Section 10: Right of citizens to demand referendum

(1) The Commission shall cause a referendum to be held for the purposes of Article 255 of the Constitution, either nationally or in any particular part of Uganda if a petition is made for the purpose under this section. (2) A referendum shall be held under this section- (a) if a petition is made in writing, in the case of a national referendum, by a registered voter and in the case of a referendum in a particular part of Uganda, by a voter registered in that part of Uganda; and (b) if the petition is supported- (i) in the case of a national referendum, by at least one-tenth of the total registered voters from at least one-third of the districts of Uganda; and (ii) in the case of a referendum in a particular part of Uganda, by at least one-third of the total registered voters in that part of Uganda. (3) A petition under this section shall be addressed to the Commission. (4) The petition shall be signed by each registered voter supporting the petition and shall state the issue on which a referendum is requested and such other matters as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 30. (5) The Commission shall, on receiving a petition under this section, verify whether the petition has been duly submitted by a registered voter and supported by the required number of registered voters. (6) The Commission shall verify whether the signatures are those of registered voters and that subsection (2)(b) has been complied with. (7) For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of subsection (6), if the Commission ascertains whether the names of the persons who purport to have signed the petition appear on the National Voters Register for the purpose of the referendum. (8) The Commission shall, notwithstanding subsection (7), display the petition with the list of the names and signatures supporting the petition in a public place in each polling station to which the referendum relates for public scrutiny. (9) A person who claims that his or her name was included in the petition without his or her consent, or that the petition includes the name of a person who died before the date of the petition, shall lodge an objection in the prescribed form to the Commission. (10) The Commission shall, by notice in the Gazette, appoint a period of not less than fourteen days for the purpose of public scrutiny and lodging of objections under subsections (8) and (9). (11) If the Commission, upon inquiry into an objection lodged under subsection (9) is satisfied that the name of the person lodging the objection was included in the petition without his or her consent, or that the petition includes the name of a person who died before the date of the petition, the Commission shall not count that person as one of the persons supporting the petition. (12) A person who includes among the persons supporting a petition under subsection (2) the name of a person without the consent of that person, or who knowingly includes the name of a person who died before the date of the petition among the persons supporting the petition, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-four currency points or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both. (13) The Commission shall, upon being satisfied that a petition has been duly submitted in accordance with this section, issue a certificate to that effect in the prescribed form stating its findings in the matter. (14) The Commission shall, within fourteen days, cause the certificate under subsection (13) to be published in the Gazette. (15) If the Commission certifies that the particulars in the petition are correct and in accordance with this section, the Commission shall, within thirty days after publication of the certificate in the Gazette, appoint under section 3 a date for the holding of the referendum nationally or in the particular part of Uganda as requested in the petition.