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 Zambiaportal |
Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. [1] The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms. [2]
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| Zambiaportal |
Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. [1] The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms. [2]
Elections for five members of the Advisory Council were held for the first time in 1918, at which time suffrage was limited to British subjects over the age of 21 who had lived in the territory for at least six months and owned at least £150 of property. [3] Elections under the same system were held in 1920 and 1922. In 1924 a Legislative Council with five elected member was created, with the first elections held in 1926. [4]
Prior to the 1929 elections the number of elected members was increased to seven. Subsequent elections were held in 1932, 1935 and 1938. The 1941 elections saw eight members elected, with the new Northern Rhodesian Labour Party winning five seats. However, after its defeat in the 1944 elections, the party was disbanded. Prior to the 1948 elections the number of elected members was increased to ten, with two Africans appointed to the Council.
In 1953 the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formed, with all territories electing members to the federal Legislative Assembly. The first federal elections were held in the same year. Northern Rhodesia had eight ordinary seats, and three members representing African interests, two of which were Africans chosen by an electoral college and one European appointed by the governor. Only three Africans qualified to vote. The Federal Party won seven of the eight ordinary seats.
Constitutional reforms saw the number of elected seats in the Northern Rhodesian Legislative Council increase to twelve in 1954, with four African members selected by the Northern Rhodesian African Representative Council. The 1954 elections resulted in a victory for the Federal Party, which won ten seats. The next federal elections in 1958 saw a landslide victory for the United Federal Party (UFP), the successor the Federal Party, which won 46 of the 59 seats.
The promulgation of the "Lennox-Boyd constitution" led to the expansion of the Legislative Council to 22 elected members for the 1959 elections. It provided for 12 "ordinary" seats with mostly Europeans, six "special" seats mainly reserved for Africans, two reserved for Africans and two reserved for Europeans. The UFP retained their majority, winning 13 seats. Further constitutional reforms led to another electoral system being implemented for the 1962 elections, with 15 members elected by an upper roll, 15 elected by a lower roll and 15 by both rolls together. Although the UFP won the most seats, the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress (NRANC) were able to form a coalition government.
The next elections in 1964 were held under another new system, with 65 seats elected by an African "main roll" and ten seats by a "reserved roll" primarily for Europeans. The result was a victory for UNIP, which won 55 of the 75 seats, allowing Kenneth Kaunda to become Prime Minister, and subsequently President when Zambia became independent on 24 October 1964.
General elections in 1968 included the first vote for president, with Kaunda defeating Zambian African National Congress (a renamed NRANC) leader Harry Nkumbula with 82% of the vote. The ten reserved seats in the National Assembly were abolished and the number of elected seats increased to 105, with an additional five members appointed by the President. UNIP won 81 of the elected seats.
In 1973 the country became a one-party state; general elections in the same year saw Kaunda run unopposed for the presidency, with voters voting yes or no to his candidacy (89% voted in favour). The National Assembly now had 125 elected seats, ten presidential appointees and a Speaker elected from outside the chamber. Although UNIP was the only legal party, up to three UNIP candidates could contest each seat. The same system was used for elections in 1978, 1983 and 1988, with Kaunda re-elected each time.
Multi-party democracy was restored in 1991, with general elections held in October that year. Kaunda was defeated by Frederick Chiluba of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in the presidential elections, with Chiluba receiving 76% of the vote. The MMD won 125 of the 150 elected seats in an expanded National Assembly, whilst the number of presidential appointees was reduced to eight. Chiluba was re-elected in the 1996 elections, with the MMD winning 131 seats and UNIP losing all 25 seats it had won in 1991.
In 2001 MMD candidate Levy Mwanawasa won the presidential elections with just 29% of the vote in a field of eleven candidates. The MMD was reduced to 69 seats in the National Assembly, with opposition parties gaining a majority. Mwanawasa was re-elected in 2006 with 43% of the vote, although the MMD again failed to win a majority of seats in the National Assembly. After Mwanawasa's death in 2008, presidential elections were held for a candidate to serve the remainder of his five year term. The elections were won by the MMD's Rupiah Banda.
The 2011 general elections saw the Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Michael Sata elected president with 42% of the vote, whilst the PF became the largest party in the National Assembly, winning 60 seats. After Sata's death in 2014, another presidential by-election was held in 2015 and won by the PF's Edgar Lungu, who received 48% of the vote. Lungu was re-elected in the 2016 general elections, which also saw the PF gain a majority in the National Assembly, winning 80 of the 156 seats. In the 2021 elections Lungu was defeated by Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND), while the UPND also secured a majority in the National Assembly with 82 of the 156 elected seats.
Elections in Zambia are organised by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), an independent public body. The voting age is 18.
Between 1991 and 2015 the president was elected in a single round of voting by the first-past-the-post system. However, constitutional reforms passed in 2015 introduced the two-round system, which was used for the 2016 elections. [5]
Until 2016, if a president died in office, a by-election was held to elect a president to serve the remainder of the five-year term; under this system presidential by-elections were held in 2008 and 2015 after two presidents had died in office. However, the 2015 constitutional amendments provided for a vice president who would serve the remainder of the five-year term without the need for a by-election if the president died.
Of the 164 members of the National Assembly, 156 are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies, with a further eight appointed by the President and a Speaker and one deputy speaker elected from outside the National Assembly. [6] National Assembly candidates must be at least 21. [7]
Since independence in 1964 two national referendum have been held in Zambia. A constitutional referendum in 1969 saw 85% of voters approve amendments to the constitution to remove the need for referendums on certain constitutional amendments. Another constitutional referendum in 2016 a majority of those voting were in favour of the amendments to the bill of rights, but turnout was below the 50% threshold required to validate the results.
