Uganda’s election process came under intense scrutiny on Thursday after a biometric verification failure briefly prevented President Yoweri Museveni from casting his vote, echoing problems reported at polling stations across the country.
At his polling station, electronic voter identification machines failed to recognise the president’s fingerprints, forcing election officials to turn to facial recognition technology to verify his identity before he could vote.
“I put my right fingerprints on the machines; it didn’t work. I put my left fingerprints; it did not accept it,” Museveni told journalists after the incident. “It could be they took them at a different angle. But my face was scanned and accepted by the machine.”
System Failure Raises Questions
The malfunction has amplified broader concerns about the reliability of Uganda’s biometric voting systems. Throughout the day, voters in multiple regions reported delays and technical glitches, with some polling stations temporarily suspending voting as officials attempted to resolve equipment failures.
Museveni said the incident raised serious questions that would require investigation. “I don’t know if this was an oversight or part of manipulation,” he said. “But we shall study all the other factors. We are following it, and we will find out why.”
Delays and Manual Voting
Polling began early in the morning, but observers from BBC reported growing frustration among voters, particularly in Kampala, where queues formed at stations that had yet to open due to faulty biometric kits.
Election officials attributed the delays to a combination of equipment shortages, network-related issues, and malfunctioning biometric identification devices. In several locations, authorities reverted to manual voting procedures to keep the process moving.
The Electoral Commission apologised for the disruptions, describing them as “technical glitches” and assuring voters that teams were working to restore normal operations.
Speaking to journalists, Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama ordered polling officials to use the national voters’ register wherever biometric machines failed.
“It is the primary duty of the Electoral Commission to ensure that no citizen is disenfranchised due to machine failure,” he said.
Impact Across Political Strongholds
According to BBC reports, the technical problems appeared to affect both pro-government and pro-opposition areas, suggesting the disruptions were not confined to any single political bloc.
Ugandan law allows polling hours to be extended if voting is interrupted. Byabakama confirmed that stations would remain open beyond the official closing time if necessary. “Polling stations will remain open until all registered voters who were in the queue by 4 pm have cast their votes,” he said.
Internet Shutdown Draws Criticism
The election was also held amid an internet blackout imposed ahead of polling day. The Uganda Communications Commission said the shutdown was necessary to prevent misinformation, electoral fraud, and the incitement of violence.
However, the move drew condemnation from the United Nations Human Rights Office, which described the suspension of internet access as “deeply worrying” and warned of its impact on transparency and fundamental freedoms.
As voting continued into the evening, the biometric failure that momentarily affected the president underscored the wider challenges facing Uganda’s election infrastructure—challenges that election authorities now say will be reviewed once the polls conclude.
