On 15 January 2026, the Republic of Uganda held General Elections to elect the President and Members of Parliament. In line with its mandate to promote democracy, peace, and good governance among its Member States, and following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Uganda, the African Union (AU), in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) deployed an election observation Mission from 7 to 19 January 2026. Prior to the deployment of the Mission, the AU and COMESA undertook Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PAM) from 17 to 21 November 2025.
The AU–COMESA–IGAD EOM was led by H.E. Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, assisted by Ambassador Shemsudin Ahmed Roble, Member of the COMESA Committee of Elders, and Commander Abebe Muluneh Beyene, Director of Peace and Security, representing IGAD. The Mission comprised of 84 Short-Term Observers (STOs) including ambassadors accredited to the African Union, officials of election management bodies, civil society organisations, election experts, academics, human rights practitioners, gender and media specialists, and youth representatives. The observers were drawn from 27 African countries namely; Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe representing all the five regions of the AU.
The joint Mission’s objectives were to; (a) assess the extent to which the electoral process complied with national laws, AU principles, norms, and international obligations; (b) determine whether the political and security environment was conducive to the conduct of peaceful, transparent, and credible elections; (c) evaluate the preparedness and performance of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Uganda; (d) provide recommendations aimed at strengthening future electoral processes; and (e) demonstrate AU–COMESA–IGAD solidarity with the people of Uganda in their democratic and electoral processes, ultimately contributing to peace, stability, good governance and inclusive development.
In line with its methodology, the Mission undertook extensive consultations with key stakeholders that included the EC, political parties and candidates, the Inspector General of Police, the Deputy Chief Justice, relevant government ministries and departments, the Uganda Human Rights Commission, members of the African and International Diplomatic Corps, civil society organisations, the Uganda Law Society, the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) and media organisations, among others.
In addition, the 84 STOs were clustered into 32 teams covering all the five (5) regions of the country namely Western, Northern, Central, Eastern and West Nile, to observe the final phase of campaigns and opening, voting, closing, and counting procedures on 15 January 2026.
This Preliminary Statement presents the initial findings of the AU–COMESA–IGAD EOM based on observation and consultations with key stakeholders. It provides an analysis of the pre-election environment and Election Day processes and concludes with recommendations to address identified gaps and to strengthen future electoral processes in the Republic of Uganda, in line with national laws, continental and international democratic standards. The final AU-COMESA-IGAD EOM will be submitted to the Government of Uganda within one month.
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AU-COMESA-IGAD Preliminary Statement January 2026 20260117 FINAL FINAL_