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The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has clarified concerns over the rise in the number of polling stations ahead of the 2026 General Election.
In a press statement issued in Lusaka on Friday 2026, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer, Brown Kasaro, said the increase was not linked to the creation of new voting centres or delimitation.
Kasaro noted that following the certification of the Register of Voters, the number of registered voters had risen to 8,786,300.
He explained that once the register was certified, it determined the number of polling stations required based on the number of registered voters assigned to each voting centre.
“Voting takes place at voting centres, and each voting centre can contain one or more polling stations (voting rooms), depending on the number of voters assigned to that location,” Kasaro said.
He gave the example of the University of Zambia Sports Hall, noting that while it was one voting centre, it may contain several voting rooms due to the large number of voters registered there.
“This means polling stations are not necessarily separate physical locations. A single voting centre can have multiple polling stations operating within it,” Kasaro said.
He said the Commission announced 12,152 polling stations in 2021, but these were not 12,152 separate locations, as the actual number of voting centres was around 9,000.
Kasaro said similarly, for the 2026 General Election, the increase from 12,152 to 13,529 polling stations does not mean new voting centres have been created through delimitation.
“The number of voting centres has remained the same at about 9,000. What has increased is the number of polling stations (voting rooms) within existing voting centres to accommodate the increased number of registered voters,” he said.
Kasaro added that the approach ensured voters continued using familiar voting centres while enabling it to manage the increased voter population and improve the voting process.
He was responding to the Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) which had raised concern over the increase in the number.
CCMG Programmes Manager Peter Mwanangombe wrote : “Good morning colleagues. We have noticed a difference in the number of polling stations on the ECZ website and the Polling District Listing of 2025. The website shows 13529 while the 2025 PD listing shows 12200 polling stations.”
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