PEP’S TEMBO AND KATOTOBWE ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF BLOCKING NOMINATIONS
Patriots for Economic Progress presidential candidate Eng. Chanda Katotobwe and running mate Sean Tembo have accused government officials of deliberately altering party records to block the party from filing nominations for the 2026 general elections.
In a statement issued in Lusaka today, Katotobwe and Tembo say the party failed to successfully file nominations on May 20th after records at the Registrar of Societies allegedly showed PeP as a church organization involved in “ministry and preaching” instead of a political party.
The duo also claim that unauthorized changes were made to the party’s office bearers, including listing a deceased person as Secretary General.
Katotobwe and Tembo say despite engaging officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, including Permanent Secretary Dickson Matembo, the matter was not resolved in time for nominations.
They have further questioned why the Electoral Commission of Zambia used what they describe as falsified records to disqualify their candidates, despite government later confirming that PeP remains a registered political party with unchanged office bearers since 2016.
The two leaders have described the matter as criminality and not political gimmicking, adding that all those involved will be held accountable at the appropriate time.
Katotobwe and Tembo also claim that PeP had candidates ready to contest in constituencies where the ruling UPND has gone unopposed.
PATRIOTS FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS (PeP)
2nd Press Statement on the Pending Presidential Nomination Process of Eng. Chanda A. B. Katotobwe & Mr Sean E. Tembo
Friday 29th May 2026
Lusaka, Zambia
1. Fellow citizens and members of the media, as previously intimated through the Party’s previous Press Statement dated 22nd May 2026, the Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) presidential ticket, consisting of Eng. Chanda A.B. Katotobwe, as Presidential Candidate, and Mr. Sean E. Tembo as Running Mate, was not able to successfully file in its nomination, on the scheduled day of 20th May 2026, before the Returning Officer at Mulungushi International Conference Center, Lusaka, due to unauthorized changes that were made on the Party’s records on 8th May 2026 and 21st May 2026, which records are maintained at the Registrar of Societies, under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.
2. As previously intimated, two material, unauthorized changes were made to the party’s records. The first was that the Party was re-categorized as a church organization whose principal activities were designated as “Ministry and Preaching” as per copy of printout dated 8th May 2026 annexed hereto as Exhibit A. This meant that the Party could no longer undertake any political activities, including filing in a Presidential Nomination, or indeed any election nomination, for that matter. The second change was with regard to office bearers. The position of Secretary General was reallocated to two new office bearers, one of whom is deceased, without any authority from the Party, and without any supporting document such as a letter from the party or a resolution of an Annual General Meeting or General Conference.
3. After making frantic efforts to engage officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, who included the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Dickson Matembo, Acting Chief Registrar of Societies, Mr. Jason Mwambazi and Senior Registrar of Societies in Charge of Political Parties, Mr. Harold Chiinda, to try and resolve this matter on 20th and 21st of May 2026, we noted that these Government officials were adamant to address our issue, and even appeared to rejoice that we were unable to file in our nominations. This prompted us to write to the Republican President, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, on 22nd May 2026, requesting for his intervention, given that the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, ultimately report to him. Unfortunately, we wish to confirm that, to date, there has been no response from President Hakainde Hichilema, regarding this issue.
4. In our quest to try and resolve this matter, and ensure that we file in our Presidential Nomination, as well as the election nominations of 167 Members of Parliament, 6 Mayors, 57 Council Chairpersons and 969 Councilors across the country, who had paid nomination fees totaling K3,969,000.00 (Three Million Nine Hundred and Sixty Nine Thousand Kwacha), we proceeded to engage other key bilateral, multilateral, regional and international leaders, who included, among others, the President of the United States of America, His Excellency Mr. Donald J. Trump.
5. Ostensibly as a result of our engagement and appeal to various key stakeholders of democracy in the region and the world, we saw the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Mr. Dickson Matembo, issuing a statement on Wednesday, 29th May 2026. In his press statement, Mr. Matembo stated that the Patriots for Economic Progress was a political party, and had always been a political party, and that its office holders had never changed since registration of the party on 5th October 2016, and yet, the Permanent Secretary failed to explain the origin of the printout of our party records, which the Electoral Commission of Zambia presented to us, during our Presidential Nomination filing in process at Mulungushi, which showed our party as a church organization that was not eligible to file in a nomination, and which also indicated an altered record of our office bearers, which is annexed to this Press Statement as Exhibit A.
6. During our various engagements with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, our position regarding our party has always been clear. Firstly, our party was registered as a political party, and not a church organization, and that is why we were able to take part in the 2021 general elections at all levels. Secondly, that the office holders of our party have never changed since registration of the party on 5th October 2016. This is the same position that was reiterated by the Permanent Secretary in his press statement issued on 27th May 2026, but the Government has failed to explain the source of the printout which ECZ used to disqualify us. If our party records are still intact, and our organization is still a political party, then why did ECZ disqualify us during the filing in of our nominations? Also, how does Government explain Exhibit A, which is a printout that was given to us by ECZ, which clearly shows our party as a religious organization whose activities are “ministry and preaching” and altered office bearers in which a deceased person was indicated as Secretary General of the party, and which ECZ used as a basis for our disqualification?
7. Fellow citizens, members of the media, at this point, it has become evident to us that there was a well-choreographed plan by specific Government officials within the UPND Government, to prevent our party from filing in election nominations, through an alteration of our party records that are maintained at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. It is our belief that as soon as the objective of disqualifying us was achieved, the said alteration was then reversed.
8. We wish to categorically state that this unauthorized alteration of our party records to prevent us from filing in our nominations, is not about political gimmicking, it is not about mingalato, but it is about brazen and shameless criminality. Pure and simple. We wish to promise those Government officials that have been involved in this criminality, that we shall hold you accountable, at the right time.
9. Fellow citizens, members of the media, it is worth mentioning that the Patriots for Economic Progress had parliamentary candidates in each of the 15 constituencies in which the UPND party has claimed to have gone unopposed, and that had it not been for ECZ preventing us from filing in our nominations across the country, on the basis of falsified party records, no single UPND parliamentary candidate would have gone unopposed. Therefore, it is our firm position that all the UPND MPs who claim to have gone through unopposed, are illegitimate, as they are a product of a criminal enterprise orchestrated by specific officials of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. As earlier stated, all those involved in this criminal scheme shall be held accountable at the right time.
10. For now, we shall leave everything in the hands of God the Almighty. Thank you.
Jointly Issued by:
Eng. Chanda A. B. Chanda Katotobwe
2026 Presidential Candidate
Patriots for Economic Progress
Lusaka, Zambia
Email: pepzambia2026@gmail.com
And
Sean E. Tembo
Party President & 2026 Running Mate
Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP)
Lusaka, Zambia
Email: SET2026@pepzm.org