By Esther Oluka
Since Uganda’s Electoral Commission (EC) announced that it would deploy a revamped Biometric Voter Verification Kit (BVVK) system as part of its digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the January 2026 general elections, several prominent voices have questioned the decision to use the equipment and its system.
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Nandala Mafabi told his supporters that the system could disenfranchise voters, Common Man’s Party presidential candidate Mubarak Munyagwa said it could be used for vote rigging, Democratic Front president Mathias Mpuuga asked the EC to clarify the legal basis for implementing the BVVK system, and information officers from various government entities raised data protection concerns. On the other hand, the EC insists that the BVVK machines will contribute to a fair and free 2026 election.
In a bid to calm the public’s fears of Ugandans querying the efficiency of the biometric machines, the EC organised a mock public demonstration at its headquarters on Seventh Street in the Kampala City Industrial Area on December 17, 2025, to show how the BVVK system will work during the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
The EC technical team took charge of the mock demonstration while other Commission officials chipped in from time to time to explain the theoretical workings of BVVK.
The EC deputy chairperson, Aisha Lubega, reassured the public that the machines will ensure the one-vote principle is adhered to to the letter.
“The system will ensure that only registered voters vote during elections and that such persons do not vote more than once, for the same election, hence helping the Commission achieve a one-man, one-woman vote principle,” she said.
On his part, the EC spokesperson, Julius Mucunguzi, added that the biometric machines will subsequently eliminate the possibility of imported ballot papers, as any found will be rejected by them.
The machines verify both the voter and ballot papers used during the voting process.
There are 109,142 biometric machines to be deployed at 50,739 polling stations countrywide during the 2026 presidential and parliamentary elections. The national voters’ register, on the other hand, has about 21.6 million voters. However, the EC says the machines are sufficient since they verify each voter and ballot within 30 to 60 seconds.
How the BVVK Works
A singular biometric voter machine comprises the equipment used at the polling stations and the central management system managed by EC staff outside the polling stations.
On voting day, January 15, 2026, the process will commence by assigning biometric machines to designated polling stations, which will be done by scanning the Quick Response (QR) code on the voters’ register. Then, the specifics of the polling station will appear on the biometric machine.
The BVVK operator [who will support the verification of voters] and the polling station’s presiding officer will scan their original National Identification Card (IDs) or Voter Location Slips (VLS) before verifying either their fingerprints or facial features, a process required to be able to log into the machine.
The next stage will involve scanning each QR code on the ballot paper booklets for the categories of President, Member of Parliament (MP), and District Woman Member of Parliament.
“Scanning enables the machine to recognise that these ballot papers are of [that designated] polling station,” said Solomon Muhumuza, the director of technical services at the EC, during the demonstration.
This procedure will be followed by verification of the ten witnesses who observe and approve the start of the voting process, as required by law. The witnesses, who are voters themselves, will be verified by a BVVK operator who will scan their voter’s National ID, or VLS, or scan the QR Code against their name on the voters’ register.
Once their details match those of the designated polling station, the witnesses cast their votes, followed by other registered voters waiting.
“It is still the same process. The BVVK operator will scan the voter’s National ID, or VLS, or scan the QR Code against their name on the national voters’ register,” Mr Muhumuza said.
If the confirmation process is successful, the machine’s automated voice says, “success.” The voter will subsequently be given three ballot papers to cast their vote to choose their preferred leaders [President, MP, and District Woman MP]
Once all the polling processes have been concluded, Mr Muhumuza said they will scan all the ballot papers that were cast.
“This is to identify if there are any ballot papers that would have come in and we are not aware of,” Muhumuza said while elaborating that the biometric machine easily identifies foreign ballot papers and alerts a BVVK operator of its existence.
Verifying each voter using the biometric machine takes about a minute, Mr Muhumuza said, adding that every polling station will have two biometric machines with their respective power banks.
“These do not need internet [to work],” he said, as a response to worried voters who have always questioned how the machines will work in case there is an internet interruption on election day.
To ensure that the machines work seamlessly by ensuring that every voter goes through the process, the Commission said it has averaged all polling stations to about 600 voters, who will vote from 7 am to 4 pm.
Voters have been urged to find out their polling stations before voting day, as the BVVK machine will reject their credentials at undesignated locations, with the affected individuals getting turned away. The BVVK machine, EC officials said, will help some of these affected parties locate their rightful voting polling stations.
