Civil society calls for radical reforms, overhaul of Electoral Commission after disputed Zambia vote

Participants raised concerns about the abrupt suspension of vote counting on August 14, the deployment of the military at polling stations and totalling centres, the killing of former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya during the storming of losing candidate Brian Mundubile’s home, and the arrest of opposition supporters.

“The round-table also observed that results management between polling stations and totalling centres should be reformed to take advantage of advanced technologies and that the role of the military at polling stations should be reduced in future elections,” Rubvuta said.

The participants also questioned the closure of courts on August 24 and 25, the final period for filing a presidential election petition.

Rubvuta said the closures undermined Article 101(4) of the Constitution and left electoral grievances without a legal avenue for resolution.

He called on the judiciary and executive to explain why the courts were closed and the implications for access to justice.

Participants urged the government to ensure compliance with constitutional provisions and international instruments, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the Southern African Development Community’s principles governing democratic elections.

The round-table also expressed concern over the detention of National Restoration Party of Zambia United Progressive Party (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu, who were arrested on treason charges on August 28, according to the communiqué.

Rubvuta called on the government to address post-election tensions by acknowledging the disputed nature of the results and ensuring that people detained over election-related matters were brought before the courts or released unconditionally.

On media freedom, participants accused the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation of favouring the ruling party in its election coverage, in violation of Article 50 of the Constitution.

They also raised concerns over the arrest of opposition supporters under the Cyber Security Act and Cyber Crimes Act of 2025.

The participants called on the ECZ to enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct on media access and urged the government to protect freedom of expression while ensuring that laws were applied equally.

The round-table welcomed the introduction of a mixed-member proportional representation system comprising 226 first-past-the-post seats and 40 proportional representation seats, saying it had increased women’s representation in Parliament from 12% to 22%.

However, participants said the figure remained below the 50% representation benchmark advocated by the African Union and SADC.

They called for transparent procedures for selecting proportional representation candidates, greater disclosure by the ECZ in processing party lists and the submission of party lists before elections to prevent arbitrary replacements.

The communiqué also urged the executive to consider appointing more women to remaining nominated parliamentary seats in line with Article 8 of the Constitution.

Participants further proposed establishing a tribunal or commission of inquiry modelled on a truth and reconciliation commission to address outstanding post-election issues, including Kafwaya’s killing.

The communiqué was signed by 12 participants representing civil society organisations, religious bodies, academia and political groupings, including the Centre for Policy Dialogue, FODEP, MISA Zambia, the Council of Churches in Zambia and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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