The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU […]

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has identified eight urgent priority recommendations designed to enhance the transparency, fairness, and credibility of the country’s electoral process following the August 13th 2026 general elections.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has issued 13 recommendations to improve the organization, management, and conduct of elections in Zambia, highlighting eight as top priorities:

1. To revise the electoral legal framework well before elections, through an inclusive, consultative, and expert-driven process, to remove gaps and inconsistencies, enhance transparency and legal predictability, and to better align with international commitments.

• Ensure transparency throughout the electoral process in line with international standards in decision-making and access to key information of public interest for all stakeholders. This would include publication of all relevant regulatory instruments.

• Protect freedom of assembly and equal campaign opportunities for all contestants by discontinuing the role of the ECZ in issuing campaign timetables, ensuring that the preeminent role of regulating campaign schedules lies with contestants.

• Disengage state-owned media from direct government control and convert ZNBC into a genuine public service broadcaster with editorial independence and balanced programming.

• Align the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Acts with international commitments on freedom of expression and privacy of communication.

• Promote the public accountability of electoral authorities by guaranteeing the right of unhindered access of observers to all aspects of the electoral process, underpinned by a timely, transparent and less burdensome accreditation process.

• Guarantee effective access to due process in electoral matters. Measures would include realistic timelines for petitions in all court jurisdictions, including access and filing by alternate means, consistency in rights of appeal before and after elections, and adopting appropriate evidentiary standards.

• And finally to protect the will of the voter and the integrity of elections by ensuring consistent arrangements for maintaining transparency during the results tabulation, such as projection of data entry and prompt online posting of complete, Polling Stations-disaggregated preliminary and final results, in an easily usable format.

These recommendations, drawn from the EU EOM’s comprehensive assessment, address key areas where reforms are needed to strengthen democracy and public trust in Zambia’s elections.