Zambia certifies 8.79 million voters for August 2026 general elections, women account for 53.1%

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has announced that 8,786,300 voters are eligible to participate in the 2026 General Election following the certification of the voters’ register. Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka on Monday, Kasaro said the exercise resulted in a provisional register of 8,888,912 voters after consolidation of all registration records. “Following the inspection and deduplication of the 8,888,912 provisional number of records, a total of 101,439 records were identified as duplicate applications and were excluded from the Provisional Register of Voters,” Kasaro said.

He said a further 1,173 records of deceased voters were removed, bringing the total number of registered voters on the 2026 certified register to 8,786,300. Kasaro said out of the total registered voters, 4,665,431 are female, representing 53.1 percent, while 4,120,869 are male, representing 46.9 percent. He said youth voters account for 4,066,423, representing 46.3 percent of the total register.

“Further, in the spirit of inclusion, I am pleased to update you that the final Register of Voters has a total of 20,162 Persons with Disabilities. This includes 7,584 persons with a visual disability, 2,353 wheelchair users, 6,072 persons with a hearing disability, and 4,153 who use crutches,” he said. Kasaro reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to providing disaggregated data for stakeholders and ensuring transparency in the electoral process.

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He said the certified register replaces all previous voter registers and will remain valid until another updated register is prepared and certified. “Further, the certified Register of Voters reflects the 226 constituencies following the conclusion of the 2026 delimitation exercise on 17th April 2026,” Kasaro said. He reiterated ECZ’s commitment to ensuring that all eligible citizens participate in the electoral process, stating that voting remains a fundamental democratic right. The 2026 General Election is scheduled for August 13.

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