TAYALI TESTIMONY PROOF THAT ELECTIONS WERE INTERFERED WITH By Brian Matambo | Lufwanyama Court testimony by former UPND minister Frank Tayali has renewed scrutiny of military involvement and disruption during Zambia’s disputed August elections, echoing concerns previously raised by the opposition and international observers. Tayali, who is challenging his defeat in the Ndola Central parliamentary […]

TAYALI TESTIMONY PROOF THAT ELECTIONS WERE INTERFERED WITH

By Brian Matambo | Lufwanyama

Court testimony by former UPND minister Frank Tayali has renewed scrutiny of military involvement and disruption during Zambia’s disputed August elections, echoing concerns previously raised by the opposition and international observers.

Tayali, who is challenging his defeat in the Ndola Central parliamentary election, told the Ndola High Court that violence affected voter turnout and his electoral performance. He described the involvement of soldiers in the electoral process as “completely abnormal” and said warning shots were fired to disperse crowds before relative calm returned and counting resumed.

His testimony comes against the backdrop of the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s nationwide suspension of counting and announcement of results on August 14. Counting resumed several hours later under heightened security, with soldiers and riot police deployed around election facilities.

The European Union Election Observation Mission subsequently reported that the quality and transparency of tabulation “deteriorated significantly” after the suspension. Its observers also reported a heavy military presence at some totalling centres, which interlocutors described as intimidating, alongside extended breaks and fewer party agents and citizen observers.

The Tonse-Pamodzi opposition has argued that these circumstances warrant judicial examination of the presidential results. Opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu disputed the outcome and sought to challenge the election through the courts.

Tayali’s testimony  adds sworn evidence from a UPND candidate that violence, military intervention and disruption occurred during parts of the electoral process.

For Zambia, the larger question is therefore institutional: whether disputed aspects of the 2026 election will ultimately be tested through an independent judicial process, with electoral records and competing claims subjected to evidence.

That scrutiny has assumed greater significance amid the subsequent detention of Mundubile and Zulu and continuing demands for an independent investigation into the killing of opposition politician Mutotwe Kafwaya.

What began as competing political claims after August 13 is increasingly becoming a question for Zambia’s institutions: the electoral commission, the judiciary and the security services, and whether they can command public confidence when the legitimacy of an election is contested.