🇿🇲 The 2026 presidential election in Zambia: A new stage for one of Africa's most stable democracies

This is the first part of our overview of Zambia’s general elections on 13 August 2026. The presidential and National Assembly elections will be held simultaneously, but this commentary focuses on the presidential race. Tomorrow, we will examine the parliamentary contest.

Zambia, a landlocked and copper-rich country in Southern Africa, is one of the region’s more politically stable states. Elections in the country are generally competitive and peaceful, while transfers of power have taken place without major political violence.

A total of 14 candidates have been approved for the presidential election. However, the main contest is between incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and Brian Mundubile, backed by the opposition Tonse Alliance. Other candidates may affect the distribution of votes, but the fragmentation of the opposition continues to favour Hichilema.

These will be the first general elections held under the constitutional amendments adopted in 2025. The reform changed the composition of the National Assembly and expanded representation for women, young people and persons with disabilities. Its political effects will be examined in the second part of our overview.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has introduced a 50-day presidential campaign timetable divided into 10 five-day phases, with candidates rotating through all 10 provinces. The system is intended to ensure more equal access to voters and reduce the risk of rival rallies and local confrontations.

Hichilema enters the campaign with a stronger macroeconomic record than at the beginning of his term. His government advanced sovereign debt restructuring, restored cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), rebuilt foreign reserves, reduced inflation and attracted new investment, particularly in the mining sector. It also expanded free public education and introduced reforms covering access to information and pensions.

However, macroeconomic stabilisation has not produced an equally visible improvement in household living standards. The opposition focuses on food prices, unemployment, electricity shortages and weak purchasing power. Its central argument is that the improvement in Zambia’s national economic indicators has not yet translated into meaningful changes in people’s daily lives.
Hichilema remains the clear favourite in the presidential race. The key question is whether voters will reward the government for economic stabilisation or judge it by the slower social impact of the recovery.

🌏 Author: CIIC expert Arina Salivon