🇿🇲 READER OPINION | Understanding Zambia’s Unique Mixed-Member Electoral System
By Haggai Muzeya
Many Zambian voters appear to misunderstand how the country’s new mixed-member electoral system will operate. There is a widespread assumption that Zambia has adopted a system identical to Germany’s, where each voter receives two parliamentary ballots: one for a constituency candidate and another for a political party to determine proportional representation seats. This assumption is incorrect.
Under the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025, which followed President Hakainde Hichilema’s assent to Bill 7 in December 2025, Zambia has adopted a distinct model. The confusion stems largely from limited civic education by the Government, the Electoral Commission of Zambia, and civil society actors. It is therefore necessary to clarify how the system will function
In Germany, half of the 630 members of the Bundestag are elected through the First Past the Post system in single-member constituencies. The remaining half are allocated through a party list proportional representation system, based on each party’s share of the national vote. Voters cast two separate ballots, one for a candidate and one for a party.
Zambia’s model differs in a critical way. While 226 Members of Parliament will be elected through the First Past the Post system in single-member constituencies, the 40 reserved seats for women, youth, and persons with disabilities will not be filled through party lists. Instead, these seats will be allocated based on the percentage share of the national presidential vote obtained by a party’s presidential candidate, provided the candidate meets the threshold to be set by an Act of Parliament before the dissolution of the National Assembly on 13 May 2026 ahead of the 13 August 2026 general elections.
This distinction is the crux of the matter. It has gone largely unnoticed, much as key constitutional provisions were overlooked during the 2016 amendment process, including the introduction of the Grade 12 certificate requirement, which later disqualified several sitting Members of Parliament.
The question then arises: why did the UPND government opt for a presidential vote-based allocation rather than a traditional party list proportional representation system? The answer lies in political strategy. The ruling party sought to maximise its share of the 40 reserved seats and strengthen its parliamentary majority.
Electoral data from recent election cycles support this interpretation. In the 2021 elections, President Hakainde Hichilema polled approximately 2.85 million votes, representing about 59 percent of the presidential vote. By contrast, UPND parliamentary candidates collectively polled about 46.22 percent. Former President Edgar Lungu polled about 38 percent, while the PF parliamentary vote stood at around 35.7 percent. Other presidential candidates such as Charity Kateka recorded higher presidential votes than their parties’ parliamentary totals, underscoring the dominance of presidential candidates over party structures.
If the current reserved-seat system had been in place in 2021 and calculated using presidential votes, President Hichilema’s UPND would have secured a significantly larger share of the reserved seats than it would under a party list system. Conversely, under a traditional party list system, the distribution would have been narrower, with minimal gains for smaller parties.
The contrast becomes even clearer when examining candidates whose parties performed better than they did personally. Fred M’membe, Harry Kalaba, and Trevor Mwamba all polled fewer presidential votes than their parties received in parliamentary contests. Under a presidential vote-based allocation system, such parties would be disadvantaged in accessing reserved seats.
The implication is clear. The presidential vote-based proportional allocation rewards strong presidential candidates and penalises fragmented opposition parties. It also places heavy logistical, financial, and organisational demands on political parties, particularly opposition formations already weakened by internal divisions.
In this new political landscape, electoral success will depend less on grievance politics and more on credible economic alternatives, disciplined organisation, and strategic judgement. The system will not reward delay, fragmentation, or emotive mobilisation. It will reward preparation and coherence.
Haggai Muzeya
Political historian based in Kitwe
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