LC elections: protest as 12 villages in Pader are omitted from voters’ register

Residents of 12 villages in Acholibur Sub-county, Pader district, risk missing the upcoming Local Council I (LC I) elections after discovering that their villages were omitted from the Electoral Commission’s register.

Ugandans are scheduled to elect LC I leaders on July 28, 2026, followed by LC II elections on August 10. However, residents of Acholibur sub-county say they were shocked to learn that their villages, despite being recognised government administrative units for several years, do not appear on the Electoral Commission’s register.

The affected villages are Opawao in Wiigweng Parish; Omeda, Adoo Central and Twon-Okun in Omeda Parish; Munutam in Ogago Parish; Tedo-Tek, Dye-Oryang, Wang Winyo, Wii-Ogang and Arit East in Gem-Onyot Parish; and Lubye South and Pawac Goltall in Got Okong Parish.

Acholibur sub-county chairperson James Obalim said the villages were created in 2021 after local communities approved the move and the sub-county submitted the required documentation, including council resolutions, to Pader district.

“We submitted the required documents to the district after the communities approved the creation of these villages. We expected the villages to be recognized for all government activities, including elections,” Obalim said.

He said he later sought clarification from the Electoral Commission, which informed him that the gazetting of administrative units falls under the mandate of the chief administrative officer (CAO) and the district planner, rather than the Commission.

Obalim added that the district has since petitioned the Ministry of Local Government to resolve the matter. He said the omission is difficult to explain because the affected villages have long been treated as legitimate government administrative units.

Residents have benefited from government programmes, village chairpersons have been officially recognised, and the villages have been using government-issued stamps. District councillor Godwin Wokorach said the contradiction has left the affected communities frustrated.

“These villages have existed for years. Government has been dealing with them; they have official stamps, and people have continued receiving government services. It is difficult to understand why they cannot participate in the elections,” he said.

According to district officials, the Electoral Commission initially received a list of 871 villages out of the 877 in Pader district. Six villages were later found to have identical names, prompting the ministry of Local Government to seek clarification before the final register was approved.

However, the 12 villages in Acholibur sub-county were never included in the submission received by the Commission. The officials said that with the elections only days away, there is little time to rectify the omission.

They said the error could have occurred either during the submission of documents from the sub-county to the district or from the district to the ministry of Local Government.

Pader district chairperson Alfred Akena described the situation as unfortunate, noting that the government has consistently recognised the affected villages under various programmes.

He said some residents from the affected villages had benefited from the government’s restocking programme, yet those same villages are now ineligible to participate in the LC I elections.

Akena appealed to the Ministry of Local Government to intervene urgently to ensure the affected communities are not disenfranchised. Pader District Woman MP Lowila CD Oketayot said she had already raised the matter with the ministry.

She argued that since the ministry of Local Government is the custodian of administrative units, it should explain why villages that receive government support, use official stamps and whose local leaders receive ex gratia payments are missing from the electoral register.

State minister for Local Government Justine Nsubuga Nameere said the ministry would investigate the matter. She said the permanent secretary would assign officers to establish why villages that had already been issued with government stamps failed to appear on the Electoral Commission’s register and recommend an appropriate course of action.

Unless the matter is resolved before polling day, hundreds of eligible voters in the 12 affected villages will be unable to participate in the election of their LC I leaders.

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