June 30, 2025Training Manuals

The Context of Digital Rights as Uganda Prepared for Elections.

As Uganda prepared for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in 2026, the role of digital technology in the electoral process had been growing steadily. By this time, Uganda had 18.9 million internet subscribers, equating to approximately 46 internet connections for every 100 Ugandans. However, despite this growth, radio remained the most widely accessible technology, with a penetration rate of 45%, far surpassing television at 17% and computers at 4%.

In response to these concerns, the “Recenter the Civic Internet Through Partner Engagement” project, a collaboration between Oxfam Uganda and the Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG), aimed to address these issues by promoting digital inclusion, women’s empowerment, and active participation in digital spaces. CCG organized a discussion on its XSpace platform to explore the state of digital rights in Uganda, focusing on the challenges and opportunities that arose when technology intersected with politics during election periods.