THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)said Monday that seven of 226 parliamentary candidates will run unopposed in next month's General Election. ECZ Commissioner Macdonald Chipenzi said six mayoral candidates out of 116 districts and 176 local government candidates out of 1,858 wards are also unopposed. Speaking during an update on ballot printing at Al Ghurair

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THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)said Monday that seven of 226 parliamentary candidates will run unopposed in next month’s General Election.

ECZ Commissioner Macdonald Chipenzi said six mayoral candidates out of 116 districts and 176 local government candidates out of 1,858 wards are also unopposed.

Speaking during an update on ballot printing at Al Ghurair in Dubai, Chipenzi said stakeholders had been advised that, apart from the presidential race, several candidates had been declared unopposed in mayoral, National Assembly and local government elections.

“The Commission recorded six unopposed candidates for the mayoral elections out of 116 districts, seven unopposed candidates for the National Assembly elections out of 226 constituencies, and 176 unopposed candidates for the local government elections out of 1,858 wards,” Chipenzi said.

He said the total number of ballot papers to be printed had been reduced to reflect the unopposed seats.

Chipenzi said all 9.1 million presidential ballot papers had been printed.

As of Monday, July 20, 2026, the commission had printed 7,708,700 ballot papers for 1,542 wards for local government elections.

For mayoral and council chairperson elections, 6,722,550 ballot papers for 96 districts had been printed.

For National Assembly elections, 6,628,500 ballot papers have been printed for 168 constituencies. Printing remains for 58 constituencies, representing about 26% of total National Assembly seats.

Chipenzi said all administrative requirements relating to ballot paper printing proofs had been resolved. He said the commission guaranteed “the absolute integrity of the printing process, from initial production and packaging to final delivery.”

He said the first pallets of ballot papers would be transported from the printing plant to the airport beginning July 24, 2026, with airlifting scheduled to start July 26, 2026.

“Throughout transit, the sealed pallets will remain secure and will be verified by stakeholder delegations upon arrival at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport,” Chipenzi said.

The commission said it will continue providing regular updates until the exercise is concluded.

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