THE PEOPLE DECIDE, NOT THE ECZ, WHY MICHAEL MULUSA GETS ZAMBIA’S DEMOCRACY WRONG
By Tobbius Hamunkoyo
Michael Mulusa’s article is a dangerous mix of historical inaccuracy, legal misunderstanding, and selective political storytelling.
Zambia is not a country run by individuals making personal decisions about who becomes President. The nation operates through constitutional systems, electoral laws, institutions, verified results, political party agents, election monitors, and ultimately the will of the people.
Reducing Zambia’s democracy to one ECZ Chairperson “firing” their appointing authority undermines the country’s democratic history and institutions. Zambia runs on systems, not individuals, and public office bearers take constitutional oaths to serve the Republic faithfully and independently.
Suggesting that presidential appointees exist merely to please the appointing authority is misleading and dangerous to constitutional democracy. Zambia is governed by the supreme law of the land, the Constitution of Zambia, and not by personal loyalty to individuals.
Mulusa also failed to distinguish the role of the Chief Justice from that of the Electoral Commission Chairperson. Under the 1991 Constitution of Zambia, Article 41 gave authority to the Chief Justice to act as the Returning Officer for presidential elections.
That constitutional arrangement changed after the 2016 constitutional amendments, where the responsibility of Returning Officer for presidential elections effectively shifted to the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), who now officially announces and declares presidential election results on behalf of the electoral system
In 1991, the Election Chairperson at that time was Matthew Ngulube, while Justice Silungwe served as Chief Justice. We should be honest with Zambians when discussing constitutional history.
The role of a Returning Officer is not to choose who becomes President, but to manage and officially declare verified election outcomes based on results submitted from polling stations across the country. The Returning Officer oversees the tabulation and verification process, ensures electoral procedures are followed according to the law, receives official results from constituency centers, and formally announces the final national outcome.
This is an administrative and constitutional duty, not a personal political decision. The actual power to elect a President belongs to the people through the ballot box.
Zambia has peacefully changed administrations four times through democratic and constitutional processes, from UNIP to MMD in 1991, from MMD to PF in 2011, and from PF to UPND in 2021. These changes did not happen because one ECZ official decided to remove a President.
They happened because hundreds and millions of Zambians voted for change. The ECZ only announces the verified national outcome from polling stations across the country. The late Justice Irene Mambilima did not remove Rupiah Banda in 2011, and Justice Esau Chulu did not remove Edgar Lungu in 2021. The Zambian people made those decisions through the ballot box.
Zambia’s electoral system includes polling agents, monitors, observers, courts, and constitutional safeguards, meaning no single ECZ Chairperson can independently decide an election outcome. Suggesting otherwise promotes conspiracy thinking and weakens public trust in democratic institutions.
Zambia’s democratic reputation across Southern Africa and Africa has never been built on individuals, but on constitutional order, peaceful transfers of power, and strong institutions. While many African countries have experienced coups and violent transitions, Zambia has remained stable because of its commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
Public debate must therefore be grounded in facts, constitutional understanding, and institutional respect rather than political sensationalism. Michael Mulusa’s selective judgment and historical errors undermine that legacy and ignore the truth that in Zambia, it is the people who decide elections, while institutions simply manage and announce the process.
ODM