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The Mandevu parliamentary by-election scheduled for November 5 will not take place after all three opposition candidates withdrew from the race, leaving UPND candidate Adrian Banda as the sole validly nominated candidate.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) said Banda would be declared duly elected Member of Parliament without a poll, following the withdrawal of Ntazana Musukuma Mutungwa of the Leadership Movement (LM), Daniel Chisenga of the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and independent candidate Daniel Daka.
In a public notice issued on Friday, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro said the commission had received letters dated October 28, 2026, from the three candidates communicating their decisions to withdraw from the by-election with immediate effect.
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Kasaro said the withdrawals had left Banda as the only validly nominated candidate in the contest.
“In accordance with Regulations 20 (3) and 52(2) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations, 2016 and having no other candidate in the by-election, Adrian Banda, therefore, being the only validly nominated candidate, will be declared duly elected Member of Parliament of Mandevu Constituency without the need for an election, effective 5th November 2026,” Kasaro said.
The announcement means voters in the constituency will not participate in the scheduled November 5 parliamentary by-election.
The withdrawals come amid allegations of threats and intimidation against some opposition candidates during the campaign period, raising concerns over the circumstances surrounding their decisions to leave the race.
However, the ECZ notice did not provide reasons for the withdrawals or indicate whether the commission had received any formal complaints relating to the alleged intimidation.
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