ECZ CLARIFIES ON INCREASED POLLING STATIONS CONCERNS.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), has clarified that the increase in the number of polling stations as indicated on its website does not mean that more voting centres have been created in different locations.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer, Brown Kasaro, said the increase in polling stations is not a result of delimitation, but a normal increase in voting rooms at various voting centres, a situation that is determined by the increased number of voters.
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group CCMG earlier issued a statement saying it has noticed a difference in the number of polling stations on the ECZ website and the polling district listing of 2025, with the new figure for polling stations indicating 13,529 up from 12,200 showing an increase of 1,329.
Mr. Kasaro, explained that polling stations are not necessarily separate physical locations, but voting rooms at polling or voting centres whose number is determined by the number of registered voters assigned to a particular voting or polling centre.
He said a single voting centre can have multiple polling stations operating within it, and that polling stations are not necessarily separate physical locations.
He said similarly, for the 2026 general llection, the increase from 12,152 polling stations to 13,529 polling stations does not mean the Commission has created new voting centres through delimitation.
He said the number of voting centres has remained the same at about 9,000 and that what has increased is the number of polling stations (voting rooms) within existing voting centres to accommodate the increased number of registered voters.
Mr. Kasaro, emphasised that this approach ensures that voters continue using familiar voting centres while enabling the commission to effectively manage the increased voter population and improve the voting process.