With just over two weeks until Zambians cast their ballots on 13 August, this year’s general election has already produced a striking statistic: 189 elective positions have been settled without a single vote being cast, according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia.

The commission says the wave of uncontested seats stems chiefly from gaps in party organisation and candidate mobilisation, rather than any deliberate design. In each case, only one candidate successfully completed the nomination process for the post in question, which under Zambian electoral law means that candidate is automatically declared duly elected. No ballot paper is printed, and no contest takes place.

The scale of the phenomenon is notable. ECZ has confirmed that eight parliamentary constituencies, six mayoral and council chairperson positions, and 176 ward councillor seats fall into this category. ECZ commissioner McDonald Chipenzi said the commission would therefore skip printing ballots for those races altogether, trimming both printing volumes and overall election costs. Yet what looks like a simple administrative efficiency has opened up a much bigger conversation about the state of party readiness across the political spectrum.

The ruling United Party for National Development has been the chief beneficiary. Candidates including Jack Mwiimbu in Monze, Trevor Mwiinde in Choma South, Edgar Siakachoma in Kalomo South, Vumango Musumali in Zambezi West, Clement Andeleki in Kazungula North and Siakole Nchimunya in Sinazongwe will all walk into the National Assembly without having faced a rival candidate. None of their would-be challengers managed to file valid nomination papers before the deadline closed. A similar pattern played out at ward level, where several council seats were also decided without contest.

Political analyst Ngande Mwanajiti has urged caution against reading this simply as an overwhelming show of public confidence in the ruling party. In his assessment, the pattern says at least as much about internal party discipline as it does about voter sentiment. He argues that fielding a full slate of properly vetted, fully documented candidates requires groundwork that begins long before nomination day, not last-minute scrambling once the window opens.

“It should not take the ECZ to tell anybody that you have a problem with your political party,” Mwanajiti said, insisting that parties bear responsibility for sorting out candidate selection, compliance and internal structures well ahead of the electoral calendar.

There is also a tactical dimension to consider. Mwanajiti pointed out that once a seat is decided unopposed, the winning party effectively banks that constituency immediately, freeing up time, money and organisational energy to pour into other, more competitive races. Multiplied across 189 positions, that advantage becomes significant, and at a national level, he said, it currently sits squarely with UPND.

Much of the imbalance traces back to a turbulent nomination season for the opposition. The People’s Pact Initiative withdrew its backing of presidential candidate Fred M’membe amid an internal leadership crisis and a vote of no confidence. Citizens First’s Harry Kalaba lost both his running mate, Moses Mawere, and his Roan parliamentary candidate, Chishimba Kambwili, to Tonse Alliance. Independent candidate Given Katuta and Organised People’s Party’s Brian Mushimba were each abandoned by their own running mates. Patriots for Economic Progress leader Sean Tembo alleges his party’s registration records were tampered with entirely, forcing it out of contention.

Notably, such disruptions no longer threaten to derail the election calendar itself. The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 now allows elections to proceed on schedule even where a candidate resigns or is disqualified after nominations close, reserving fresh nominations strictly for cases where a candidate dies before polling day. Mwanajiti called this a welcome source of certainty, but stressed it shifts the burden squarely back onto parties to manage their own internal affairs responsibly.

“Preparations for one election begin almost immediately after the previous election ends,” he said.

The 189 unopposed positions stand as an early marker of how uneven party readiness could shape outcomes well before a single vote is tallied.

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