Swala Pilu warns Zambia’s mental health is the next frontier after 2026 General Elections

By Francis Maingaila LUSAKA, Zambia24 — 19 August 2026 — As Zambia begins to move on from the excitement, disappointment and tension of the 2026 General Elections, a mental health organisation has warned that the country must now pay attention to the emotional scars left behind by the polls. Swala Pilu Executive Director and Founder […]

By Francis Maingaila

LUSAKA, Zambia24 — 19 August 2026 — As Zambia begins to move on from the excitement, disappointment and tension of the 2026 General Elections, a mental health organisation has warned that the country must now pay attention to the emotional scars left behind by the polls.

Swala Pilu Executive Director and Founder Mary Kufanga says the psychological impact of the elections could linger long after the votes have been counted, with some citizens struggling to come to terms with the outcome.

Speaking during a media engagement in Lusaka today, Ms. Kufanga said the elections had touched almost every aspect of people’s lives, with many Zambians closely following the results and anxiously waiting to know who would govern the country for the next five years.

She congratulated President Hakainde Hichilema on his re-election but appealed to political leaders and citizens to help calm the country and create an environment where people can recover emotionally from what has been a demanding election period.

Swala Pilu, whose name comes from the Lozi phrase meaning “hold your heart,” is a non-governmental organisation registered under the NGO Act No. 16 of 2009. Established in June 2019, the organisation focuses on reducing suicide and fighting the stigma surrounding mental health care in Zambia.

For this year’s elections, Swala Pilu deployed observers across all ten constituencies of Lusaka Province to follow the voting, counting and announcement of results.

Ms. Kufanga said the decision to take part in election monitoring was not only about checking what happened at polling stations but also understanding how the electoral process affected people’s emotional wellbeing.

However, the organisation’s plans were frustrated by accreditation challenges.

She said Swala Pilu had hoped to deploy more than 100 monitors, but only a small number were eventually accredited. Some of the organisation’s members, she said, spent between two and three days queuing at Nakatindi Hall before they could obtain accreditation.

Ms. Kufanga urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to review the accreditation process before the next elections, saying longer accreditation periods and more staff could help avoid similar problems.

She said civil society organisations should be given enough room to monitor elections because their presence helps provide an independent account of what happens on the ground.

Despite some incidents of violence reported in areas such as Matero, Chawama and parts of Kitwe, Ms. Kufanga said Swala Pilu generally found the elections to have been peaceful.

But she said the calm seen in polling stations should not hide the emotional strain that many citizens experienced during and after the elections.

According to Ms. Kufanga, Swala Pilu had come across both documented and undocumented cases of people who struggled to cope with the election outcome, including cases where individuals reportedly lost touch with reality and others who took their own lives.

She said the long wait for results only added to the anxiety, as families spent hours and days glued to television screens, radio stations and social media platforms waiting for updates.

Ms. Kufanga said the situation showed why mental health should not be treated as an afterthought whenever the country goes through an election.

She challenged political leaders on both sides of the political divide to be mindful of the words they use when addressing their supporters, particularly in the tense days immediately after an election.

Leaders who won, she said, have a responsibility to reassure those who supported other candidates, while those who lost should also help their supporters accept the outcome peacefully.

Ms. Kufanga said political messages should give citizens hope instead of creating fear, anger or a sense of hopelessness.

She also appealed to journalists, broadcasters, social media commentators and citizen journalists to handle election-related information carefully.

The media, she said, should become “ambassadors of mental health” by avoiding sensational reporting, verifying information before sharing it and understanding that careless messages can have serious consequences for people already under emotional pressure.

For ordinary citizens, Ms. Kufanga encouraged people to take a step back from constant election coverage and avoid spending every waking hour following political discussions online.

She advised Zambians to use different sources of information, take breaks from social media and give themselves time to process the results.

Accepting an election result that does not go one’s way, she said, is also part of democratic life.

Swala Pilu has further announced that it will provide post-election mental health support to Zambians who are struggling with the emotional effects of the electoral period.

Ms. Kufanga said the support would be available to individuals, families and communities, regardless of which candidate they supported.

For a country that has spent weeks campaigning, debating, voting and waiting for results, she said the work does not end with the declaration of a winner.

The votes may have been counted and the political contest may be over, but for some Zambians, the process of healing is only beginning.

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