The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has announced a major nationwide campaign targeting the enrollment of at least 17.2 million Ugandans who are currently unregistered, as part of preparations for the 2026 general elections.
Set to kick off on May 27, 2025, the mass registration and renewal exercise will run from Monday to Saturday and will be conducted primarily at the parish level across the country.
According to NIRA, the initiative will also cater to millions of citizens whose national ID cards are set to expire by June 2025—over 15.8 million in total.
“The parish (Muluka) will be the heart of operations during the mass enrollment and renewal exercise. Registration will occur at each of the 10,594 parishes in a rotational, comb-and-clean approach.
There will be a minimum of 10 kits at each parish on a day of registration. A parish may have fewer kits in unique circumstances,” said NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo on Wednesday.
Local leaders will play a pivotal role in the success of the exercise. LC1 chairpersons, defense secretaries, and council members will work closely with parish chiefs, Parish Internal Security Officers (PISOs), and Gombolola Internal Security Officers (GISOs) to ensure all eligible citizens are registered or have their IDs renewed.
Despite the wide decentralization of services to the parish level, Kisembo clarified that any changes to particulars on national ID cards will only be handled at district offices.
“Change of particulars shall only happen at the district offices of NIRA. It shall not be conducted at the parish level. The reason for this is that it has some quite intense legal requirements that may not be easy for a new person who is just dealing with a kit to have and hold in their head,” she explained.
She further noted that there are nine classes of change of particulars, each with specific legal conditions that will be handled exclusively by trained NIRA staff at the district level.
With the 2026 polls fast approaching, this mass enrollment campaign is expected to be the most extensive identity registration exercise ever undertaken in Uganda, aimed at ensuring no eligible citizen is left behind.
