THE Electoral Commission of Zambia says it will invite the NRPUP to field a new parliamentary candidate for Lumezi North following the death of its aspiring candidate, Clement Mwale. Speaking in Dubai, Friday, during an update on the printing of ballot papers, ECZ Commissioner McDonald Chipenzi said the law requires the Commission to cancel a […]

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia says it will invite the NRPUP to field a new parliamentary candidate for Lumezi North following the death of its aspiring candidate, Clement Mwale.

Speaking in Dubai, Friday, during an update on the printing of ballot papers, ECZ Commissioner McDonald Chipenzi said the law requires the Commission to cancel a parliamentary election if a duly sponsored candidate dies before polls and to allow the sponsoring party to nominate a replacement.

“Although we have not yet received official notification, of course, we have NRPUP members here. I think they have confirmed that one of their candidates for Lumezi North has passed on. As you have rightly quoted the law, once a sponsored candidate has died, the Commission is empowered to cancel that election and call for fresh nominations for that party whose candidate has died. So, sooner or later, we’ll be inviting NRPUP to have a sole nomination to fill the gap that has been left by our beloved friend and brother for Lumezi North,” said Chipenzi.

His remarks follow the announcement by the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance in Eastern Province that its NRPUP parliamentary candidate for Lumezi North, Clement Mwale, had died.

In a statement issued, Thursday, Tonse Pamodzi Alliance Eastern Province chairperson Maxson Nkhoma said Mwale died in the early hours of July 16, 2026.