ECZ REFUTES CLAIMS OF VOTER REGISTER DISCREPANCIES
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has dismissed claims by New Heritage Party president Chishala Kateka of alleged discrepancies between announced and actual figures of registered voters.
ECZ chief electoral officer Brown Kasaro clarified that the figure of 7,073,513 voters refers to the number on the current certified register of voters.
He explained that this register comprises voters who registered prior to the 2021 general elections and those who registered during the continuous registration exercise up to February 2024.
Mr Kasaro stressed that this register remains the legally certified register until a new one is formally certified.
He further indicated that at the close of the mass registration exercise conducted from October 13 to November 29, 2025, the commission registered 1,788,405 new voters.
This figure also includes those who registered during the continuous registration period from March 2024 to August 2025.
“As clearly stated at the time, this figure is provisional and represents raw registration data, which is currently being cleaned and validated,” Mr Kasaro said in a statement yesterday.
He explained that the provisional register therefore consists of the 7,073,513 voters on the certified register plus the 1,788,405 new registrants, giving a total of 8,861,918 voters.
Mr Kasaro emphasised that this provisional figure is not final and is subject to mandatory post-registration processes, including removal of duplicate entries and deceased persons.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the alleged discrepancy between 7,073,513 and 8,861,918 does not represent excess or unexplained voters. Rather, the 1,788,405 reflects the distinction between a previously certified register and a new provisional register arising from the nationwide mass registration exercise,” he said.
Zambia Daily Mail