EC Bagged UGX 8.5 Billion In Nominations Fees

The Electoral Commission earned over 8.5  billion shillings from nomination fees paid by candidates vying for presidential, parliamentary, and local government positions ahead of Uganda’s 2026 general elections. 

Figures which exclude nomination fees from dozens of disqualified aspirants, indicate that eight presidential aspirants were successfully nominated, each paying a non-refundable fee of UGX 20 million, generating UGX 160 million for the Commission. 

At the parliamentary level, 2,771 candidates were cleared to contest for 353 directly elected seats, contributing UGX 8.313 billion in nomination fees. 

Among them are 2,000 candidates contesting as directly elected Members of Parliament, 634 seeking to represent women, and 77 running under Special Interest Groups, including youth, workers, persons with disabilities, and older persons. 

The Commission also registered 521 candidates contesting for district and city chairperson positions, each of whom paid UGX 200,000, amounting to UGX 104.2 million. 

The EC’s nomination guidelines clearly state that all fees are strictly non-refundable, meaning that once paid, the money cannot be reclaimed, even if a candidate withdraws, is disqualified, or fails to secure victory. For the first time, the EC required candidates to pay their fees through the Uganda Revenue Authority’s Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) portal, a move intended to improve transparency, professionalize the process, and strengthen accountability. 

During the 9th Parliament, MPS voted to increase the nomination fees for the Presidential aspirants by 150%, from eight million shillings to twenty million shillings. The nomination fee for Members of Parliament was increased from two hundred thousand to three million shillings.   

They also provided in the laws that the money would not be refunded. Some aspirants who turned up for nomination in this election complained about the high nomination fees and the fact that the money cannot be refunded once one does not go through the nomination exercise. 

Aspirants, including Isingiro North’s John Atwine, Deus “Common Man” Kato, Lucky Muloki, and Kizito Kayira Lwere, were disqualified despite paying their nomination fees. 

Jimmy James Akena Obote, the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) president, says he nearly paid the twenty shilling nomination fee but got saved by a letter from the EC disqualifying his candidacy. “I was about to pay the money when the Commission served me with a letter of disqualification. Once you remit the nomination fee, it is not refundable,” he said.