European Union Election Observation Mission Zambia, General Elections 13 August 2026 - Preliminary Statement

The EU mission deployed 100 observers and on election day visited 419 polling stations in 113 of Zambia's 226 constituencies, plus tabulation at 47 totalling centres, finding election day calm and counting transparent but the wider process shaped by an uneven playing field. It records that 14 candidates stood for president. Media monitoring of ten outlets from 15 July to 12 August recorded UPND taking 96.2 per cent of election-related airtime on ZNBC TV1 and 90.5 per cent on ZNBC Radio 1, with challenger Brian Mundubile on 0.1 per cent of TV1 coverage and no direct speech at all on national television or radio, and the state-owned Zambia Daily Mail giving 90.7 per cent of its election news to the president. Facebook political advertising was limited but peaked near the vote at some EUR 42,000, 92 per cent of it supporting UPND, and false claims showed no signs of coordinated and structured effort. Observers directly witnessed misuse of state resources at campaign events in eight provinces and noted indications of voter inducement at a third of observed events across nine provinces, and recorded voter-card numbers written on ballot counterfoils in most polling stations observed. It records the ECZ suspending counting and the announcement of results for six hours on 14 August and announcing that it would not publish results by polling station.