By 
Harry Kalaba, president of the Citizen First (CF) Party, has expressed concerns over the state of the electoral process ahead of the general elections scheduled for August 13, 2026.
Kalaba said he doubted Zambia would hold democratic, credible, transparent, peaceful, free and fair elections, citing activities he claims are being perpetrated by the Executive and are undermining the electoral environment.
He raised these concerns in a letter addressed to several international organizations, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC), African Union (AU), European Union (EU), and the government of the USA.
Kalaba stated that actions by President Hakainde Hichilema were designed to undermine democratic and independent institutions such as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the Judiciary, and the Zambia Police.
He alleged that the composition of the ECZ had been “packed with ruling party cadres.”
“The ECZ should be a neutral, objective and unbiased independent institution in order for it to conduct democratic, transparent, credible, peaceful, free and fair elections, and in order to meet acceptable international standards of an election,” Kalaba said.
He noted that President Hichilema had recently made new appointments to the ECZ as well as appointed 40 judges to superior courts ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Kalaba further expressed concern over what he described as the Zambia Police’s actions to deny civic and political rights to political parties and civil society organizations.
“The issuance of national identity (NRC) and voter registration was marred with accusations of voter suppression in areas where the Opposition was deemed to be strong,” he said.
In the letter, Kalaba emphasized that the ECZ was constitutionally mandated to consist of five commissioners appointed by the President.
However, he argued that the current composition raised serious concerns regarding inclusiveness and regional balance.
“For the past year, the four serving commissioners have come from the same region, undermining national geographical representation,” he stated.
He claimed that two of the four commissioners were strongly affiliated with the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND).
Kalaba argued, saying that that the presidential nomination period begins on April 15, 2026, and that during this period, the ECZ was advancing an electoral bill that could disqualify political parties based on alleged failures to demonstrate intra-party democracy, such as holding general conferences and registering office bearers.
He warned that the late introduction of such bills to Parliament of Zambia risked disenfranchising political parties and voters.
Read More: Kalaba accuses Hichilema administration of undermining 2026 electoral processes
“Further, Government’s compliance administrative processes under the Registrar of Societies have proven excessively onerous,” Kalaba said.
He explained that in the case of the CF Party, despite holding a general conference on December 7, 2024, the registration process took approximately 11 months, with certification only completed in November 2025—barely in time for the party to participate in the August 13, 2026 polls.
Kalaba appealed to the international community to urgently dispatch a fact-finding or observer mission to Zambia and to engage President Hichilema on safeguarding electoral integrity.
He stressed the need for support aimed at restoring public confidence in the independence of the ECZ.
“Urge reconsideration for reversal of the recent commissioner appointment, notwithstanding the politically inclined nature of the latest appointee, but particularly the timing in the electoral cycle rendering inadequate time to train, orient and learn the roles and importance of the ECZ,” Kalaba demanded.
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