With the general election in Uganda just weeks away, the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) has rolled out introduced the Presidential Campaign Promises Tracker — a digital platform designed to support rigorous, evidence-based election reporting at this decisive moment.

This pilot platform provides journalists, news managers, and content producers with a centralised, reliable source of verified campaign pledges at a time when the demand for accurate, issue-led reporting is at its highest. With only a month to polling day, the tracker enables users to move beyond the latest speech, rally, or sound bite by providing direct access to documented commitments, allowing for a deeper scrutiny of what candidates say they intend to deliver.

Why use the tracker

Elections heighten the responsibility of the media to act as a watchdog and a platform for meaningful public debate. As campaigning enters its final stretch, it becomes essential to move past headline politics and examine the specific promises presented to voters.

The ACME campaign promises tracker enables you to

  • Draw attention to policy proposals rather than personality-driven narratives.
  • Assess whether a candidate’s recent statements are consistent with their earlier commitments.
  • Ground stories in verifiable information, enhancing accuracy and credibility.

How to use the tracker

The platform is straightforward and built for quick navigation. The following guidance will help users get the most out of its features:

  1. Find and filter promises by:
    • Candidate: View a full list of a candidate’s commitments, organised by source such as manifestos, speeches, and interviews.
    • Sector: Filter promises by areas including health, education, the economy, or agriculture.
    • Sub-Sector: Narrow searches further to sub-sector levels — for example, within health, filter by maternal care, infrastructure, or health financing — ensuring precision when reporting on specific policy issues.
  2. Analyse and compare
    • Comparison view: Compare two or more candidates’ positions on a shared issue, such as youth employment, to support comparative reporting.
    • Documentation: Each entry links to the original source material for easy verification of wording and details.
  3. Integrate into reporting
    • Use the tracker to verify whether current claims align with past promises.
    • Prepare informed questions using documented pledges, prompting candidates for clarity on how they intend to deliver.

In the post-election period, the tracker will expand to monitor the implementation of commitments made by the elected president. This will allow journalists and the public to follow how promises translate into action, supporting continuous accountability long after voting has concluded.

Access the ACME Presidential Campaign Promises Tracker here.