Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has arrived in Uganda ahead of the country’s general elections.
Uganda heads to the polls on January 15, 2026, following the expiration of the five-year term of legislators and the president.
Jonathan is leading a team of 84 election observers from the African Union (AU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
He is assisted by Ambassador Shemsudin Ahmed Roble, a member of the COMESA Committee of Elders, and Commander Abebe Muluneh Beyene from IGAD.
The observer mission is in the country at the invitation of the Government of Uganda and the Electoral Commission of Uganda.
According to the African Union, “The Mission comprises 84 short-term observers (STOs) drawn from ambassadors accredited to the AU, officials of election management bodies, members of civil society organisations, election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organizations.”
The observers are drawn from Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Commission stated that the observers will be deployed across all regions of Uganda to observe election-day procedures, including the opening of polls, voting, closing, and vote counting at polling stations.
The AU–COMESA–IGAD Election Observation Mission (EOM) will base its assessment on Uganda’s legal framework governing elections, the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), and the International Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, among others.
According to the Commission, the Mission will engage with state authorities, including the Electoral Commission of Uganda, political parties, the media, civil society organisations, members of the international community based in Uganda, and other election observation missions.
“The Mission will release a Preliminary Statement of its findings and assessment of the conduct of the elections on January 17, 2026, at a press conference in Kampala.
A final and comprehensive report will be released within one month after the announcement of the final election results,” the mission said.
