The government has announced that long-delayed elections for Local Council (LC) 1 and LC 2 leaders will finally be held before the end of April 2026.
The announcement was made by Minister of State for Local Government Victoria Rusoke during a parliamentary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among on Thursday.
Rusoke told Members of Parliament that preparations for the elections had already begun and that districts had been informed about the upcoming polls.
“I want to confirm to this House that elections of LCs 1 and 2, and Women Councils were properly scheduled and this information has reached the districts,” Rusoke said.
Her statement came after concerns were raised by Keefa Kiwanuka, the Member of Parliament for Kiboga East County, who asked government to clearly state when the elections would take place.
Kiwanuka explained that different statements from government agencies had created confusion about the elections.
According to him, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Uganda, Simon Byabakama, had earlier said that funds for the elections had already been released.
However, he noted that the Ministry of Local Government later reported a funding gap of about Shs58 billion, while Cabinet had also indicated that the elections would take place in March and April.
“Can we have confirmation whether the money was released, and when exactly these elections will be held?” Kiwanuka asked.
He warned that continued delays in holding the polls had weakened local leadership structures.
“Whereas LC1 and LC2 systems are critical in implementing government programmes, we are now consistently relying on structures that were not recently elected,” he said.
Speaker Among also questioned why the elections had not taken place despite earlier reports that the funds had already been approved.
“We need confirmation if we are going to have elections.
If there is a shortage, it was approved by Cabinet.
Why are we not releasing that money?” she said.
The LC1 and LC2 elections have been delayed for several years due to funding challenges, legal reforms, and boundary issues.
The government now says the polls will finally be conducted before the end of April 2026.
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