The independent Uganda Electoral Commission has started the countdown to the 2026 General Elections by commencing the exercise of issuing Voter Location Slips (VLS) to voters across the country and also demonstrating to stakeholders, including the media, how the Biometric Voter Verification System (BVVS) will operate.
“The Electoral Commission has commenced the exercise of issuing Voter Location Slips (VLS) to voters across the country to enable them to conveniently locate their respective polling stations on polling day. The issuance exercise commenced on 15th December 2025, and will be concluded on 13th January 2026,” said Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, at a briefing of stakeholders.
He said the VLS will be issued at each parish or ward across the country, as per the schedule issued by the respective area supervisor.
The VLS is a response by the Electoral Commission to complaints raised in the past elections, where some voters reported difficulty in locating their polling stations. It bears the particulars of a voter, namely: photograph, names, date of birth, and location (district/city, constituency, sub county, parish, and polling station).
The VLS also bears a unique barcode which will be read by the Biometric Voter Verification machines which will be deployed at all polling stations across the country.
“I wish to emphasise that this Voter location slip (VLS) is free of charge and should only be picked up by the voter in person from the Parish/Ward Supervisor who is an employee of the Commission. Voters are further advised to carefully secure their Voter Location Slips, so that the barcode is not tampered with and please note that only a person whose particulars appear on the Polling Day Register will be issued a VLS during this issuance exercise,” the EC boss said.
Byabakama revealed that the Electoral Commission has acquired 109,142 Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVK) which will be deployed for the 2025/2026 General Elections as a measure aimed at improving the management and conduct of elections through authentication of voter identity.
“The BVVK basically uses fingerprints and facial recognition to match voter details, which will help the presiding officer to confirm the identity of the voter as being the one on the voters register of that particular polling station,” he said.
He added that the system will enable the Commission to ensure that only registered persons vote during the elections and that such persons do not vote more than once for the same election.
The Commission is currently training officials who will operate the kits during the elections, from the national level to the polling station level.
The BVVK has been demonstrated this week to stakeholders, including media and Members of Parliament.
“The Electoral Commission appeals to Ugandans to embrace the BVVK in our upcoming elections as it is intended to improve the quality and integrity of the electoral process. The Commission assures the voters of the secrecy of their votes as no one can tell who another voted for,” said teh EC Boss Byabakama.
