KAMPALA – The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Finance, has released UGX 56 billion to the Electoral Commission (EC) to facilitate the long-awaited Local Council I and II, and Village Women Council elections.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The development was confirmed by Deputy Secretary to the Treasury Patrick Ocailap, who stated that the funds were transferred last Friday, June 12, paving the way for the electoral process to proceed after years of delay.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission is yet to confirm receipt of the funds and is scheduled to finalize the election roadmap and announce official dates.
The release comes as a relief to aspirants and citizens alike, as the terms of current LC I and II leaders expired on July 10, 2023, and have since been extended approximately six times through 180-day mandates.
The repeated extensions, while intended to prevent a governance vacuum, have raised concerns about the legality and legitimacy of local leadership operating beyond their mandate.
The election process had stalled primarily due to funding constraints, with the EC requiring approximately UGX 56–59 billion to conduct polls across the nation’s more than 70,000 villages and 10,700 parishes.
Parliament had previously approved a supplementary budget in April 2026 to facilitate the elections, and this latest disbursement, additionally supported by a UGX 1.1 trillion supplementary expenditure approval, brings those plans to fruition.
At the start of 2026, the former ICT Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi stated that the Cabinet approved a roadmap for the polls to take place between March and April 2026, which was also extended.
However, opposition party members have long warned that the delays weakened grassroots democracy and eroded public trust in local leaders tasked with dispute resolution, service oversight, and community representation.
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