Government launches voter information platform 'Uchaguzi' ahead of general polls

The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance on Friday launched a voter information platform Uchaguzi in preparation for the forthcoming general elections.

This civic technology project is supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the electoral information was provided by the Electoral Commission.

The overall vision of the Uchaguzi platform is to ensure there is access to information on electoral and voter education and provide a civic education platform that will bridge the electoral knowledge gap.

It is chiefly designed to educate voters and sensitise citizens on the electoral process. It can be accessed using this link     www.Uchaguzi.go.ug

The Uchaguzi WhatsApp Elections Chatbot is an automated messaging service that will allow Ugandans to get answers to the most common questions about the general elections 24 hours a day.

All the information on the Chatbot will be syndicated across to the citizen’s app as well as social media to maintain consistency in the messaging.

Since WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging platform in the world, officials said, the impact this will have on the election will be enormous and can potentially cover as many as 15 million voters.

The Minister  of ICT and National Guidance, Judith Nabakooba said the Uchaguzi voter information application fulfils the mandate of the government in enabling access to information.

" It also supports Government Citizen Interaction Centre. It opens government Initiative which seeks to improve citizen's interaction and ease access to e-services,"she said.

She said the move will also support the electoral body efforts to educate citizens on the electoral process for the 2021 general elections.