"Why Introduce Uncertainty Days Before an Election?”- Mundubile

Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has raised three concerns about the conduct of Thursday's general election, questioning a last-minute change to how ballots can be marked, the timeline for announcing results, and what he described as a pattern of arrests targeting political and media figures.

A CHANGE TO THE BALLOT MARK, DAYS BEFORE THE VOTE

Mundubile said Zambians have for years understood a single, consistent instruction for marking a ballot: enter the polling booth, identify the candidate of choice, and place an X in the box. "The correct way of marking the ballot paper is by placing an X in the square corresponding to the candidate of choice," he said, arguing that the Electoral Commission of Zambia's own voter education material has reinforced that message for years.

"We are therefore concerned by the introduction, at this late stage, of messages suggesting that voters should now use a tick or some other mark. The question is, why introduce uncertainty only days before an election?"

His concern is grounded in a real and recent development. On 8 August, five days before polling, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro told a stakeholders' meeting at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre that a tick, an X, or any other single, clear mark would be accepted, provided it is contained within the box of the voter's chosen candidate. ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis urged parties and stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the new guidance so they could relay it accurately to supporters.

The clarification departs from the printed Electoral (General) Regulations of 2016, which specify a cross as the valid mark, meaning a tick would ordinarily render a ballot spoilt under the letter of the law; the Commission has not said whether it will issue a formal written amendment to reconcile the two positions.

Mundubile argued that election day is the wrong moment to experiment with voter instructions. "The rules of voting must be simple, consistent and understood by every voter, from the first-time voter to the grandmother casting her vote in the village," he said, calling on the Commission to withdraw the new guidance and "stick to what is provided for, to stick to what they have been teaching" through years of voter education.

He also questioned the timing of the change, suggesting it raised the question of "why now, and who benefits," and noted it comes amid separate, unverified claims of loose ballot boxes and ballot papers circulating on social media, concerns MUVI has not independently confirmed.

RESULTS: "TRANSPARENCY MUST BE IMMEDIATE"

Mundubile's second concern is timing of a different kind: how quickly results will be announced. Under ECZ's published election timetable, declaration and publication of results are scheduled for 17 August, four days after polling.

ECZ chairperson Zaloumis has said the Commission is aiming to verify results nationally within two days, between 15 and 17 August, and declare the outcome the same day it is confirmed, while ECZ acting director of electoral operations Winner Mwanamoonga has said the 17 August date is an administrative decision rather than one required by law.

Mundubile argued the country's technology no longer justifies that timeline. "We are living in 2026," he said. "We have mobile telecommunication, digital transmission systems, internet connectivity, and technology that allow information to move from one side of Zambia to another within seconds."

He noted that votes are counted at polling station level immediately after voting closes, with party agents, monitors and observers present throughout, and argued Zambia should be capable of substantially completing verification within 24 hours of polls closing. "Transparency must be immediate," he said, calling for a mechanism that allows provisional results to be collected, verified and announced "as quickly as reasonably possible," with every party agent receiving the official result at polling station level.

ARRESTS OF POLITICAL AND MEDIA FIGURES

Mundubile's third point concerned what he called a disturbing pattern of arrests and detentions of individuals associated with political activity, media work and public commentary in the final stages of the campaign.