STOP ATTACKING AND MALIGNING ECZ, KASARO CALLS FOR CEASE FIRE
You cannot malign, attack and attack the electoral management body on social media and expect a credible election, says Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Brown Kasaro.
And Kasaro says the recently concluded delimitation process was not influenced by perceived strongholds of political parties but was done within the provision of the law.
Featuring on ZNBC’s Sunday Interview, Kasaro said ECZ has continued engaging all key stakeholders in the buildup to the August 2026 general election to ensure all sticking points are clarified.
Kasaro also claimed that all political parties that attended last Friday’s ‘constructive consultative’ meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Centre were all registered with the Registrar of Societies.
“The credibility of an election is not entirely the responsibility of the electoral management body but all stakeholders. You cannot malign, attack and attack and expect a credible election – let’s work together,” Kasaro said.
He said contrary to “snippets flying around on social media,” ECZ had a very constructive engagement and long meeting with political parties at Mulungushi.
Kasaro announced that ECZ is expected to release all names of registered political parties this month-end.
He also said it was wrong for anyone to suggest that the recently released delimitation report that saw creation of new 70 constituencies, the biggest in the country’s history, favoured strongholds of the ruling UPND.
Kasaro explained that power bases of political parties tend to shift over time and cannot form the basis for a delimitation exercise.
“As far as ECZ is concerned, we execute based on what the Republican Constitution outlines. So, we looked at an area and said, ‘how do the factors come to bear in this particular… delimitation is for the purpose of elections,” he said.
Kasale also said although there were a lot of political alliances in the country currently, all candidates aspiring to contest this year’s general election can only do so as sponsored candidates of political parties or as independent candidates.
“When it comes to contesting an election, the law recognizes two categories of candidates at whatever level – either you’re independent or sponsored by a political party,” he said.
Kasaro also explained that although the delimitation outcome has realigned the constituencies, registered voters are expected to vote at their polling stations of registration.
“From a practical point of view, the voter’s card does not change; it remains valid. You show up at the polling station where you registered, you’ll go and vote,” said Kasaro.
“The aspect of you registered at a polling station that is now away from where you ordinarily reside and that polling station is now in a different constituency… the assurance is that your voter’s card remains valid and you’ll still be able to vote in that place.”
Zambia is scheduled to hold its general election on 13 August 2026 and nominations for presidential candidates are expected between 18 – 22, May.