The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonisation to independence from Britain on 24 October 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), defeating long-time President Kenneth Kaunda. He was re-elected in 1996. As he was unable to run for a third term in 2001, former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa instead ran as the MMD candidate and succeeded him. After leaving office, Chiluba was the subject of a long investigation and trial regarding alleged corruption; he was eventually acquitted in 2009.
The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was President of Zambia. Its election into power in 1991 ended the 27-year rule of President Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP). It remained the dominant party within Zambian politics until the general elections of September 2011.
The president of the Republic of Zambia is the head of state and head of government of Zambia and is the highest executive authority in the country. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and is responsible for the administration of the government, overseeing the implementation of national policies, and representing Zambia in international affairs. The office was established at Zambia's independence in 1964. The current president is Hakainde Hichilema, who assumed office on August 24, 2021, following the 2021 presidential election where his party, the United Party for National Development, won a majority. The president's role includes appointing the Cabinet, serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Zambian Defence Force, and ensuring the enforcement of laws.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a prominent political party in Zambia, founded in December 1998 by Anderson Mazoka, a former executive of the Anglo American Corporation. The party emerged as a significant opposition force following a split from the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). The UPND positions itself as a centrist party with strong ideological commitments to social and economic liberalism, advocating for policies that support free-market principles, human rights, and democratic governance.
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 April 2021, Bishop Trevor Mwamba was elected President of UNIP.
The Patriotic Front (PF) is a political party in Zambia, founded in 2001 by Michael Sata. It emerged as a breakaway party from the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) after Sata was not selected as the MMD's presidential candidate for the 2001 elections. The PF is primarily supported by the youth and the urban poor, and it gained significant political influence over time.
General elections were held in Zambia on 28 September 2006 to elect a President, members of the National Assembly and local government councillors. The result was a victory for the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, which won 75 of the 150 National Assembly seats and whose candidate, Levy Mwanawasa, won the presidential vote. Voter turnout was just over 70%.
Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was a Zambian politician who served as the fifth president of Zambia from 2011 until his death in 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government. He went into opposition in 2001, forming the PF. As an opposition leader, Sata – popularly known as "The King Cobra", emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential election, but was defeated. Following Mwanawasa's death, Sata ran again in 2008, losing to Rupiah Banda.
Rupiah Bwezani Banda was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, during which time he held several diplomatic posts.
Enoch P. Kavindele is a Zambian businessman and politician who served as the seventh vice-president of Zambia from 2001 until 2003.
General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 20 and 21 January 1964. There were two voter rolls for the Legislative Council, a main roll that elected 65 seats, and a reserved roll that elected 10. Africans elected the main roll, whilst Europeans elected the reserve roll. Other ethnicities were allowed to choose which roll to be part of. The United National Independence Party won the elections, taking 55 of the common roll seats. Its leader, Kenneth Kaunda became Prime Minister, leading the country to independence in October that year, at which point he became President. Voter turnout was 94.8% for the main roll and 74.1% for the reserved roll.
General elections were held in Zambia on 19 December 1968 to elect the National Assembly and President. The first post-independence polls saw incumbent Kenneth Kaunda retain his post as president, whilst his United National Independence Party, the only party to field candidates in all 105 constituencies, won 81 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 82.5% in the parliamentary election, but 87.1% in the presidential election.
General elections were held in Zambia on 31 October 1991 to elect a President and National Assembly. They were the first multi-party elections since 1968, and only the second multi-party elections since independence in 1964. The United National Independence Party (UNIP), which had led the country since independence, was comprehensively beaten by the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Kenneth Kaunda, who had been president since independence, was defeated in a landslide by MMD challenger Frederick Chiluba in the presidential elections, whilst the MMD won 125 of the 150 elected seats in the expanded National Assembly. Voter turnout was 45%.
General elections were held in Zambia on 18 November 1996 to elect a President and National Assembly. They were boycotted by the main opposition party, the United National Independence Party, together with five other allied parties, following changes to the constitution which they failed to have reversed following a court challenge. The changes imposed a two-term limit on the presidency, required presidential candidates to be born to two Zambian citizens by birth or descent, and required National Assembly candidates to give up their chieftaincy. UNIP believed these changes were specifically aimed at their longtime leader, Kenneth Kaunda, whose parents were Malawian and had previously served as the country's first president from 1964 to 1991. The changes would have also excluded UNIP's vice president, a chief. Subsequently, the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy won a comfortable victory in both elections, taking 131 of the 150 elected seats in the National Assembly, and its candidate, Frederick Chiluba, winning 73% of the vote in the presidential election.
General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 30 October 1962, with by-elections for several seats held on 10 December. Although the United Federal Party won the most seats in the Legislative Council, and Northern Rhodesian African National Congress leader Harry Nkumbula had made a secret electoral pact with the UFP, Nkumbula decided to form a government with the United National Independence Party.
Benjamin Yoram Mwila, often known as BY, was a Zambian politician and businessman. Mwila was a prominent leader and co-founder of the Zambia Republican Party. He served as an MP for Luanshya in the National Assembly. Mwila held several cabinet portfolios within the cabinet of President Frederick Chiluba during the 1990s, including Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1997.
Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 20 January 2015 to elect a president to serve the remainder of the term of President Michael Sata, following his death on 28 October 2014.
Vera Tembo is a Zambian politician and member of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). She served as the First Lady of Zambia from 1991 until her separation from her former husband, President Frederick Chiluba, in 2001.
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