UHRC commends EC for a peaceful, secure elections despite string concerns.

The Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Hon. Mariam Wagadya has expressed gratitude to way Electoral Commission handled the general elections especially for the peace and security tat prevailed during elections country wide. 

“The Uganda Human Rights Commission congratulates Electoral Commission, all candidates, and the people of Uanda on the successful conclusion of the exercise” she said

Hon Wangadya however raised concerned that were experience by pockets in the electoral process with some candidates saying were mired with some violence between the security agencies, voters and some candidates and the limited number of agents of some candidates.

“Despite challenges observed, Ugandans were able to exercise their right to vote in the generally peaceful and secure environment. The UHRC will continue to engage stakeholders and issue further statements as the electoral process progresses” she said

She made the statement during a press conference held on Sunday 18th January 2026 at their head office in Kampala.

The URRC Chairperson made some preliminary recommendations to the electoral processes including: conducting training, testing of technology, allocation of funding towards voter education among others.

“The Electoral Commission should conduct comprehensive training and large-scale testing of all technologies prior to polling. A mandatory percentage of electoral financing should be allocated to voter education. Candidates’ agents should be permitted to verify voters on the manual register where digital verification is unavailable” she said

Commenting on conflicting reports regarding the opposition leader’s safety and freedom of movement, she said that UHRC has dispatched a team of officers to establish the circumstances surrounding the reported confinement of National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Bobi Wine, following the conclusion of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

She explained that the team had been instructed to seek direct engagement with Bobi Wine and assess the situation independently.

“I should inform you and the country that I have sent a team from our office to go and have an interaction with Bobi Wine. We hope that they will have access to him, and we hope that he too will agree to speak to them,” Wangadya said

The UHRC deployed over 121 observers, comprising of members of the commission and staff to 990 polling stations across 78 of Uganda’s 146 districts. Observation was conducted trough the commission’s 12 regional offices located across Uganda.