By:Annita Matsika
MBARARA
As Uganda prepares to vote for her leaders in January 2026, the Persons with Disability from Rwampara district have expressed concern over non-inclusivity in the electoral processes.
They raise issues they say if not handled by the responsible people, persons with disability may not fully participate in the coming election.
Micheal Mukiiza, a person with Disability in Rwampara District says different challenges are faced by different categories of people with disabilities, hearing impairment, the visually impaired, blind and the non-embodied disabled noting that the information given out is gotten by the few.
He narrates that most persons with disability don’t have sign language interpreters adding that some sign language interpreters don’t understand the information given on radio stations and in training.
He accuses the Electoral Commission of failing to provide braille made ballot papers for the blind and a person to guide the PWDs at polling stations to assist the non-able bodied to access the polling stations that are not leveled.
“The wheelchair users, consider two things the distance to the polling stations and also accessing those (polling stations) that are on raised grounds, so they may need helpers who want to be paid, and yet the electoral commission does not provide for those guides and helpers at the time of voting, so most will chose to stay home and not vote”. He said.
He says that the biggest percent of PWDs will not go for voting because the electoral commission has not considered them for any civic education.
He also accuses the responsible offices for not fulfilling their responsibility noting that even when complaints have been raised nothing has changed for years.
Juliet Kyomuhangi, a Voter in Rwampara District accused the electoral commission for not verifying people it nominates claiming to be Persons with disability and yet are not.
She says that civic education needed is to explain the differences between a person with disability as described in the guidelines, and the constitution.
“People have gotten sick, used clutches and have been defined as disabled, and contested on positions meant for the disabled, so the electoral commission should consider the definition of disability”.
Gabriel Kato Maguru contesting to represent the Male persons with disabilities in the 12th Parliament says the constitution under Article 59 (4) directs that Persons with disabilities be facilitated to go and vote noting that this Article has not been implemented, especially in the presidential campaigns, have not been heard, despite blaming it on the weaknesses of individuals.
He states that Uganda is under a multiparty system and Persons with Disabilities should be under any political party of their choice, noting that political parties should have structures to make sure that people with disabilities vote.
He, however, acknowledges that during campaigns, the People with disabilities have not been given priority during rallies to have easy access.
“I am getting many calls from PWDs complaining that they have been blocked to access rallies, they are stepped on, pushed and beaten during campaigns of presidential candidates all of them, Kyagulanyi, Museveni, Nandala and Mugisha Muntu, so we need our laws put to use well”. He said.
Aaron Ndinawe the Program Administrator for Organized Useful Rehabilitation Services (OURS) says that the rights of people with disabilities participating in the electoral process, have been ignored despite being justly put down by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the national constitution under Article 29, that asks people with disabilities to have a right to participate in all political and electoral processes running in the countries that subscribe to the UN Charter but also accessibility, that people with disabilities have a right to access all the information, tools, resources that are being used in the electoral process.
“so far, we have realized that there are challenges, especially on accessibility, that, for example, people who are deaf are not able to understand what is going on in political rallies, because most of the political rallies, we haven’t seen people, doing sign language interpretation, for people who are blind, we haven’t seen any posters that have been printed in braille material for the blind to have access to the information. Let’s say, if it is a manifesto being printed in braille so that people who are blind can know this specific candidate wants to do this”. He said.
He narrates that even for some campaigns, some rallies are being conducted, in venues that are not accessible on their side.
He tasks stakeholders to ensure the expansion of civic education to the public so that people with disabilities and also people without disabilities know the rights of people with disabilities and how they can exercise or have access to their rights and services, but also to ensure that there are accessible voting procedures.
He calls for a guaranteed commitment from the Electoral Commission to the people with disabilities in ensuring that the voting materials and also the communication strategies during the campaigns and voting are disability inclusive.
“We should see sign language interpreters coming to interpret during rallies, during the regional or national debates so that people with disabilities can access information to everything that will be going on during the electoral process
Ruth Nalugya the executive director Spinabifida and Hydrocephalus Uganda expresses concern over the use of money vis-a-vis the people’s potential to serve people with disabilities.
“We’ve seen so many people that are coming in (3:27) with the influence of money, but for sure when they are not on the ground ,they are not well-versed and perhaps they are having different agenda and because of the status of persons with disabilities who we have always categorized them as vulnerable groups, so money has Overshadowed their Decision-making”.
She accuses the Electoral commission of focusing the civic education in urban areas and only among persons with disabilities that have membership to specific organisations that are also interested in political affairs leaving out in the rural areas.
“With that kind of civic education most of the families are not even aware that some political positions exist, they are not even aware of their rights to participate in the political arena, So basically we really need to do a lot right from the grassroots”. She says
She tasks the government to mainstream political related affairs into the different programmes.
“Political participation of persons with disabilities should be a mainstream because at the end of the day the policies that we work with approved by Parliamentarians and if we don’t have right representatives for persons with disabilities, If the persons with disabilities who are rights holders are not informed about their political rights, the gaps will still continue to widen so my call would be to integrate political related civic education to reach out to everyone”.
Julius Mucunguzi the Public relations manager at the Electoral Commission says the commission has been committed to ensure inclusivity in all stages of the electoral process.
“The Commission, as part of the 2025-2026 General Elections Roadmap, undertook a comprehensive audit and mapping of persons with disabilities, to establish what kind of disabilities they have, identify where they are, to map them and link them with polling stations, and also to hear the concerns that they have, but also to determine how best to address the concerns that they have, but with a purpose of considering how best to ensure inclusivity” he says.
He adds that the guidelines followed by the commission include giving priority to persons with disabilities to first vote on the polling day, and that for those who need support or help, to be allowed to bring their helpers or assistants to enable them to access the polling stations.
He narrates that the Commission has recruited over 25 sign language interpreters to help in ensuring that those who understand sign language can be able to follow engagements of the Commission.
He, however, acknowledges that the provision of braille ballot papers is impossible at this time.
He calls for greater inclusivity in construction, in buildings, in infrastructure, in religious institutions, so that the idea of inclusion is mainstreamed across all services that are offered by government or public institutions, but also by private institutions.
The total population of Rwampara District is 162,967 people, according to the 2024 Census results, however, the cesus shows the overall percentage of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Uganda is 5.7%.
