UPND ELECTION PETITIONS SHOW THAT ELECTIONS WERE NOT CREDIBLE
Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the filing of 41 parliamentary election petitions, particularly the fact that the majority have been filed by ruling UPND candidates, indicates that there were numerous irregularities and that the elections were not credible.
Party leader Saboi Imboela says the number of petitions, most of which have been filed by UPND candidates, demonstrates that the entire electoral process and procedures on which Zambia’s democratic credentials have been built were flawed.
Ms. Imboela has told Hot FM News that it is concerning and paints a bad picture that some of the candidates challenging the election results lost by huge margins.
She has cited former Lands Minister Sylvia Masebo, who contested the Chongwe East parliamentary seat and lost to independent candidate Anita Kamanga.
Ms. Imboela has also questioned the corruption allegations being cited by most of the petitioners, asking how an opposition or independent candidate could have managed to bribe more than 10,000 people to vote for them.
On the contrary, the high number of election court petitions does not, by itself, mean that the August 2026 elections were compromised.
The deeper problem is that many people are seeking political office not primarily as an opportunity to serve the nation and their communities, but increasingly as a lucrative form of employment and an easy pathway to improving their personal livelihoods.
Many losing parliamentary candidates appear driven by selfish interests and personal ambitions. While every candidate has the right to challenge an election where there is credible evidence of irregularities, petitioning should ideally be a wider and more consultative process involving the candidate’s sponsoring political party.
A high number of election petitions should therefore not automatically be interpreted as proof that an election was rigged or compromised. It could also be an indication that our electoral dispute-resolution mechanisms, electoral systems, and the institutions responsible for conducting elections need to be strengthened.
The focus should be on ensuring that genuine electoral grievances are addressed while discouraging petitions that are motivated primarily by personal ambition or refusal to accept legitimate electoral outcomes.