Zambia’s 2026 general elections: Democratic progress amid persistent challenges

The document identifies strategic electoral violence, the weaponization of the judiciary by ruling parties, and the chronic under-representation of women and low-income citizens as primary threats to democratic consolidation in Zambia. It highlights that while the country has maintained competitive elections since 1991, extensive presidential powers and subnational authoritarianism undermine local democracy. The brief recommends mobilizing election observers, safeguarding judicial independence through transparent processes, and utilizing credible voter information campaigns to improve accountability.

• Political parties in Zambia use low-scale, non-fatal electoral violence—such as harassment, rally disruption, and the creation of 'no-go zones'—to maintain territorial control and demobilize opposition support, leading to a form of subnational authoritarianism.
• Ruling parties strategically use their superior financial and political resources to file expensive electoral petitions to overturn opposition victories, though judges have generally remained resilient to political pressure in their final rulings.
• Zambia's parliament suffers from significant representational deficits; women hold less than 15% of seats as of 2025 despite being 52% of the population, and the legislature is dominated by wealthy business elites who can self-finance campaigns.
• Constitutional amendments in December 2025 expanded the National Assembly from 167 to 280 seats and introduced mixed-member proportional representation, including reserved seats for women (20), youth (15), and persons with disabilities (5).

APA

Gjerløw, H., Rakner, L., & Stiansen, Ø. (2026). Zambia’s 2026 general elections: Democratic progress amid persistent challenges. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/9dea3dba-0108-49eb-b371-2ebdcf6dd36f/PRIO Policy Brief 2 - 2026.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Gjerløw, Haakon, Lise Rakner, and Øyvind Stiansen. Zambia’s 2026 general elections: Democratic progress amid persistent challenges. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2026. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/9dea3dba-0108-49eb-b371-2ebdcf6dd36f/PRIO Policy Brief 2 - 2026.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{gjerlw2026zambias, author = {Gjerløw, Haakon and Rakner, Lise and Stiansen, Øyvind}, title = {{Zambia’s 2026 general elections: Democratic progress amid persistent challenges}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/9dea3dba-0108-49eb-b371-2ebdcf6dd36f/PRIO Policy Brief 2 - 2026.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }