Zambia : Mwakalombe Warns Of Disputed Election Over Ballot Mark Row

Japhen Mwakalombe, national campaign chairperson for the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, says lawyers acting on behalf of the alliance, including Makebi Zulu Advocates, have written to the Electoral Commission of Zambia demanding urgent confirmation that a cross remains the only valid mark for casting a ballot under Regulation 33(d) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations of 2016.

Speaking on Red Hot Breakfast, Mwakalombe said Zambians have voted using the X since independence, and questioned why the Commission would introduce alternative marks so close to Thursday’s election. “It’s in our laws that it’s by X,” he said. “What is the reason for change? These are the questions that we are saying.”

Mwakalombe argued that ECZ, as a public institution established through an Act of Parliament, belongs to the Zambian people and must be guided by what the people have determined rather than acting unilaterally. “I don’t know where [the Commission] are getting their powers,” he said. “Even their positions at ECZ, it belongs to the Zambian people. So for the Zambian people, they know that it is voting by X.”

He said the alliance had not been meaningfully consulted before the change was announced, describing recent engagements with the Commission as one-directional rather than genuine dialogue. “The ECZ of today is different from the ECZ of yesterday,” he said, referring to what he characterised as inconsistent messaging from the Commission. “What kind of engagement is that? If the stakeholders refuse and say we don’t want this, in the meeting they tell you, this is what we want and this is what is going to happen.”

Mwakalombe stressed that the alliance had no objection to marking with an X, since this remains the practice Zambians are familiar with, and appealed to both the international community and the current government to intervene. “This matter is not only affecting us as opposition. It is something that Zambians have gone through together,” he said.

Asked what the alliance would do if the Commission does not reverse its position and ballots marked with a tick or another symbol are accepted as valid during counting, Mwakalombe said the matter would ultimately need to be resolved through consultation and appeal to the conscience of election officials, while cautioning that disputed results could follow. “Zambia has put a record of good, credible elections,” he said. “This will be the first time that we are going to have elections that are disputed on that basis. But it is incumbent upon the government of the day to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Turning to a separate concern, Mwakalombe said he was aware that individuals closely associated with NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile have increasingly been arrested in the final days of campaigning, describing the trend as unprecedented and unfortunate. “This is a time when a person is supposed to go with a free conscience into the voting booth,” he said. “But now it is where people are freezing, with fear, which is very unfortunate.”

He also raised concern over reports that some district electoral officers have told polling agents they should not carry phones into polling stations, questioning the rationale given that polling stations are public places and that phones are needed to report irregularities through official complaint channels. “If you don’t have a phone, how are you going to submit a complaint?” he asked.

Mwakalombe said those arrested in recent days have in many cases not been formally charged, warning that delays risk keeping them in custody through polling day itself. “You will find there’s no charge that has been given to them,” he said. “Before we know it, those people will have not voted.” He called on government to intervene if law enforcement agencies were acting outside their mandate.

He closed by urging Zambians to turn out in large numbers on Thursday and to take responsibility for protecting their own votes rather than relying solely on political parties. “The moment they vote, they must also not rely on us political parties to protect their votes,” he said. “They must protect it themselves.”

Zambians go to the polls this Thursday to elect a president, members of parliament and local government representatives.

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