ECZ Sets 5 November for 14 By-elections Including One Mayoral seat, Two Parliamentary Seats

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has set Thursday, 5 November 2026, for by-elections covering the Mbala Mayoral seat, the Lumezi and Mandevu parliamentary seats, and eleven wards across five provinces.

Nominations happen on 8 October, campaigning runs from 10 October to 4 November, and polls open 06:00 to 18:00 on election day.

Every seat has its own reason for going back to the polls. Mbala's Mayor-Elect and Lumezi North's NRPUP candidate both died in office after short illnesses.

Mandevu remains vacant after Parliament's dissolution and what ECZ called an inconclusive 13 August election, a case tied to an earlier attack on the constituency's totalling centre.

Several ward seats are vacant following councillors' deaths, others were simply uncontested during the general election, and a couple arise from nomination nullifications by the Local Government Elections Tribunal.

Nomination fees are set by category, K17,000 for male National Assembly or Mayoral candidates, K14,000 for female, K10,500 for youth, K10,000 for persons with disabilities, with lower tiers for council chairperson and councillor races.

For anyone wanting to monitor, media and NGOs can apply for accreditation at their district Civic Centre. Political parties are capped at 10 accredited monitors each, with only 5 allowed at the Collation Centre alongside 2 NGO reps, and just 5 senior party officials permitted to accompany a candidate into the Nomination Centre itself, everyone else stays 400 metres back, by law.

Queries go to ECZ's Corporate Affairs Department on 0211 252208, or the relevant District Electoral Officer.