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The People’s Action for the Country’s Transformation (The People’s Pact) has filed a petition in the Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of the ongoing delimitation exercise and the naming of new constituencies and wards by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
The ECZ earlier announced that it would conduct the delimitation process pursuant to Article 58(5) of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016.
In the petition filed on Saturday, January 17, 2026, People’s Pact Vice President for Strategy, Peter Sinkamba, said the challenge focused on ECZ’s intention to incorporate newly defined administrative units into the Final Voters Register for the 2026 General Election, scheduled for August 13.
“This is despite the underlying voter registration data being captured prior to the legal finalization of said boundaries, particularly the dissolution of Parliament and councils,” Sinkamba stated.
The People’s Pact argues that the move contravenes Article 58(6) of the Constitution and has cited the Attorney General as the second respondent.
The Pact is seeking a stay of the 2025/2026 delimitation exercise and an injunction against the certification of the Final Voters Register, which is set for April 30, 2026. A Certificate of Urgency has also been filed, with the group arguing that the current electoral timeline creates a “fatal, unconstitutional collision” between voter registration and the delimitation of boundaries.
The petition further argues that certification of the Voters Register—a process that becomes an irreversible “legal lock” under the Electoral Process Act—makes the matter urgent.
“Once certified, the register becomes the final legal basis for the August 13, 2026 election,” Sinkamba warned, adding that errors in constituency particulars, which he described as “widespread” due to the reverse order of ECZ’s process, would be cemented and impossible to correct administratively.
The Pact also noted that the statutory window for inspection of the Provisional Register, running from February 9 to 23, 2026, is quickly approaching. According to the petition, voters lack “constitutional certainty” because boundaries for the proposed 211 constituencies were not legally finalized during mass registration.
The group added that ECZ’s plan violated Article 57(6), which stipulated that new boundaries only took effect upon the dissolution of Parliament and councils. Imposing the new boundaries beforehand, the Pact argues, amounts to a procedural breach that requires immediate judicial intervention to prevent a nullity.
The petition also raises concerns about potential mass disenfranchisement.
“By issuing voter cards based on 156 constituencies, and then mapping them to 211 constituencies ex post facto, the ECZ creates a mismatch between a voter’s physical card and the electronic register,” the Pact argued, saying the mismatch infringes on the right to vote under Article 45.
Additionally, the group asserts that the ECZ has failed to demonstrate compliance with the population quota requirement under Article 58(5). Sinkamba questioned which delimitation report the ECZ intends to use—the 2019 report completed before the 2022 census, or another undisclosed report.
The People’s Pact maintains that the balance of convenience favors halting the process to preserve the existing 156 constituencies and ensure a credible election.
They warned that if the stay was denied and the petition eventually succeeded, the entire August 13 election could be rendered a constitutional nullity, potentially triggering national instability.
The Pact is urging the Constitutional Court to grant the matter urgent consideration and issue the requested stay to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and uphold the rule of law.
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