Center for Electoral Justice and Research

The ignition of CEJ-R was, in particular, as a result of a complaint we raised in 2016 general elections to Uganda’s Electoral Commission following the unlawful nomination and election of a registered voter and resident of Kumi District to the Bugiri District Youth council contrary to the law. This fraudulent nomination had serious implications of denying effective representation to the youth of Bugiri district hence our complaint questioned, inter alia, the integrity of the National Youth voters register, capacity and efficiency of Electoral commission staff to conduct a free, fair and transparent election process and also challenged the Electoral commission to raise up to the occasion to nullify the fraudulent nomination and election. Although the Electoral commission did so, we noted gaps in the electoral Justice Mechanism and processes. With the above firsthand experience on how electoral activities are conducted in Uganda, the disputes and the violation of electoral rights that arise thereto and how they should be resolved by the relevant institutions established by law, we realized a critical need to advocate for Access to Electoral Justice as part of promoting electoral democracy in Uganda and beyond premised on the reality that stable electoral justice system enjoy progressive and transformative legal and institutional framework.

CEJR seeks to strengthen governance and electoral Justice system through capacity building, advocacy and research by focusing on the following thematic areas; Electoral Justice and Electoral Dispute Resolution; Electoral Conflict Prevention and Management Strengthening Electoral Processes and Election Management and Administration; Electoral law reforms; Strengthening of Governance in Political Parties.