Uganda sets March-April for long-awaited village and parish elections

• Local Council I (village) and II (parish) elections scheduled for March-April 2026.
• Elections conducted by lining up, covering 71,230 villages and 10,717 parishes.
• Minister Magyezi stresses elections ensure complete local governance before new government swearing-in.

The Minister of Local Government, Raphael Magyezi, has confirmed that the long-awaited Local Council I (village) and Local Council II (parish) elections will be held in March and April, ahead of the swearing-in of the new government in May.

“The government decided that this time we are going to have the elections. And the elections of these administrative units will take place in March and April, in any case, before the swearing-in of the term of office, or the swearing-in of the newly elected government, which is in May,” Magyezi said.

According to the Minister, the elections will be conducted by lining up, as stipulated under Section 123, Subsection 2 of the Local Government Act. He noted that the Electoral Commission will later provide specific dates, venues, and the list of registered voters for each polling station.

“The LCI or village becomes a polling station, but the venue and dates will be provided by the Electoral Commission. I’m talking about 71,230 villages and 10,717 parishes,” he explained.

Magyezi emphasized the importance of these elections in ensuring a complete governing structure.

“Without the LCI and LCII in place, the governing structure has a vacuum. His Excellency the President guided that at this time we should have all the elections in one electoral cycle,” he added.

The Minister also outlined the sequence of past elections under the current cycle: presidential and parliamentary elections, district and mayoral elections, and sub-county, town council, and division council elections. He confirmed that the next step is the election of village executive committees and parish chairpersons, completing the administrative structure from the grassroots to national government.

“These elections are key for full governance at the community level and ensure that every administrative unit has elected leadership,” Magyezi concluded.