Voters’ Views
Menterprise Africa spoke to some registered voters, many of whom said the EC should have done enough sensitisation to educate voters about the nitty-gritties of biometrics technology, which will play an important role in picking its next leaders.
“There is less awareness about the kits, so the polling agents may encounter challenges, but, if the awareness can be done between now and January 15th, then the gadgets will be embraced by the voters,” said Patrick Mungi Kato, the students’ lead of the Green Book Agenda at Mountains of the Moon University and a registered voter.
Another registered voter, Shillah Kyasiimire, who works with the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA), said the EC has not undertaken sufficient on-the-ground preparation to educate voters about the technology.
“I don’t think the Electoral Commission has prepared enough to teach voters how to use these machines. I feel that we are not yet ready to use these machines in the process of voting,” Ms Kyasiimire said.
In response, Muhumuza said BVVK operators have already been recruited to support voter verification during the election period from January 8 to January 10, 2026. They will be trained through practical lessons on how to operate the devices.
Lingering Doubts
Despite the EC’s declaration that all is set for election day, some election observers remain unconvinced. The Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) in Uganda, Sarah Bireete, wonders whether these biometric machines will really work following failed attempts during the 2021 and 2016 elections. The machines were discarded at the last minute during the two elections due to technical glitches and logistical challenges.
Some of these were raised as concerns in an election petition filed by then presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi, a former prime minister, who challenged the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni on February 18, 2016. In his petition before the Supreme Court, Mbabazi faulted the EC on different election matters, including the use of unreliable BVVK machines.
And as part of its recommendations, the Supreme Court suggested the enactment of a law to regulate the use of technology in the conduct and management of elections, something Bireete said has not been implemented to-date.
“There is no current accountability in the use of this technology during elections, leaving voters at the mercy of the Electoral Commission on election day,” she said.
Drawing on her experience as an observer of the 2016 and 2021 elections, the Executive Director of the Electoral Laws and Governance Institute (ELGI), Charity Ahimbisibwe, said there was a high failure rate in the use of biometric machines during those two election years.
“In 2016, the failure rates of the BVVK machines was at 68 per cent of the polling stations that we observed and in 2021, the failure rates of the BVVK machines was at 58 per cent of the polling stations we observed,” Ahimbisibwe, further arguing that issues of transparency have been swept under the rug, with inadequate sensitisation having been conducted among the masses.
However, EC officials say the lessons they learned from previous elections have been incorporated into improving the current BVVK machines. Consequently, the officials are confident that the machines will serve their purpose this time around.
Utility: A step-by-step guide on how the biometric machines will be used on Thursday, January 15, 2026
Step 1: The biometric machines will be assigned to the polling station by scanning the QR code of the national voters’ register.
Step 2: The BVVK operator and presiding officer will scan their original National IDs or VLS before verifying their fingerprints or facial features, a process that is mandatory so that they can access and use the biometric machines.
Step 3: The BVVK operator will then scan each ballot paper booklet’s QR code to identify the categories to be voted on at the polling station. This is important so that the machine recognises the ballot papers during the voting process.
Step 4: The operators then proceed to assign the 10 witnesses whose details must appear in the voters’ register. Assignment is done by scanning their original National IDs, or VLS, or scanning the QR Code against their name on the voter’s register before proceeding to take the biometrics of their fingerprints or facial features. Once the verification of witnesses is done, voting starts. Witnesses are also voters. Once their details match those of the designated polling station, the witnesses cast their votes, followed by other waiting registered voters.
Step 5: A voter is verified using their National ID, VLS, or the QR code located against their name on the voters’ register. Once this stage has been confirmed as “success” by the machine, the voter will then be given three ballot papers to cast their vote. Information of verified voters and that on scanned ballot papers is stored under different databases on the machine to ensure the secrecy of the vote. And for ruined ballot papers, they are scanned for cancellation before a voter is given another fresh one.
Step 6: A post-evaluation ballot verification is then conducted. The polling assistants will pour out the ballot papers, one category at a time. The biometric machine will be used to scan every ballot to detect any stuffed ballots, those that did not originate from a particular polling station. The other materials that will be verified, using the biometric machine, are the Results Declaration (DR) forms and the Accountability of Ballot Papers (ABP). Afterwards, the two documents are filled out, and a photograph is taken of each and uploaded to the machine, which is thereafter closed.
Step 7: Finally, the DR forms will be scanned into an Election Results Transmission and Dissemination System on EC’s private network. It will be able to transmit the results from the district tally centres to the national tally centre.
[Source: Electoral Commission]
This story was produced with support from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
