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Nine Civil Society Organisations have expressed grave concern over reported SMS messages allegedly linking the Government’s Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme to voting for President Hakainde Hichilema and the ruling United Party for National Development ahead of the August 13, 2026 general elections.
The organisations said the messages were reportedly sent to members of the public, including registered beneficiaries of the SCT programme, suggesting that continued receipt of benefits depended on supporting the President and the ruling party.
In a joint statement issued in Lusaka on Friday, the CSO’s noted that the reports emerged days before the general election and involved some of the country’s most vulnerable households who rely on the monthly social protection payments.
The CSOs said they had not been able to independently verify the source of the messages but urged recipients to preserve evidence and submit it to relevant authorities for investigation.
“We have not ourselves been able to independently verify the source of these messages, and we call on affected beneficiaries and members of the public who have received such messages to preserve copies and forward them to the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and our organisations, so that the matter can be properly investigated,” reads the joint statement.
The group said if confirmed, the conduct would constitute a serious abuse of incumbency and government position to favour the ruling party.
“If confirmed, this conduct amounts to a serious abuse of the incumbency and government position to favour the ruling party in the forthcoming general election, and we condemn it in the strongest terms,” the organisations stated.
They emphasised that the Social Cash Transfer was a statutory entitlement administered by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services using public funds for the elderly, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable households.
“The Social Cash Transfer programme is a statutory social protection entitlement administered by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services using public funds, for the benefit of the elderly, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable households. It is not, and must never be treated as, the property or campaign resource of any political party or candidate,” the statement said.
The CSOs argued that conditioning benefits on voting exploits the economic vulnerability of beneficiaries and converts a protected welfare programme into an instrument of electoral inducement.
They further noted that where beneficiary contact details appear to have been drawn from a government administrative database, the conduct raised additional concerns about the use of state data.
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“Where an incumbent administration uses the machinery, data, or beneficiary lists of a government programme to advance a partisan campaign message, this offends the constitutional principle that state resources and institutions must serve all citizens impartially, and it undermines the level electoral playing field to which every candidate and party is entitled under the Constitution and electoral law,” the organisations stated.
On the legal implications, the group cited the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016, the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 and the Anti-Corruption Act, 2012, saying Section 83 on undue influence appeared directly relevant to the alleged conduct.
“We stress that these are legal concerns raised by the conduct as reported, not a finding of guilt against any person; that determination is a matter for the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and ultimately the courts, following a full investigation of the facts,” reads the statement.
The organisations have called on the ECZ to investigate and issue guidance, the ACC to probe possible corrupt practices, the Data Protection Commissioner to examine the source of the contact list, and ZICTA to investigate the bulk messaging channel used.
They also urged government to publicly assure citizens that Social Cash Transfer payments were guaranteed by law and not conditional on how any citizen votes, and called on all political parties to refrain from using state welfare programmes for campaign purposes.
The statement was signed by LCK Freedom Foundation Executive Director Linda Kasonde on behalf of ActionAid Zambia, ADEG, Alliance for Community Action, Caritas Zambia, Chapter One Foundation, Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Transparency International Zambia, and Zambia Council for Social Development.
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