OUR POSITION ON THE PROPOSED ELECTORAL REFORMS AHEAD OF THE AUGUST 2026 ELECTIONS.
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Electoral reforms must first benefit the ordinary Zambian. They must improve the quality of representation, strengthen accountability, and build stakeholder confidence in national institutions such as the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
Electoral reforms must also be progressive. They must show that Zambia, as a nation, is continuously learning, correcting past mistakes, refining its systems, and improving its democratic culture.
However, such reforms must never be allowed to come at the expense of national unity. Where changes to the electoral process threaten shared confidence in key institutions, particularly the electoral process, caution and consensus become more important than speed.
DELIMITATION
Of the proposed reforms, delimitation stands out as a necessary and beneficial development. Regardless of whether one is from the ruling party or the opposition, we can all agree that Zambia’s population has grown and shifted significantly.
We all know that urban constituencies, in particular, have become disproportionately large, placing heavy demands on Members of Parliament, weakening effective representation, and placing a disproportionate burden on a one size fits all constituency based developmental pocket, such as the new and improved Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
If conducted transparently and fairly, delimitation will bring representation closer to the people. It will allow for more manageable constituencies, more responsive leadership, and more equitable delivery of the development resource envelope. In this respect, delimitation is not simply an administrative tool. It is a developmental strategy. It reflects a nation adjusting its structures to match present realities. In fact, without delimitation, the entire strategy of the expanded CDF, as implemented under the UPND, will have missed the opportunity, among other things, to ensure that the CDF is distributed equitably among all the people in all corners of the nation, regardless of political or party considerations. Delimitation is the distribution arm of the CDF strategy. It will ensure that CDF is not just given fairly among all constituencies, but it will also ensure that the constituencies themselves are demarcated in equitable proportions.
Naturally, this process must be open and consultative to avoid any perceptions of partisan advantage. Although the principle of equal and efficient representation is sound, it is more important that Zambians are represented effectively during a period of rapidly changing demographic realities, rather than using old, unrealistic, and outdated boundaries simply for fear of suspicion from the opposition, which has often demonstrated a negative disposition towards government reforms, regardless of their conceivable merits.
ELECTION DAY PROCEDURES
Perhaps the more contentious proposal in the public space right now is the removal of the stamp at the back of ballot papers. The Electoral Commission of Zambia has strongly argued that this change would reduce rejected ballots and advance the principle that every vote must count. That objective alone is legitimate.
One might recall and acknowledge that this proposal is not new. It has been discussed in previous administrations, including during the time of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy and later under the Patriotic Front.
However, as far as we are concerned, Zambia at this moment remains politically polarised. The constitutional disagreements surrounding Bill 7 and other national issues over the last four years have left lingering divisions and a lack of trust among key stakeholders, especially between the government or the ruling UPND and its allies on the one hand, and the PF and other opposition parties on the other. In such an environment, electoral reforms affecting the mechanics of voting require wisdom and broad agreement to be effective.
The ballot stamp is viewed by many in the opposition as an important control mechanism. It provides visible authentication and trusted, age old reassurance that ballots were properly issued at the polling station. The removal of this stamp, even if technically defensible, risks giving the opposition license to fuel a strong narrative that votes may be manipulated and that pre marked ballots can easily be introduced because of weakened safeguards or controls.
While every vote must count, the advantage we can gain by preventing a limited number of rejected ballots may be outweighed by the damage that will be caused if major stakeholders, such as opposition parties, lose confidence in the process and take to the media to discredit the entire process. Zambia’s democracy cannot only be anchored on procedural accuracy, but it must also be firmly anchored in shared trust and confidence in the ECZ, as we have always advocated.
PROGRESS VERSUS CONSENSUS
Zambia must therefore continue to improve its systems. We must continue to modernise and refine our institutions. But progress must also strengthen national consensus, not weaken it.
Where reforms such as delimitation clearly improve representation and development delivery, they should be supported. We must all support it if we mean well for the ordinary Zambian. But at the same time, where such reforms risk deepening the divisions that already exist in a fragile and sensitive political environment, we propose that such reforms should be deferred until broader agreement is achieved.
THE NEED FOR SHARED CONFIDENCE
As the New Nation Party, while we are not fielding a presidential candidate in the coming election and have chosen to firmly support President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development under the UPND Alliance, we firmly believe that our position is guided by our shared vision and party principles, and our desire that this government delivers the electoral reforms that we have jointly espoused and advocated for from our time together in the opposition.
We believe that electoral reforms must serve the ordinary Zambian citizen from Kazungula to Mufumbwe, from Chadiza to Chinsali, and from Mongu to Mpika. Electoral reforms must reflect national learning and progress. Above all, they must protect our national unity and shared confidence in our electoral institutions.
Let us all work together to ensure that we safeguard and protect the Zambian interest, Zambian unity, and Zambian stakeholder confidence and consensus, as a way to also ensure that we safeguard and defend Zambian democracy itself, which we all paid a high price to secure for ourselves.
Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba
President – New Nation Party