The Job That Can End Your Boss’s Career – ECZ Chairperson
The Returning Officer for Zambia’s presidential elections is the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). This is a presidential appointment, meaning the holder serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
However, the position carries a unique and awkward dynamic. The Returning Officer has the power to effectively “fire” their own boss, the incumbent President by announcing the election of a new one. In doing so, they often risk their own position. However, history has shown us that doing the right thing is the best.
In the 1991 Elections Justice Annel Musenga Silungwe, then Chief Justice of Zambia, served as Returning Officer. Appointed by President Kenneth Kaunda, he declared Frederick Chiluba the winner, thereby ending Kaunda’s long rule. Silungwe continued as Chief Justice until 1992. He later had a distinguished international judicial career, serving as a judge in Seychelles and on the Supreme Court of Namibia. He passed away on 30 June 2024 at the age of 88.
In the 2011 Elections Justice Irene Mambilima, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, presided over the election. She announced Michael Sata’s victory over incumbent President Rupiah Banda. Mambilima continued serving as ECZ Chairperson until 2015, when she was appointed Chief Justice of Zambia, the first woman to hold the position. She served until her death on 20 June 2021.
In the 2021 Elections Following the 2016 constitutional amendments, the ECZ Chairperson formally became the Returning Officer. Justice Esau Chulu, who had been appointed by President Edgar Lungu, declared Hakainde Hichilema the winner subisquently firing his boss. Chulu’s contract as ECZ Chairperson was not renewed by the new administration and ended in June 2022. He later faced some public scrutiny though details remain limited. The only chairperson to go through such in history leaving a question of whether it’s him or just the personality of the administration when clearly Justice Chulu had preceded over a successful election, More recently, he was seen in public with Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In the upcoming 2026 elections, Mrs. Mwangala Zaloumis, the current Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, finds herself in this same delicate position. She is actively overseeing preparations, including the recent filing of presidential nominations.
Will she join the list of Returning Officers who declared their appointer’s defeat? Or will the incumbent retain power? History shows that regardless of the outcome, those who conduct their duties with integrity and professionalism can still look forward to life and opportunities after the job.
The role of Returning Officer is one of akward power and pressure, a position where one can decide the fate of the very person who appointed them. Yet it remains a noble duty, and Zambia’s democratic journey has shown that there is life after the verdict.
Michael M. Mulusa
The Voice