Zambia Presidential election 2026 (Hichilema vs Mundubile vs Kalaba) — Results

The contest in brief

Zambians choose their head of state on Thursday 13 August 2026, on the same day they elect the National Assembly and their local councils. The presidency is the prize that dominates the campaign: Zambia is a presidential republic in which the head of state is also head of government, appoints the cabinet and sets the direction of economic policy. President Hakainde Hichilema, who broke through in 2021 at his sixth attempt, is seeking a second and — under the two-term limit — final five-year mandate. He faces an opposition that spent the parliament fragmenting, regrouping and litigating, and which arrives at polling day split across at least three separate alliances rather than the single challenger that unseated the Patriotic Front five years ago.

How a Zambian president is elected

Since the 2016 constitutional amendments Zambia uses an absolute-majority system: a candidate must win more than 50% of the valid votes cast to be elected outright. If nobody clears that bar, a run-off between the two leading candidates must be held within 37 days. No Zambian presidential election has yet gone to a second round under this rule — Edgar Lungu cleared 50% in 2016 and Hichilema won 59.02% in 2021 — but with a crowded field of fourteen candidates the arithmetic is worth watching closely on the night. Two other features of the system matter. First, each presidential candidate runs on a joint ticket with a named running mate who automatically becomes Vice-President; there is no separate vice-presidential ballot and no confirmation vote. Second, the result can be challenged: a petition against the declaration must be filed with the Constitutional Court within seven days, and the court has fourteen days to decide it. Elections are administered by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the body created by Article 229 of the constitution to conduct and certify the vote.

The field

Fourteen candidates were nominated — thirteen representing parties and one independent. Hichilema stands for the United Party for National Development (UPND) at the head of the UPND Alliance, with Vice-President Mutale Nalumango again as his running mate; several smaller party leaders who once ran against him, among them Highvie Hamududu, Nevers Mumba and Felix Mutati, endorsed him rather than standing. The main opposition vehicle is the Tonse Alliance, which was built around Edgar Lungu until the Constitutional Court ruled in December 2024 that he was ineligible to stand again and his death in June 2025 left the alliance leaderless; it chose the MP Brian Mundubile as its candidate in January 2026, with Makebi Zulu as running mate, and after the Patriotic Front's leadership remained tied up in court he filed his nomination under the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity. Harry Kalaba, who took third place in 2021, is standing for Citizens First at the head of the CF Orange Alliance with Moses Mawere as running mate, backed by Saboi Imboela's National Democratic Congress. Fred M'membe is again the Socialist Party candidate, and the long-serving Chiengi MP Given Katuta is running as an independent.

The record on the ballot

Economic management is the argument of the campaign. In November 2020 Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt during the COVID-19 pandemic; the Hichilema government negotiated a restructuring of that debt with bilateral creditors under the G20 Common Framework and with private bondholders, under an International Monetary Fund programme. The government points to that deal, to restored access to finance and to renewed investment in copper — Zambia is one of Africa's largest producers and copper underwrites both export earnings and government revenue — as proof that the recovery is real. The opposition points at the cost of living, at a severe drought that crippled hydroelectric generation and forced prolonged load-shedding, at fertiliser and fuel prices, and at the shortage of jobs for a very young electorate. Governance is the second front: opposition parties and civil-society groups have criticised the use of public-order and cyber-security laws against critics, while the government's supporters argue the space for dissent is wider than it was before 2021.

Where the votes are

Zambian presidential elections have a pronounced regional shape. The UPND's heartland is the Southern, Western and North-Western provinces, where Hichilema has run up very large majorities in every cycle. The Patriotic Front's historic strongholds are Northern, Luapula and Muchinga, and the party long dominated the Copperbelt, the urban mining belt that is the country's industrial core. The decisive shift in 2021 was Hichilema's breakthrough in the Copperbelt and in Lusaka, urban provinces with large, young populations whose turnout swings the national number. Whether that urban realignment survives a term of load-shedding and high living costs — and whether the post-Lungu opposition can rebuild in the north — is the question the province-by-province returns will answer.

