The African Union (AU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announce the arrival in Uganda of the election observation mission (AU-COMESA-IGAD EOM) to the 15 January 2026 General Elections. This Mission is at the invitation of the Government and the Electoral Commission of Uganda.
The AU-COMESA-IGAD EOM is led by H.E Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Republic of Nigeria and assisted by Amb. Shemsudin Ahmed Roble, a member of the COMESA Committee of Elders and Commander Abebe Muluneh Beyene from IGAD. The Mission comprises 84 Short-Term Observers (STOs) drawn from ambassadors accredited to the AU, officials of election management bodies, members of civil society organisations, election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts and representatives of youth organisations.
The observers are drawn from Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The observers will be deployed to all regions of Uganda where they will observe the election day procedures including the opening of polls, voting, closing and the counting processes at the polling stations.
The AU-COMESA-IGAD EOM will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in Uganda and the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the standards and obligations stipulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), the IGAD Draft Protocol on Democracy, Governance and Elections and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation, among others.
The Mission shall interact with state authorities, including, the Electoral Commission of Uganda, political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community based in Uganda and other election observation missions.
The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its overall findings and assessment of the conduct of the elections on 17 January 2026 at a Press Conference in Kampala. A final and comprehensive report will be issued within one month from the date of the announcement of final election results.
Muzinge Nampito (Ms): AU-COMESA-IGAD EOM | Corporate Communications | COMESA Secretariat | Email: MNampito@comesa.int