CCMG Warns on Vote Disparities

Mwanangombe says the Population Imbalances will Undermine Equality

By Francis Maingaila ♥️ 

Lusaka, Zambia24  -- (3-03-2026) - The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) has warned that significant disparities in voting power between constituencies could undermine the principle of equal suffrage as Zambia prepares for the August 13 general election.

CCMG Program Director Peter Mwanangombe told Zambia24 that the organization observed district boundary delimitation sittings across all 116 districts of Zambia and identified structural weaknesses in the process, including uneven stakeholder participation, limited consultation time, gaps in accessibility, and restricted access to key reference documents.

Mr. Mwanangombe explained that CCMG deployed 116 observers to monitor the sittings. Each observer was stationed at a district-level meeting presided over by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. 

He said the purpose was to assess compliance with the principles of impartiality, equality, representativeness, non-discrimination, transparency, and inclusivity, which are constitutionally required for boundary delimitation.

He said district sittings are followed by provincial consultations, and stakeholder submissions from both levels are expected to guide the final delimitation report recommending the creation of new constituencies. 

He noted that the process has historically lacked transparency, citing the unreleased 2019 Boundary Delimitation Report, which has created controversy and reduced public confidence in electoral processes.

Mr. Mwanangombe highlighted that Zambia currently has wide variations in constituency voting power. He cited Kanyama Constituency, which has 178,424 registered voters, and Lufubu Constituency, which has only 11,440 voters. 

Both constituencies, he said, are represented by a single Member of Parliament despite their vastly different populations. 

He emphasized that this disparity undermines the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote” and called for greater adherence to the principle of approximate equality of constituency and ward populations. 

He said population equality must remain central in the boundary delimitation process, alongside considerations of history, diversity, and cohesiveness of communities.

Mr. Mwanangombe said all district sittings were held as scheduled and presided over by ECZ officials. 

Stakeholders were given the opportunity to make submissions on the proposed creation of 70 new constituencies, and relevant demographic and geographic data were shared. 

However, he raised concern that only one day was allocated per district for consultations. He said this timeframe constrained thorough deliberations, particularly in areas with complex geographic and traditional dynamics. 

Many stakeholders, he noted, indicated that additional time was necessary to scrutinize maps, population statistics, and proposed boundary adjustments.

On stakeholder participation, Mr. Mwanangombe said traditional leaders were present in 96 percent of sittings, Members of Parliament attended 82 percent, and media coverage was recorded in 97 percent of districts. 

He noted uneven participation among political parties, with representatives of the United Party for National Development present at 98 percent of sittings, while other political parties attended only 84 percent. Civil society and faith-based organizations were represented in 55 percent of sittings.

Mr. Mwanangombe also highlighted accessibility gaps, reporting that 12 percent of venues were too small to accommodate all stakeholders and nine percent were not accessible to persons with disabilities. 

He said these findings point to the need for stronger compliance with inclusive access standards in future electoral processes.

He said the ECZ demonstrated procedural transparency by providing and explaining maps of old boundaries, population data, and citizens-per-constituency ratios. However, he noted that foundational reference documents were rarely shared.

 The 2019 Boundary Delimitation Report was available in only 12 percent of sittings, while the Electoral Reform Technical Committee report was provided in 16 percent. He emphasized that wider access to these documents would allow stakeholders to engage more effectively.

Mr. Mwanangombe said total population was the most frequently discussed criterion, referenced in 76 percent of sittings. 

While acknowledging its importance, he said Voting Age Population data should also be considered to strengthen representational equity by reflecting the segment of the population legally eligible to vote.

He reported two critical incidents during the observation period. On February 17 in Kasempa District, disagreements among stakeholders over proposed boundaries disrupted proceedings and led to the meeting ending prematurely, with discussions deferred to the provincial sitting. 

On February 19 in Chongwe District, he said violence broke out when two groups of UPND cadres clashed, resulting in stones being thrown and one person sustaining a cut to the face. No arrests were reported.

Mr. Mwanangombe strongly condemned all forms of violence and disruption in electoral processes. 

He said boundary delimitation is a technical and consultative exercise that must be conducted in a peaceful and orderly environment.

He said CCMG is recommending that the ECZ publish and circulate the 2019 Boundary Delimitation Report and Electoral Reform Technical Committee report widely, clearly explain how stakeholder submissions and technical data will guide final constituency boundaries, define and publicize permissible population deviation thresholds, and incorporate Voting Age Population data into constituency assessments. 

He further called on the ECZ to ensure all consultation venues are accessible to persons with disabilities, strengthen advance publicity, and coordinate with law enforcement to prevent violence at future sittings.

Mr. Mwanangombe also urged political parties to ensure peaceful participation and evidence-based submissions, and called on civil society and faith-based organizations to enhance civic education and engagement.

 He encouraged the Zambia Police Service to maintain neutral and proportionate security at future sittings and investigate reported incidents of violence.

He concluded that although the ECZ conducted the process with a generally high level of procedural transparency and openness to observation, inclusivity, technical rigor, and transparency must be strengthened in subsequent stages to safeguard equal suffrage and public confidence in the electoral process.