Written By | BK Mugizi
Local Government minister Rafael Magezi
Search
The Ministry of Local Government has announced that elections for administrative units — LC1, LC2 and Women Councils — will be held next month, with voting to be conducted by lining up in more than 70,000 villages across the country.
The Minister of Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, confirmed that the polls will take place in March.
“We are going to have them in March, next month. We met, and the President directed us on Monday,” Mr Magyezi said. He added that the Electoral Commission is ready to conduct the elections in accordance with the Local Governments Act.
According to Mr Magyezi, the elected LC1 chairperson will nominate an executive committee of 10 members to be approved by the village council, which comprises residents aged 18 and above who are registered in the voters’ register. The village council will approve the executive by a show of hands. The executive members will then join other representatives to constitute the parish council.
The exercise will coincide with the Women Council elections.
“We expect that by the time we go for swearing-in in May, we will have concluded the entire electoral cycle,” Mr Magyezi said.
He explained that the objective is to complete the electoral process before the presidential swearing-in ceremony in May to avoid midterm general elections that could disrupt government programmes.
“The objective of these elections is to ensure that there will be no another general election midterm, so that the government can settle down and focus on service delivery and implementation of the manifesto,” he said.
The government has previously extended the mandates of LC1 and LC2 officials due to budget constraints. However, Mr Magyezi expressed optimism that this time the elections will proceed as planned.
“I’m really happy that this time around, we do not have to postpone or extend the LC term for another six months,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama, said efforts are underway to secure the necessary funding. He noted that meetings have been held with the Minister and the Prime Minister to finalise arrangements.
“The government said we want to conclude these election processes at once,” Justice Byabakama said.
He added that the Commission is reviewing the budget, which had previously been listed as an unfunded activity in the 2025/2026 financial year.
Justice Byabakama assured the public that the Commission will announce the official election dates in due course.
