Sarah Bireete, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG), has expressed concern over declining public confidence in Uganda’s electoral process, warning that it threatens the legitimacy of elected leaders.
Speaking on NBS Frontline on Thursday, Bireete emphasized that elections exist to enable citizens to exercise their sovereign right to choose their leaders.
She noted that when the electorate loses trust in the integrity and transparency of the process, the authority of those elected becomes questionable.
"Elections are organised for the people to exercise their sovereign right in choosing who should govern them. When the citizens have no confidence in the process, it affects the legitimacy of the leaders who will go through," she said.
Bireete highlighted that only about 50% of registered voters currently participate, describing voter turnout as a key indicator of how genuinely leaders derive their mandate.
"We have a turn up of about 50% of registered voters. This helps to measure the extent to which elected leaders draw their mandate," she said.
She further warned that this election cycle marks the first time in years without meaningful voter education, leaving citizens ill-prepared to make informed decisions and undermining confidence in the process.
"This is the first election where we don't see meaningful voter education going on," Bireete said, stressing the importance of civic education, particularly with the introduction of Biometric Voter Verification Kits.