling officials’ handbooks.
Kamugisha told MPs that these costs are unavoidable if the Commission is to conduct a credible national election and meet legal and technological obligations.
The Budget Committee is expected to continue scrutinising the request before making its recommendations to Parliament. Some MPs have already demanded clarity on the rising costs and questioned whether the new technology represents sustainable long-term election management.
The EC maintains that failure to secure the supplementary allocation could undermine core election functions, particularly voter verification, polling station administration, and the secure transmission of results.