🇿🇲 BRIEFING | PeP Locked Out of Elections After Registrar Allegedly Redesignates Party as Church
Zambia’s election season has entered dangerous political territory after the Patriots for Economic Progress claimed it has effectively been blocked from participating in the 2026 general election following what the party describes as an unexplained redesignation from a political party into a church by the Registrar of Societies.
The allegation, made by PeP presidential candidate Chanda Katotobwe and running mate Sean Tembo, has sent shockwaves through an already tense nomination process unfolding at Mulungushi International Conference Centre. According to the party, official records now classify PeP’s principal activities as “ministry” and “preaching,” rendering it legally incapable of participating in political activity or filing nominations.
If confirmed, the consequences are sweeping.
PeP says the administrative shift has blocked the filing of nominations for 167 parliamentary candidates, six mayoral candidates, 57 council chairperson candidates, and 969 councillor candidates across the country. What began as a dispute over party records has now escalated into a full-scale electoral exclusion crisis touching nearly every level of the ballot..
The party further claims the Registrar of Societies retained a deceased official, Mr. Handavu, as Secretary General despite formal communication requesting that records reflect Mr. Njobvu as the current office holder. Katotobwe says the anomaly only became apparent on May 21 when party officials arrived for presidential nominations and were informed the records had allegedly been altered without consent.
This is where the political temperature sharply rises.
Election periods are built on paperwork, procedure, and timing. A single alteration in party status at nomination stage can erase months of mobilisation instantly. And when that alteration transforms a political party into a religious entity on official records, the matter immediately moves beyond bureaucracy into the centre of political legitimacy itself.
PeP has now formally appealed to President Hakainde Hichilema for intervention, confirming that a letter has already been hand-delivered to State House requesting restoration of the party’s legal standing before nomination deadlines close.
At the time of publication, neither the Registrar of Societies nor the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security had publicly responded to the allegations.
© The People’s Brief | Chileshe Sengwe