This report presents a systematic assessment of how personal data were governed across Uganda’s most technologically intensive electoral cycle to date. Using the Data Protection Election Watch Tool, the investigation evaluated compliance with Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019 (DPPA), its 2021 Regulations, electoral laws, and applicable international data protection principles.
The findings reveal that while Uganda entered the 2026 elections with a formal legal framework in place, compliance was operationally under-embedded, oversight uneven, and data governance safeguards inconsistently applied across institutions.
This issue report was produced with the support of a member grant from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), made possible with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).