The 2021 benchmark

Hichilema won outright in the first round, ending the Patriotic Front's decade in office in the third peaceful transfer of power since multi-party politics returned in 1991.

Presidential (2021)	Votes	Vote %
Hakainde Hichilema (UPND)	2,852,348	59.02
Edgar Lungu (PF)	1,870,780	38.71
Harry Kalaba (DP)	25,231	0.52

Shares are of the 4,832,763 valid votes cast across all sixteen candidates; a further 126,569 ballots were rejected. Turnout was 70.61% of the 7,023,499 people then registered — unusually high, and driven by young and first-time voters. The register has since grown to roughly 8.8 million.

What the polls say

Public polling in Zambia is sparse and should be treated with caution. The most widely reported survey of the cycle, published at the end of December 2025 by a team led by a University of Zambia demographer, put Hichilema on about 60% with the combined opposition around 35%, and showed him between 58% and 63% in head-to-head matchups against individual challengers. A divided opposition field mechanically helps an incumbent under a 50%-plus-one rule, but Zambian elections have produced late swings before, and the 2021 result itself was well outside what pre-election commentary expected.

The result

The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared Hakainde Hichilema president-elect on 18 August 2026, with all 226 constituencies counted. He took 2,965,326 votes, or 60.49% of the 4,902,050 valid votes cast, against 1,856,217 and 37.87% for Brian Mundubile — a margin of 1,109,109 votes, and comfortably clear of the 50%-plus-one threshold, so no run-off was required. A further 126,556 ballots were rejected, 2.52% of the 5,028,606 cast, and turnout was 57.23% of the 8,786,300 registered voters. Hichilema had won 59.02% in 2021, so his share rose slightly while the opposition consolidated behind a single challenger.

The count was not straightforward. The commission suspended counting and the announcement of results nationwide on 14 August, citing violence against polling staff and the theft of marked ballot papers, then lifted the suspension the same day and announced results in batches from its national totalling centre over the following four days. Figures on this page are the ones the commission declared. Its own results portal, results.elections.org.zm, never published them: four days after polling and after the declaration it still reported zero of 226 constituencies with every candidate on zero, so the entire count reached the public through televised announcements rather than the site built to carry it.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 Zambian presidential election?

Voting takes place on Thursday 13 August 2026, with polls open from 06:00 to 18:00 local time (UTC+2). The presidency, the National Assembly and local councils are all filled on the same day.

How is Zambia's president elected?

By absolute majority: a candidate needs more than 50% of valid votes to win in the first round, otherwise a run-off between the two leading candidates is held within 37 days. Each candidate runs on a joint ticket with a running mate who becomes Vice-President, and the result can be challenged in the Constitutional Court within seven days of the declaration.

Who is running for president in 2026?

Fourteen candidates were nominated — thirteen from parties and one independent. Incumbent Hakainde Hichilema stands for the UPND with Vice-President Mutale Nalumango as running mate; Brian Mundubile is the Tonse Alliance candidate, standing under the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity after the Patriotic Front's leadership dispute remained before the courts; Harry Kalaba leads the CF Orange Alliance for Citizens First; Fred M'membe stands for the Socialist Party; and former Chiengi MP Given Katuta is running as an independent.

Can Edgar Lungu run again?

No. The Constitutional Court ruled in December 2024 that the former president was ineligible to stand for a further term, and he died in June 2025. His absence left the Tonse Alliance, which had been built around his candidacy, to select a new nominee in January 2026.

When will the presidential result be announced?

It was announced on Tuesday 18 August 2026, five days after polling, when ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hakainde Hichilema president-elect with all 226 constituencies counted. The commission had originally targeted Monday 17 August; the timetable slipped after counting was suspended nationwide for part of 14 August over violence against polling staff and the theft of marked ballots. Results were read out in batches at the national totalling centre and carried on television, and were never published on the ECZ results portal.

What are the main issues?

The economy dominates. Zambia was the first African country to default during the pandemic, in November 2020, and has since restructured its debt under an IMF programme. The cost of living, electricity shortages caused by drought-hit hydropower, copper revenues, youth unemployment and the state of democratic freedoms are the recurring campaign themes.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.