The government confirms LC1, LC2 Elections by the end of April 2026.

By Peterson Hiirya.

Kampala, Uganda — The Government has confirmed that long-awaited Local Council (LC) 1 and LC 2 elections will be held by the end of April 2026, following years of delays since the expiry of the current leaders’ mandate in 2023.

The announcement was made by State Minister for Local Government, Victoria Rusoke, during a plenary sitting of the Parliament of Uganda on Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Rusoke told legislators that preparations for the elections had already been made and communication sent to district authorities across the country.

“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.

The elections are long overdue after the term of LC1 and LC2 leaders elected in 2018 expired in 2023. Since then, the government has extended the officials’ tenure six times, raising concerns about democratic legitimacy and governance at the grassroots level.

Uganda has more than 70,000 villages, most of which rely on LC1 and LC2 leaders to coordinate government programmes, resolve local disputes and mobilise communities.

During the debate, Keefa Kiwanuka questioned government over conflicting statements regarding the funding and timeline of the elections.

Kiwanuka said uncertainty had been created by different communications from government institutions.

“The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Byabakama, told us that money had been released; however, shortly after, the Ministry of Local Government indicated that there was a funding shortfall of Shs58 billion,” he said.

Earlier, Cabinet had indicated that the elections would take place between March and April, prompting lawmakers to demand clarity on whether funds had been released and when exactly the elections would be conducted.

Legislators warned that continued delays risk weakening governance at the village level. Kiwanuka noted that the absence of elected leaders could create administrative gaps in the implementation of government programmes.

“Whereas LC1 and LC2 systems are critical in implementation of government programmes, we are now consistently relying on arguably unelected structures,” he said.

The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, also raised concerns about the situation, saying the absence of elected local leaders undermines democratic governance.

“We need confirmation if we are going to have elections, what is the shortage, and if it is there, it was approved by Cabinet. Why are we not releasing that money?” Among said.

She added that conflicting statements from government agencies had created confusion about whether the elections were fully funded.

Despite confirming the polls will be conducted before the end of April, the minister did not provide exact polling dates.